Guy Callender

GOVERNMENT PURCHASING: AN EVOLVING PROFESSION?

As government organizations step hopefully into a new century, among the challenges they face will be the demands of the “New Purchasing” and persistent pressure to redefine the role of the purchasing practitioner in government. Reengineering of purchasing activities was a constant feature of the 1990s in many government jurisdictions. Those who manage the function usually influence a large share of organizational expenditure and must also cope with the demands of e-commerce, devolution of responsibility, partnering and strategic alliances, and the implications of globalization within the context of an accountable public sector. Applying some theoretical, functionalist models of a profession, this paper seeks to establish professional credentials for purchasing practitioners.

THE ECONOMIC CONTEXT OF GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT: NEW CHALLENGES AND NEW OPPORTUNITIES

Using some experiences in the USA, the United Kingdom and Australia, this paper illustrates the nature of some contractual challenges that can be expected to transform the sophistication of the procurement role in government to ensure the demands of public accountability continue to be met.

Alignment of inter‐agency supply chains to enhance public sector performance management

Purpose – This paper seeks to explore sources of political and administrative challenges which arise from an absence of alignment of supply chains linking the activities of public agencies.Design/methodology/approach – The performance measurement challenges created by an apparent absence of alignment within public sector supply chains are explored from a conceptual perspective, through the supply chain and public sector performance management literature. A case study is provided to highlight the practical and organizational challenges facing politicians, policy makers and public sector managers when they seek to demonstrate to their stakeholders, including the general community, the performance efficiency of their agencies.Findings – There is an absence of research and debate concerning the alignment of inter‐agency supply chains and the potential this creates for delivery performance failure that disadvantages stakeholders.Research limitations/implications – While this is a conceptual paper, the existenc...

Use case estimation - the devil is in the detail

Mission critical and complex software projects habitually exceed budget expectations significantly. Dependable cost estimates are often required by customers long before detailed analysis and design activities would produce this information during a project. A number of estimation methodologies have evolved to produce reliable cost information at an early stage in the software life-cycle, however estimation continues to be a contributor to budget blowouts. Contemporary techniques for costing requirements described as use cases are increasingly challenged as the size and complexity of the system expands. In addition, use case representations of requirements fail to directly map into structures used by project managers, leading to ongoing comparisons of individual costs that are subjective and often unrepresentative of final project expenditure. A large and complex system development project is described to demonstrate some of these problems and a potential solution is proposed to improve use case estimation.

Agile Procurement and Dynamic Value for Money to Facilitate Agile Software Projects

In situations where software systems are developed under formal contractual arrangements it is common for the buyer and supplier to dispute whether value for money is being delivered, even though it is unlikely that either party will be capable of measuring this outcome. This problem is exacerbated by a basic incompatibility between the buyers linear or sequential procurement process and the suppliers agile software development methodology. At the commencement of a software development contract it is probable that a supplier will have accepted terms and conditions relating to scope and price that are philosophically in opposition to agile principles, particularly in respect of an iterative elaboration of requirements. A range of suboptimal project outcomes, including budget and schedule blowouts, typically result in these situations. This paper proposes an agile procurement process that can operate in conjunction with an agile software development methodology to improve many aspects of software project delivery. This process is supported by a mechanism designed to give the buyer and supplier the ability to define and agree the value for money proposition at various milestones within the project y namic value for money

Agile procurement: new acquisition approach to agile software development

Contemporary software is increasingly developed using an agile development approach, yet the supplier is generally selected as a result of a waterfall-style competitive tendering and contracting process. The procurement activity may be incompatible with an agile elaboration of requirements and development of functionality, and lead to sub-optimal outcomes. This paper examines the interaction of the procurement and software development lifecycles, explores potential causes of project or system failures and suggests some improvements based on a successful 10 year project between ADI Limited and the Australian Department of Defence.