PMP Certification: Conduct Procurements (based on PMBOK® Guide, 6th Edition)

— (updated )
  • WHAT Conduct Procurements Is. Conduct Procurements implies sending bid documents to prospective sellers, applying the source selection criteria to the bids, selecting one or more sellers, and, finally, awarding the procurement.
  • WHY Conduct Procurements Is Important. By awarding the contract, you choose the final candidate from the list of sellers that will do the project work.
  • WHEN Conduct Procurements Is Executed. Procurement activities are conducted after the Procurement Plan Management process, as needed.  Namely, they might occur multiple times – in case of multiple contracts, or they might be completely skipped – if nothing is procured outside the organization.
  • HOW Conduct Procurements Operates.

Project Procurement Management (by Process Groups) — PMBOK® Guide, 6th Edition Update

Plan Procurement Management

Conduct Procurements

Control Procurements

Click here for a detailed analysis of each project management process group and knowledge area.

pmp 2018 conduct procurement pmbok guide 6th edition tipsographic thumb

Conduct Procurements 101

What Does Conduct Procurements Involve and When Do You Perform It in a Project Life Cycle?

  • WHAT Conduct Procurements Is. Conduct Procurements implies sending bid documents to prospective sellers, applying the source selection criteria to the bids, selecting one or more sellers, and, finally, awarding the procurement.
  • WHY Conduct Procurements Is Important. By awarding the contract, you choose the final candidate from the list of sellers that will do the project work.
  • WHEN Conduct Procurements Is Executed. Procurement activities are conducted after the Procurement Plan Management process, as needed.  Namely, they might occur multiple times – in case of multiple contracts, or they might be completely skipped – if nothing is procured outside the organization.
  • HOW Conduct Procurements Operates.
InputsTools and techniquesOutputs
  1. Project management plan
    • Scope management plan
    • Requirements management plan
    • Communications management plan
    • Risk management plan
    • Procurement management plan
    • Configuration management plan
    • Cost baseline
  2. Project documents
    • Lessons learned register
    • Project schedule
    • Requirements documentation
    • Risk register
    • Stakeholder register
  3. Procurement documentation
  4. Seller proposals
  5. Enterprise environmental factors
  6. Organizational process assets
  1. Expert judgment
  2. Advertising
  3. Bidder conferences
  4. Data analysis
    • Proposal evaluation
  5. Interpersonal and team skills
    • Negotiation
  1. Selected sellers
  2. Agreements
  3. Change requests
  4. Project management plan updates
    • Requirements management plan
    • Quality management plan
    • Communications management plan
    • Risk management plan
    • Procurement management plan
    • Scope baseline
    • Schedule baseline
    • Cost baseline
  5. Project documents updates
    • Lessons learned register
    • Requirements documentation
    • Requirements traceability matrix
    • Resource calendars
    • Risk register
    • Stakeholder register
  6. Organizational process assets updates

Source: PMBOK® Guide, 6th ed., Chapter 12, section 12.2, p. 482.

Conduct Procurements Key Terms

What Are the Key Terms to Fully Understand the Process of Conducting Procurement?

  • Bidder Conference. A meeting between buyer and all prospective sellers to ensure that everyone bidding on a procurement request has all the information needed to compete in a fair, unbiased way.
  • Contract Negotiations. Negotiations between buyer and potential sellers, performed with the goal of reaching mutual agreement on contractual terms and conditions. While the project manager is involved in the negotiations, generally the process is lead by the procurement manager.
  • Independent Estimates. A technique that uses an independent third-party to provide advice on what the work should cost, to evaluate whether or not a seller is quoting a fair price.
  • Procurement Negotiations. A technique for negotiating terms of a contract with prospective sellers that results in a contract both buyer and seller commit themselves to.
  • Proposal Evaluation Technique. A technique for analyzing and rating all proposals received as part of a procurement process.
  • Selected Sellers. The group of sellers chosen to provide the goods or services required for the project, either by being pre-qualified or by completing a stage in the procurement process.
  • Seller Proposals. A formal response to a procurement request received from an interested seller. Also known as Price Quote or Bid.

Conduct Procurements Tips

project management professional certification 2018 rapid review free online training tipsographic

What Are the Best Tips to Answer Correctly the PMP Certification Exam Questions on Conduct Procurements Process?

  • Letter Contract. An agreement that lets you start work before the contract is finalized, by identifying the work that will be done and outlining the payment structure for the time that the agreement is in place – usually, 30 days.
  • Privity. The legal term used to indicate a legal relationship – e.g., contract privity.
  • Sole Source Vs. Single Source. In both instances of procurements, you do not need to compete for a bid. In the sole source type of procurement, you have one source only for a given product, from which you are forced to procure from – e.g., a company that owns a patent. In the single source type of procurement, you have multiple qualified sources for a given product, but you contract directly with your preferred seller, waiving the opportunity to hold a competition.
  • US Government Advertising of Bids. By law, all US government agencies, as well as counties, states, and federal governments, are required to publicize most of their procurements.

Click here for a detailed analysis of each project management process group and knowledge area.

SOURCES: Project Management Institute (2017). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide). 6th ed. Newtown Square: Project Management Institute.

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