3.2: Plan of Attack (with Templates)

3.2 Plan of Attack

Designing and Documenting the Procurement and Solicitation Plan

Milestone 2 represents a clear shift in mindset and responsibility.

In Milestone 1, you acted as strategic advisors—analyzing whether outsourcing made sense, what should be outsourced, and what risks and tradeoffs were involved.

In Milestone 2, you now act as procurement and project leaders, responsible for designing the mechanisms that will turn that strategy into an executable, governed, and defensible reality.

Your task is to produce a Procurement and Solicitation Plan (pdf)—a formal document that explains how the organization will engage vendors, evaluate proposals, negotiate contracts, manage delivery, and close the work.

This is not a conceptual paper.
This is an operational playbook.

What You Are Building

By the end of this milestone, you will have created a document that could realistically be used to:

• Authorize procurement activity

• Guide procurement officers through vendor engagement

• Enable legal teams to structure enforceable contracts

• Allow project managers to manage outsourced delivery

• Provide leadership with confidence that outsourcing is being executed responsibly

This document must stand on its own. Someone reading it should not need to reference your Milestone 1 submission to understand:

• Why outsourcing is happening

• What is being outsourced

• How vendors will be selected

• How risks will be controlled

• How success will be measured

How to Execute This Milestone

You will build the Procurement and Solicitation Plan in five core sections, supported by templates, tools, and PMBOK-aligned processes. Each section has a specific purpose and audience.

Step 1: Write the Introduction

The Introduction sets context and establishes authority.

In this section, you must clearly document four elements:

Purpose

Explain why this Procurement and Solicitation Plan exists.
Typical purposes include:

• Translating outsourcing strategy into executable procurement actions

• Defining a standardized, repeatable sourcing process

• Ensuring fairness, transparency, and accountability in vendor selection

• Linking procurement decisions to delivery outcomes

This should be written in clear, professional language suitable for leadership review.

Scope

Define what the document covers and what it does not cover.

For example:

• Covers: vendor selection, contracting, execution oversight, and closeout

• Does not cover: internal system design, detailed technical architecture, or post-project operations beyond closure

Scope boundaries prevent misinterpretation and scope creep at the document level.

Intended Audience

Identify who this document is written for, such as:

• Procurement and sourcing teams

• Project and program managers

• Legal and contract management teams

• Senior leadership approving procurement actions

This signals that the document is formal and cross-functional.

Inputs Considered

Explicitly state that this plan is based on:

• The approved outsourcing strategy from Milestone 1

• The make-or-buy analysis and risk posture

• Prior discussions with organizational leadership

This establishes continuity and traceability.

Step 2: Define the Procurement Strategy

This section is the strategic anchor of the entire plan.

Here, you will restate—briefly but clearly—why outsourcing is being pursued, but through a procurement lens rather than a strategic analysis lens.

You should address:

• The business objectives driving outsourcing

• The specific outcomes expected from external vendors

• How procurement supports delivery quality, speed, and risk management

• How success will be measured (not just cost, but performance and reliability)

This section should connect:

• Outsourcing rationale

• Service delivery expectations

• Governance and accountability

Think of this as the justification a procurement officer would use when asked,
“Why are we sourcing this externally?”

Step 3: Identify Project Scope for Outsourcing

This section translates strategy into actionable scope. (from the project plan)

You must clearly document:

• Which components, phases, or milestones are being outsourced

• Why those components were selected

• Where vendor responsibility begins and ends

• What remains internal and how handoffs occur

You should also describe the process approach:

• Phased outsourcing vs. single engagement

• Competitive sourcing vs. negotiated sourcing

• Pilot or transition phase before full engagement

This section removes ambiguity and sets the stage for the SOW and RFP.

Step 4: Document the Procurement and Solicitation Process

This is the largest and most detailed section of the plan.

You must enumerate each step of the procurement and solicitation process and, for each step, document:

• Purpose of the step

• Where it fits in the SDLC

• Expected outputs or artifacts

• Roles and parties involved

• Risks if the step is performed inadequately

At a minimum, include the following subprocesses:

Establish Requirements

Explain how requirement artifacts (URD, HLDD, SRS) are used by vendors:

• How vendors are expected to review and validate requirements

• How questions or gaps are addressed

• Risks of unclear or incomplete requirements

You are not recreating the documents—you are defining their use.

Statement of Work (SOW)

Explain:

• How the SOW is derived from scope and requirements

• How it is used during solicitation and contracting

• How it governs delivery, milestones, and quality

Then, using the provided template, document the SOW itself.

Create and Send RFP

Document:

• How vendors are identified and prequalified

• How the RFP is structured

• How communication with vendors is controlled

• How fairness and transparency are maintained

Use the RFP template as guidance, but adapt it to your plan.

RFP Response and Vendor Selection

Define:

• Vendor evaluation criteria

• Weighting or rating system

• Selection participants and roles

• Whether selection is collaborative and how consensus is reached

Include or reference a vendor evaluation template.

Negotiate and Sign Contract

Document:

• Contract type and structure

• Negotiation steps

• Parties involved (procurement, legal, PM, vendor)

• Approval and signing process

This should reflect the contract model chosen in Milestone 1. Document the contract (Template) for negotiation.

Manage the Outsourced Work

This section must rely heavily on PMBOK Execution processes.

For each pillar—Quality, Budget, Schedule, Scope and Team—document:

• Monitoring processes

• Responsible roles

• Reporting frequency

• Templates or reports used

This shows that outsourcing is actively managed, not passively monitored.

Using the template document how you would manage the outsourced work.

Manage, Evaluate, and Monitor the Contract

Explain how:

• Risks are tracked and escalated

• Performance issues are addressed

• Corrective actions are taken

• Governance is enforced

Document using this template

Close the Project

Using PMBOK Closing processes, document:

• Acceptance criteria

• Final deliverables review

• Budget reconciliation

• Lessons learned

• Formal closure steps

Include a checklist aligned with the five pillars.

Step 5: Refine Roles, Timeline, and Outputs

Before finalizing the plan:

• Identify core drivers and participants at each step

• Estimate duration (weeks or days) for each phase

• List all expected outputs produced by the process

This step ensures the plan is realistic and executable.

Step 6: Procurement Plan Sign-Off

End the document with a formal sign-off section that includes:

• Statement requiring management approval

• Named approving roles

• Signature and date fields

This reinforces governance and accountability.

How to Think While Writing

Write this plan as if:

• It will be audited

• It will be used by someone who wasn’t in your class

• A vendor might eventually infer its contents

• Leadership will rely on it to authorize spending

Precision, clarity, and structure matter.

Final Guidance

Milestone 2 is where outsourcing becomes operational reality.

If Milestone 1 answered “Should we outsource?”,
Milestone 2 answers “Can we execute this well?”

A strong Procurement and Solicitation Plan prevents:

• Vendor confusion

• Internal misalignment

• Legal exposure

• Delivery failure

And that makes it one of the most important documents in the entire outsourcing lifecycle.