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comment_82932

FAR 15.203, Requests for proposals, paragraph (a), states:

Quote

Requests for proposals (RFPs) are used in negotiated acquisitions to communicate Government requirements to prospective contractors and to solicit proposals. RFPs for competitive acquisitions shall, at a minimum, describe the 𑁋 (1) Government’s requirement...

The word "requirement" appears 2,858 times in FAR, but FAR does not define the word.

What does it mean? What is a "requirement"?

I'm not looking for a lexical definition from a Websters, etc. I'm looking for a conceptual ("real") definition. (Understand the distinction? See: https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/lexical-defining-vs-real-defining .

Conceptually speaking, what does an RFP describe when it describes a Government "requirement"? And please, don't substitute vague words like "needs" or "wants" for the vague word we already have.

comment_82935

This comes up a lot as an initial step in developing new IT systems.  Here’s one example

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Requirements are the conditions or capabilities needed by a user to solve a business problem
or achieve an objective.

 

comment_82937

I just remembered I had more from old notes.  This is from a class and not my own thinking

1. “A condition or capability needed to solve a problem or achieve an objective.”

2. “A condition or capability that must be met or possessed by a solution to satisfy a contract, standard, specification or other formally imposed documents.

3. “A documented representation of a condition or capability as in 1 or 2.

comment_82940
23 hours ago, formerfed said:

This comes up a lot as an initial step in developing new IT systems.  Here’s one example

 

That is virtually what ChatGPT provided:

“…[a] requirement is a specific condition or capability needed by a user or system to solve a problem or achieve an objective.”

For me, a requirement is specific goal or particular problem the Government is trying to solve. Description of a requirement includes identification of the quantity, quality, and delivery terms of supplies or services.

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comment_82942
19 hours ago, formerfed said:

A condition or capability that must be met or possessed by a solution to satisfy a contract, standard, specification or other formally imposed documents

That sounds like a long-winded version of Don's definition:

22 hours ago, Don Mansfield said:

A future state that an agency has determined necessary to perform its function.

By "state" I think Don means "state of affairs". The Oxford English Dictionary defines "state of affairs" as follows:

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The way in which events or circumstances stand at a particular time or within a particular sphere; the current situation.

 

comment_82947
5 hours ago, Don Mansfield said:

Yes. I meant requirements can exist before they are identified.

I revised my definition because I don't think the existence of a requirement is dependent on knowledge of the requirement.

As in: you could have a need before you know you have a need?

comment_82949
6 hours ago, formerfed said:

Isn’t that a vision that leads to identifying requirements?

How about the following?

"A requirement is the difference between the present state of affairs and a future state of affairs that is necessary for an agency to perform its function."

comment_82950
11 hours ago, Vern Edwards said:

But isn't it possible to predict a future and forecast requirements? Doesn't DOD do that based on intelligence?

 A wish but that wish does not become reality all the time.   

 

8 minutes ago, Don Mansfield said:

A requirement is the difference between the present state of affairs and a future state of affairs that is necessary for an agency to perform its function."

Is a requirement really necessary to perform the function?   After all there are requirements that get canceled and requirements that sit on the shelf forever but the agency keeps performing.

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comment_82951
8 hours ago, Don Mansfield said:

How about the following?

"A requirement is the difference between the present state of affairs and a future state of affairs that is necessary for an agency to perform its function."

@Don Mansfield You keep adding words. Stop. Go back to your second definition, but delete the word "future", since futurity is obvious from context:

20 hours ago, Don Mansfield said:

"A future state of affairs that is necessary for an agency to perform its function."

You could even delete "that is".

20 hours ago, Don Mansfield said:

A future state of affairs that is necessary for an agency to perform its function

Short, crisp, and clear.

But many in the workforce will not understand "state of affairs" and probably wouldn't look it up. It's an important and very useful concept. (There's at least one book devoted to its explanation, the frequently-cited, A World of States of Affairs, by D.M. Armstrong, Cambridge, 1997. There's a short Wikipedia page devoted to the concept -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_affairs_(philosophy -- and a lengthy and challenging entry at the online Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. The usual thesaurus synonym is "situation", but "state" or "state of affairs" is more formal.

