Statement of Work (SOW) - Preparation Guide

A statement of work (SOW) provides a narrative description of the work that must be performed by the Contractor, the objectives to be attained, the deliverables, the performance standards and the time frame. It defines in clear, concise and meaningful terms the task to be accomplished or services to be provided under the contract and must be prepared in sufficient details to ensure that ESDC is supplied with the services it requires.

A well written SOW provides potential bidders with all the information they require to determine if they can submit a bid in response to the solicitation, or not. It is also used by the Contractors to accurately cost the included work and put together a quality proposal.

An unclear or incomplete statement of work can result in additional costs related to contract amendments including contract administration. It also exposes Canada to additional risks which may lead to disputes, complaints and/or legal procedures.

The Statement of Work is part of the resulting contract and must be written using a language that is appropriate in creating contractual obligations. It is a document that should be written in clear and unambiguous language and must be explicit as to the requirements of the department and the obligations of the Contractor; addressing the Who, What, When, Where and How of what must be done.

Statement of Works should:

Provide a clear and precise definition of the operational requirement and all deliverable items;
Establish technical requirements;
Be developed based on actual needs, not from existing specifications or proposals;
Identify skills and qualifications required to do the work;
Provide criteria by which deliverables will be accepted;
Establish performance standards;
Establish milestones and/or timeframes and schedules;
Identify any government furnished equipment; and
Provide context and background information on the project, mandate, department, etc.

Create obligations by writing in the active voice using present tense and by describing what the Contractor «must» do;
Refer only to the supplier as the «Contractor», avoid «supplier», «vendor» or «bidders»;
Use a proper numbering system with no bullets;
Use either the numeric or written version of the numbers, not both;
Deal with the same subject only once. This will ensure that there are no overlapping provisions within the SOW itself as well as with any resulting contract clauses including General Conditions (e.g. Contract Security, Privacy, IP rights, Basis of Payment, contact information, etc);
Use plain language (clear, concise, unambiguous and consistent);
Define or spell out all used abbreviations;
Use the same terms throughout the document and align with the terms used in the defined terms of the General Conditions; and
Avoid cross-referencing. If unavoidable, include cross-reference that refers to the title of the section rather than the section number.

DON'T

Use «shall» or «will»;
Use technical/bureaucratic jargon or words that could be misinterpreted;
Include bid submission requirements;
Include bid evaluation criteria and selection methodology;
Refer to the «proposed» equipment or solution. As part of the contract, the equipment/solution is actually being delivered, not proposed; and
Include any budget, costing, pricing or Basis of Payment information.

Key Elements of the SOW

This document provides guidelines for the development of each section of the Statement of Work and is intended to assist the manager in defining their requirement and address most issues related to contracting for services.

1. Title (mandatory section)
The title clearly and briefly identifies the type of services being acquired and the client organization acquiring the services. It may identify the type of work required such as research, study, writing, auditing, consulting, cataloguing, etc. Remember that it has to have some meaning for the potential supplier as it is the first element a Contractor will see.

2. Objectives (mandatory section)
The objectives identify the operational requirement and end-result of the project. The information provided should explain the purpose of the work included in the SOW and what the Department aims to achieve and why. Make sure to identify the intended use/purpose of the completed requirement.

What will be achieved through the services sought?
Why are we undertaking this work and what will be the outcomes?

3. Background (recommended section)
The background generally describes the requirement and provides an understanding of the organization’s objectives and mandate. It is a statement outlining the situation leading to the requirement and explanations on why the project is being undertaken.

The section should outline:

Contextual information regarding the operational requirement, including the organizational mandate and mission, historical background, culture and/or structure as required;
The reasons/needs that led to the contract;
Previous work, other studies, audits that have been done before the SOW was developed and the contract planned; and
Existing or impacting data, systems and components.

