III. PROJECT OBJECTIVE

Clearly and directly state the project objective in terms of the agency strategic objectives and program mission. The objective should be synonymous with the purpose of the Project Team's existence. The objective should be a high-level statement, but may include some details which are descriptive of the project and it's component parts so as to provide a basis for understanding and agreeing upon the project objective. Avoid describing or indicating the means by which the objective is to be achieved. The objective may include or refer to a vision statement describing the characteristics of the desired result. However caution should be exercised to avoid issuing vision statements that are overly restrictive or specific which might preclude other approaches that can achieve the same objective.

IV. APPROACH

This section very broadly describes how the Project Team plans to meet its objectives. How will the Project Team approach its task? How will it inform and engage the private sector? What is the approximate sequence of events? How will the attainment of objectives unfold? How will the private sector be made aware of the project? How and by what process will it be decided what acquisitions, if any, will be conducted? Will other government agencies or other departments of your agency be invited to participate? If so, how will that be done? Most of the answers to these questions are found in the CONOPS process. It is appropriate for this section to outline the CONOPS steps that are most relevant and significant to obtaining the project objectives. Provide examples where needed to clarify important points in the process.

V. MEMBERS

The Project Team will consist of a core group which provides the steering and decision-making authority. This may be augmented by associates or consultants from elsewhere in or outside the agency. Standing committees or groups with relevant expertise may also be used to advise the Project Team.

Members of the Project Team include a project manager/team leader, who has overall authority and responsibility for the successful accomplishment of the project objective and fulfillment of the terms of the Project Agreement. The selection and assignment of other team members will be made on the basis of the Project's cross-functional need. Teams normally consist of a warranted procurement official, program representative(s), users, information technology analysts, legal advisors, budget advisors and others.

The team membership serves the purpose of providing relevant expertise, authority and interest for the accomplishment of the team's objectives. It is not necessary that all of the expertise, resources and interests be represented in the form of team membership, however all important relevant interests should be represented on the team. Attach a list of team members and advisors (optional--and their roles and responsibilities). (At the discretion of the team, the membership list may not be publically published.

VI. EMPOWERMENT AND MANAGEMENT REVIEW

This section describes the empowerment sought by the team. It should state who is providing the empowerment and what objective the team is empowered to achieve. It should also state the specific forms of empowerment, such as authority to make critical decisions, to select vendors or other options, to enter into contracts and small purchases, or authority to enter into agreements with other agencies or components of your agency. If there are restrictions on team empowerment these should also be stated.

State the agreement with management regarding team progress, status reports and briefings. The expectation should be that the teams will have a high degree of autonomy within the scope, monetary and schedule boundaries of the project agreement. Describe any review authority held by a bureau capital investment council or board with respect to this project. Management has a right to be informed of team progress and whether unusual difficulties are being encountered which jeopardize accomplishment of team objectives. Changes in budget, mission priorities or other circumstances may necessitate negotiation of amendments to the Project Agreement between management and the team. Consistent with streamlining objectives, outside clearances and approvals should be minimized or eliminated wherever possible, however to the extent that any special reviews or clearances are required, these should be identified.

VII. ESTIMATED VALUE

Estimate the total cost of achieving the project objective. Where appropriate, the estimate may be stated by fiscal year, or made subject to budget availability. The estimate might also be broken down to show total program costs, acquisition costs, and cost of in-house personnel. However, these breakdowns may be inappropriate where the decision as to how these costs are to be distributed may be determined at a later point in the process. It is better to state the overall cost along with a general description of what the cost includes, rather than to itemize costs into categories which introduce barriers later in the process. The basis for the estimate may be referred to as a separate document.

VIII. MILESTONES

State the high-level project milestones. These milestones should indicate key points in the process and key deliverables in satisfaction of overall project objectives and performance goals.

IX. TERM

The term of the project normally begins on the date of execution of the project agreement and concludes when the project objectives have been achieved.

X. PERFORMANCE GOALS AND MEASURES

Performance goals and measures for this project should be consistent with the approach required for agency strategic and annual performance planning and the already-established goals that support this project . That is, the team will establish performance goals defining the level of performance to be achieved by each project activity; express performance goals in objective, quantifiable, and measurable form; describe the process to meet the performance goals, establish the performance indicators to be used to measure or assess the outcomes of each project activity; provide a basis for comparing actual results with performance goals; and describe the means to be used to verify and validate measured values. This means, for example, that if the performance measure is to increase revenues by 15 percent in three years, there must be a way to gather the baseline and performance data to assess the change in revenues that confirm that the team is meeting its objective. This should include achievement of project milestone and cost objectives, but should also include measures based on achievement of project objectives, such as attainment of program benefits.

XI. INCENTIVES

State the overall plan for incentivizing/rewarding the team for meeting and exceeding its objectives as defined by the project's performance goals and measures. The overall purpose is to motivate teams to accomplish their objectives by providing rewards for meeting/ exceeding the target performance levels. The team should consult with its human resource staff to determine what reward options are currently available within it's agency or as a possible team incentives pilot. An example might be, "if the program objectives are attained at 90% of the estimated cost, then the team would receive a predetermined award amount. The team incentive should establish the methodology for determining the amount to be shared and for establishing how that amount will be distributed among the team members.

EXECUTION

The project agreement should be signed by the project team leader (and, as an alternative, by team members as well) and by agency management officials at a level above the project team leader with key authority, responsibility or influence on the project.