Here's the definition of "requirements" from the DAU Glossary of Defense Acquisition Acronyms and Terms:

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The need or demand for personnel, equipment, facilities, other resources, or services, by specified quantities for specific periods of time or at a specified time. 

🙄 

Isn't it interesting that FAR should not define so important a word? But, then, it's not a textbook.

Of course, other definitions are possible. So the thread is still open, although most readers will be lurkers, not participants.

One of the biggest challenges in acquisition is to contractually specify (not "define") requirements.

comment_82952
2 hours ago, Vern Edwards said:

A state of affairs necessary for an agency to perform its function

This is prescriptive but not fully accurate descriptively.  Government engineers, program managers, and other requirements developers would need to live lives of simplicity to only think about what is "necessary" in performing their jobs.  That type of life has become exceedingly rare ever since economists and Madison Avenue dreamed up how to convert World War II factories into GDP-boosters.  Here is a more descriptive definition: A state of affairs desired for an agency to pursue happiness. 😆

comment_82962
12 hours ago, Vern Edwards said:

One of the biggest challenges in acquisition is to contractually specify (not "define") requirements.

@Vern Edwards please explain what/why you distinguish the two. A lot of the common talk and training mention ‘defining requirements,’ but I’m sure you have a thoughtful reason.

I’m reminded of the FAR 2.101 definition of contracting.

”Contracting includes description (but not determination) of supplies and services required“

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comment_82993
18 hours ago, Jamaal Valentine said:

{P]\please explain what/why you distinguish the two. A lot of the common talk and training mention ‘defining requirements,’ but I’m sure you have a thoughtful reason.

According to my dictionary, American Heritage, 5th ed., define means to state the meaning of. Specify means to describe in detail. For contractual purposes I would want to describe, not define, the requirement. Based on Don's definition of requirement, I would want to describe the desired state of affairs, so the contractor could produce it.

comment_82997

Is the CO's contribution to requirements specification mainly in the following?

  • Selection of unit rates, if any.
  • Inclusion and exclusion of PWS paragraphs in CLIN descriptions, followed by proposal evaluation to examine (by Work Breakdown Structure or otherwise) resulting costs' effects on future contract administration 
  • Specific application of clauses to each CLIN
  • Establishment of inspection and acceptance criteria by CLIN

Note this question assumes the CO is a requirements developer.

comment_83055
On 5/18/2024 at 8:55 AM, Vern Edwards said:

What is a "requirement"?

On 5/18/2024 at 8:55 AM, Vern Edwards said:

what does an RFP describe when it describes a Government "requirement"?

Are we going to get to the bottom of these questions on this thread?  The implications are broad: below is a list of some heavy-hitting definitions in FAR 2.101 that use the term "requirement" (with my emphases).

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Acquisition means the acquiring by contract with appropriated funds of supplies or services (including construction) by and for the use of the Federal Government through purchase or lease, whether the supplies or services are already in existence or must be created, developed, demonstrated, and evaluated. Acquisition begins at the point when agency needs are established and includes the description of requirements to satisfy agency needs, solicitation and selection of sources, award of contracts, contract financing, contract performance, contract administration, and those technical and management functions directly related to the process of fulfilling agency needs by contract.

* * * *

Advisory and assistance services...are classified in one of the following definitional subdivisions:

(1) Management and professional support services, i.e., contractual services that provide assistance, advice or training for the efficient and effective management and operation of organizations, activities (including management and support services for R&D activities), or systems. These services are normally closely related to the basic responsibilities and mission of the agency originating the requirement for the acquisition of services by contract...

* * * *

Best value means the expected outcome of an acquisition that, in the Government's estimation, provides the greatest overall benefit in response to the requirement.

* * * *

Bundling

(1) Means a subset of consolidation that combines two or more requirements for supplies or services, previously provided or performed under separate smaller contracts (see paragraph (2) of this definition), into a solicitation for a single contract...

