At the end of a contract, the pricing analyst gathers all of the cost management documentation and evaluates cost management procedures. Documentation related to project cost management includes the cost management plan, budget reports, performance analyses, budget change requests, and progress updates. The contracting officer should prepare a summary document that confirms that all cost control decisions for the project adhere to quality guidelines. Outputs such as revision to the budget and estimates at completion should be used for quality and time management purposes to ensure the overall success of the project. They can also be used as inputs for similar projects in the future. The summary report and other documentation must be included in the contract file.
The lessons learned during cost control efforts should be posted to the Postal Service intranet knowledge site. The lessons-learned document includes:
For example, this document might indicate that changes of project scope caused the greatest variance and that poor project team performance and lack of detail in some planning areas caused cost overruns. In future projects, better expenditure detail in the planning phase and more experienced team members could be leveraged to improve performance. The contracting officer must share lessons learned with the purchase/SCM team and the client and will archive them for future reference. Specific guidance on communicating lessons learned is discussed in detail in Section 5-9, Share Lessons Learned.
The purpose of cost management is to help ensure project objectives are achieved. By documenting the lessons learned and completing project closeout activities, the purchase/SCM team will help ensure achievement of project goals.
