Chapter 30 - High Risk IT Solicitations and Contracts

30.4.3 Milestone and Corrective Action Planning

For large scale IT procurements, a granular milestone plan, including scheduled deliverables, may help ensure timely delivery of all services the Supplier is contractually obligated to provide. If each milestone is tied to formal acceptance and payment, this incentivizes the Supplier to complete milestones on a timely basis and at the expected level of service. VITA Contract Risk Management recommends that each milestone payment include at least a 20% payment withhold, to be paid once all milestones have been completed and accepted by your agency, reflected on the final invoice to the Supplier.

One method of holding the Supplier materially accountable to performing its contractual obligations is to require that the Supplier submit a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) for any missed deliverables, milestones, or contractual obligations. Requiring the Supplier to submit, in writing, a detailed plan to correct the deficiencies that caused a variance in performance from what is specified in the contract, will incentivize the Supplier to ensure that all deliverables and/or milestones are met according to initial expectations.