* * * *

Classified acquisition means an acquisition in which offerors must have access to classified information to properly submit an offer or quotation, to understand the performance requirements, or to perform the contract

* * * *

Commercial product means—

(1) A product, other than real property, that is of a type customarily used by the general public or by nongovernmental entities for purposes other than governmental purposes, and—

(i) Has been sold, leased, or licensed to the general public; or

(ii) Has been offered for sale, lease, or license to the general public;

(2) A product that evolved from a product described in paragraph (1) of this definition through advances in technology or performance and that is not yet available in the commercial marketplace, but will be available in the commercial marketplace in time to satisfy the delivery requirements under a Government solicitation;

(3) A product that would satisfy a criterion expressed in paragraph (1) or (2) of this definition, except for—

(i) Modifications of a type customarily available in the commercial marketplace; or

(ii) Minor modifications of a type not customarily available in the commercial marketplace made to meet Federal Government requirements. “Minor modifications” means modifications that do not significantly alter the nongovernmental function or essential physical characteristics of an item or component, or change the purpose of a process. Factors to be considered in determining whether a modification is minor include the value and size of the modification and the comparative value and size of the final product. Dollar values and percentages may be used as guideposts, but are not conclusive evidence that a modification is minor;

(4) Any combination of products meeting the requirements of paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of this definition that are of a type customarily combined and sold in combination to the general public...

* * * *

Cost realism means that the costs in an offeror's proposal—

(1) Are realistic for the work to be performed;

(2) Reflect a clear understanding of the requirements; and

(3) Are consistent with the various elements of the offeror's technical proposal.

Does "a description of the desired state of affairs" endure as the meaning of requirement in all cases of its use above?  Or do we need to discuss?

What about the use of the term in the following FAR Part 16 senses I emphasize?

Quote

16.301-2 Application.

(a) The contracting officer shall use cost-reimbursement contracts only when—

(1) Circumstances do not allow the agency to define its requirements sufficiently to allow for a fixed-price type contract (see 7.105)...

* * * *

16.603-2 Application.

(a) A letter contract may be used when

(1) the Government's interests demand that the contractor be given a binding commitment so that work can start immediately and

(2) negotiating a definitive contract is not possible in sufficient time to meet the requirement. However, a letter contract should be as complete and definite as feasible under the circumstances.

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comment_83060
20 hours ago, Voyager said:

Is the CO's contribution to requirements specification mainly in the following?

I think the answer to that depends on the representative of the requirements activity and the CO.

The specification is ultimately a legal (contractual) document with technical content. The writer(s) must understand both facets of it a some level.

When I was a contract specialist and then CO, I always co-wrote the statement of work. So did many other COs in my field of acquisition, even for development of launch vehicles and reentry vehicles. How much I wrote depended on the requirement and the contracting know-how of thee project officer or program manager. I even provided contracting input to the technical requirements document.

I bought, borrowed, and read books about engineering and design so I could talk to engineers and designers like an educated layperson. When I worked in projects and programs I read books and several manuals about work breakdown structuring. I and several of my colleagues were taught CLIN structuring by the late Mary Ann Scott, one of the smartest people in contracting back in the '70s and '80s. I read books about process design and engineering so I could be useful to the requiring activities that I supported. In one year I taught a class at my organization entiled Engineering for Non-engineers. One colleague and friend, the CO for the Titan II launch vehicle, reviewed the technical specs and read technical proposals cover-to-cover.

But most COs wanted nothing to do with SOW preparation.

I did not decide what was required. I decided how the requirement would be described, because I was a better writer knew more about contracts than most (not all) of my program colleagues.

52 minutes ago, Voyager said:

Are we going to get to the bottom of these questions on this thread? 

So, in ultimate answer to your question, the CO's contribution to requirements specification depends on the inclination and the competence of the CO.

 

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comment_83061
53 minutes ago, Voyager said:

Are we going to get to the bottom of these questions on this thread?

I don't know. I opened this thread for discussion, not to present a treatise. As usual, most of the contributors have been regulars. Most readers, however many there have been, have been𑁋again, as usual𑁋lurkers. That's contracting for you.

comment_83071
2 hours ago, Vern Edwards said:

I taught a class at my organization entiled Engineering for Non-engineers

That should be a course, mandatory for certain CO's, if it isn't. Once you learn the lingo, abutment, at-grade, embankment, headwall, cross sections, BIM, riprap. etc. everything else comes together for the non-engineer... in my experience. 

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