Monitoring Contract Performance

Abstract

To monitor a contract effectively, each member of the contract administration team must understand the duties associated with his or her position on the team and must understand a number of basic issues that are common to public and private service delivery: customer satisfaction, timeliness, productivity, and performance problems. The team must understand the importance of pre-performance conferences in laying the groundwork for efficient and effective performance and monitoring. Despite the care that has gone into the preparation of the contract documents, most contracts require amendments, and the team must understand when and how to issue them. To monitor a contract effectively, the team must select appropriate measures of output or outcome, choose suitable monitoring methods, carefully document performance, and work cooperatively with the contractor.