4. Scope of Work (mandatory section)
The scope provides an overall description of the work to be performed, its ranges, extent and bounds. It describes the activities the Contractor is required to undertake for the production of the deliverables. This section defines the "what, where, when, how many" and to what standard the work must be performed.

The requirements must be presented in a logical and structured manner using a top down approach – first identifying the broad general requirements and then further breaking these down into subsections with tangible and measurable tasks. Requirements must be structured to allow Contractors to reference via numerical headings and/or titles. Consider using any of the non-mandatory below sections when there is a significant amount of information that could be included within and/or to reduce the amount of information provided in this section.

You may also include a general statement about the level of effort and complexity in terms of what the work involves, leading into the tasks or items to process.

Establish the logical boundaries and context within which the work is to take place. Describe the work environment in general terms.
Include the full range of the work and responsibilities of the Contractor from project start to end (this may include a breakdown of tasks, etc.)
Specify the Department’s policy/operational objectives associated with the work.
Departmental Client Support: indicate what support/guidance, reference and/or documents the department will provide to the Contractor as applicable to assist in the work and deliverables

There are two main ways to articulate the scope in a Statement of Work; “Task-Based” or “Performance-Based”.

Task-Based: Specifies professional service requirements in detail and outlines how the professional service is to be performed.

Performance-Based: Describes the work in terms of the results or expected outcomes that the department wishes to achieve, rather than the “how to get there”. Performance-Based SOWs are particularly useful in the following scenarios:

The department is seeking innovative solutions to a business requirement, where there may be several acceptable solutions.
The private sector is in a better position to determine how the project should unfold.

4.1 Tasks
List all tasks that the Contractor must perform to achieve the stated objectives. Include a detailed description of the work to be done, the methodology, the sequence in which the work must be carried out, the timing of each task and sometimes even the different stages.

5. Constraints (optional section)
Provide details on all the constraints that the Contractor will have to deal with. This may include government policies and standards, related activities, existing or proposed dates set for certain events, security requirements, language requirements, required sensitivity compared to other interest of concern for environmental protection, conservation of resources and any other relevant restrictions, such as the type of equipment required.

6. Meetings (optional section)
Provide details on control procedures that you intend to apply during the execution of the work, including meetings on the progress of the work and acceptance/demonstration meetings. The type, frequency, duration and location of meetings should be included.

7. Travel (optional section)
When the Contractor is expected to travel, provide as much information as possible regarding the travel to be made while performing the work.

8. Client Support (optional section)
Provide details on the support and/or tools you will provide the Contractor with, such as the information (reports, study, etc), specific equipment, software/hardware and facilities. The Contractor must know exactly what will be provided by the government/client. This section also helps potential bidders to determine what to include in their proposal/bid.

9. Resources and Level of Effort (optional section)
Identify the resource categories and levels required under the requirement. The level of effort may be provided by indicating the minimum number of resources required to complete the work, for each of the identified categories and levels.

10. Deliverables, Milestones and Schedule (mandatory section)
Deliverables are typically identified as goods, services or outcomes that the Contractor is required to produce and deliver. A deliverable can also be defined as the end result of a task/group of tasks. The type, magnitude and complexity of the work will determine the degree of detail required.

You need to identify the specific stages of the work, their sequence, their relationship to each other in particular and to the overall work in general. The following should be included when defining the deliverables:

Name or title;
Description;
Volume/quantity using variable measures (number of copies, days, words, units, etc.);
Format or software to be used;
Language(s);
Location;
Schedule, timeline for completion, submission or milestone(s); and
Approval and acceptance criteria.

When possible, some flexibility should be considered when setting up delivery dates/milestones. Remember that late delivery could be consider a default by the contractor in accordance with the contract

11. Work Location (optional section)
If applicable, specify the location(s) where the work is to be performed. There may be more than one location or delivery addresses. Also include opening or operation hours.

^* 12. Contract Period (mandatory section)
The clients must provide this information in order to help procurement officers define the requirement. The Contracting Authority must remove this section before going into solicitation or negotiations.