A review provides an honest appraisal of the procurement, the delivery of the contract and the outcomes achieved.
Reviews tell us:
Deciding what to review and when should be part of your procurement plan.
You may want to review:
The type and depth of the review will depend on the nature, scope, value, level of risk and complexity of the procurement and the services.
Consider reviewing the sourcing process once the contract has been awarded, to learn from the process and see whether it could be improved next time. The effort you put in should reflect the size and complexity of the sourcing process.
Consider:
Report back to your sponsor and management team about what was effective and what you would change in future.
For longer-term contracts, it can help to review progress during implementation. These reviews can inform the rest of the project and help with continuous improvement.
Consider:
A post implementation review (PIR) is a formal review of a procurement. It is used to answer the question: ‘did we achieve what we set out to do, and if not, what should be done?’
PIRs are usually carried out for procurements that are for:
A PIR can be a single review or several reviews.
The timing of the first PIR will depend on when you expect to see benefits from the initiative - the initial PIR would usually be carried out 6-18 months after the contract ends. You need to leave enough time for benefits to occur, but complete it early enough to identify any problems and take action if those benefits aren't happening.
Consider:
The PIR is mainly concerned with maximising the effectiveness of the public policy/business change. Results are usually reported to the leadership teams in the areas most able to influence changes to the day-to-day operation of the initiative.
Towards the end of the contract, do a thorough review to inform planning for the next contract or a decision on whether to continue with the services.
Consider:
Use the data gathered from monitoring, evaluation and feedback from users.
The main sources of documented information will include:
Reviews must be done in an open manner, with everyone open to learning and taking constructive criticism.
The nature and timing of the review will help decide who should be involved. Usually the senior business owner or sponsor of the initiative is responsible for the review.
The review should involve team members:
The views of stakeholders and end users form the basis for information gathered at interviews and workshops.
For the review to add real value its recommendations need to be implemented. This might mean changing policy, business systems or processes.