NCMA CPCM : Certified Professional Contracts Manager

Poor communication and living in the past are examples of resisting forces to __________.

• A. character
• B. vision
• C. collaboration
• D. competence

Scenario 4.0:
The buyer intended to change the pricing structure for a contract for garbage collection services at one of its facilities. Previously, the contract included contract line items priced on a "per-ton" basis, along with overhead line items covering the contractor's variable costs. The buyer intended to issue a solicitation that eliminated the overhead line items, thus requiring all costs to be included in a "price-per-ton" pricing method.
Prior to issuing a solicitation, the buyer conducted market research to determine whether it was customary industry practice to price garbage collection services based on the weight of the garbage collected. This market research included three parts:
* Reviewing refuse contracts at three other locations;
* Posting a notice to potential sellers asking for feedback on the proposed structure, to which the buyer received seven responses-four of which suggested a monthly line-item structure, which would include variable costs and not be on a "per-ton" basis, since these four respondents indicated that a "per-ton" pricing structure was not a "customary commercial practice," and three had no comment about the line-item structure; and
* Obtaining "historical market research" that had been performed during the previous year by personnel at another buyer location, consisting of talking to a sales representative from a waste removal company who indicated that his company used a "per-ton" pricing structure that was a "practical method of pricing for trash removal services." Following this market research, the buyer determined that it was "in the buyer's best interest" to utilize the
"per-ton" approach and that it was a "customary commercial practice."
A solicitation was issued requiring offerors to submit fixed prices on a per-ton basis for several line items, for which the solicitation provided estimated quantities. The buyer removed the line items for overhead costs that had been present in the prior contract for waste removal. Instead, the new solicitation required offerors to submit prices that reflected "all fixed and variable costs" on a per-ton basis and only permitted the seller "to invoice on tonnage collected." The resulting statement of work indicated that the seller was required to provide all items necessary to perform the required services, including personnel, equipment, supplies, facilities, materials, and supervision.
Question:
In this scenario, what type of contract was issued originally by the buyer?

• A. Cost reimbursement, indefinite delivery
• B. Fixed price, indefinite delivery
• C. Cost-plus-fixed-fee
• D. Fixed price, requirements

The most effective contract managers understand the processes that make up each life cycle phase from
__________ perspective(s).

• A. the organization's
• B. the stakeholder's
• C. the regulatory
• D. both the buyer's and seller's

To reach a consensus, the evaluation team should evaluate proposals __________.

• A. individually and then average their ratings
• B. as a team and select the highest-rated proposal
• C. individually and then discuss their individual ratings as a team
• D. as a team and then discuss each proposal's strengths and weaknesses

Scenario 5.0: 1
Offeror C contested the exclusion of its proposal from the competitive range under a request for proposals (RFP) issued by the buyer for "aircraft logistics, integration, configuration management, and engineering" (ALICE) services. The seller would provide personnel to work at a buyer's location, and the buyer would direct all work and "establish work hours consistent with meeting the mission at each contract location." The RFP provided an estimated level of effort, and offerors completed a pricing model spreadsheet.
Proposals were to be evaluated on mission suitability, past performance, and cost/price. The mission suitability and past performance factors were approximately equal in importance, and each was more important than cost/price. The purpose of the mission suitability factor was to determine the offeror's ability to provide the required personnel at the required work hours to fulfill the contract need. It included several subfactors: management approach, overall management approach, staffing approach, and contract phase-in approach.
Offeror C argued that the buyer unfairly assessed a management approach weakness for failing to show a plan for complying with required work schedules and break times, failing to consider that the buyer establishes work hours consistent with mission needs, and failing to consider the buyer's intention to have night shift work on Sundays. Offeror C's proposal had discussed its approach to managing scheduling and breaks and stated that it would comply with collective bargaining agreement requirements. The buyer nevertheless judged the approach inadequate because it did not explain how Offeror C would enforce worker compliance, comparing the plan to a highway speed-limit sign that does not ensure motorists will not speed. GAO found that the RFP required offerors to explain their approaches to ensuring flexible scheduling and required breaks, but did not reasonably disclose that offerors also had to propose an enforcement mechanism.
Question:
In this scenario, how could the buyer have made its evaluation process more defensible to avoid a protest?

• A. Documenting reasons beyond point values for determining the competitive range.
• B. Notifying Offeror C during the evaluation process that its proposed schedule process was insufficient.
• C. Giving equal weight to all three evaluation factors.
• D. Requiring each member of the evaluation team to perform their initial evaluations of the proposals collaboratively.