Project Procurement Terms and Definitions

Project Procurement Terms and Definitions used regularly in construction projects and defined in PMI PMBOK

• Buyer: The acquirer of products, services, or results for an organization.

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• Contract: A contract is a mutually binding agreement that obligates the seller to provide the specified product or service or result and obligates the buyer to pay for it.

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• Contract Administration: The process of managing the contract and the relationship between the buyer and seller, reviewing and documenting how a seller is performing or has performed to establish required corrective actions and provide a basis for future relationships with the seller, managing contract related changes and, when appropriate, managing the contractual relationship with the outside buyer of the project.

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• Contract Closure: The process of completing and settling the contract, including resolution of any open items and closing each contract.

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• Contract Management Plan: The document that describes how a specific contract will be administered and can include items such as required documentation delivery and performance requirements.

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• Contract Statement of Work (SOW): A narrative description of products, services, or results to be supplied under contract.

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• Contract Work Breakdown Structure (CWBS): A portion of the work breakdown structure for the project developed and maintained by a seller contracting to provide a subproject or project component.

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• Procurement Documents: Those documents utilized in bid and proposal activities, which include buyer.s Invitation for Bid, Invitation for Negotiations, Request for Information, Request for Quotation, Request for Proposal and seller.s responses.

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• Procurement Management Plan: The document that describes how procurement processes from developing procurement documentation through contract closure will be managed.

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• Request for Information: A type of procurement document whereby the buyer requests a potential seller to provide various pieces of information related to a product or service or seller capability.

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• Request for Proposal (RFP): A type of procurement document used to request proposals from prospective sellers of products or services. In some application areas, it may have a narrower or more specific meaning.

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• Request for Quotation (RFQ): A type of procurement document used to request price quotations from prospective sellers of common or standard products or services.

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• Request Seller Responses: The process of obtaining information, quotations, bids, Glossary offers, or proposals, as appropriate.

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• Seller: A provider or supplier of products, services, or results to an organization.

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• Select Sellers: The process of reviewing offers, choosing from among potential sellers, and negotiating a written contract with a seller.

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• Standard: A document established by consensus and approved by a recognized body that provides, for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines or characteristics for activities or their results, aimed at the achievement of the optimum degree of order in a given context.

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• Statement of Work (SOW): A narrative description of products, services, or results to be supplied.

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• War Room: A room used for project conferences and planning, often displaying charts of cost, schedule status, and other key project data.