Contracts & Legal

Statement of Work Checklist

The Statement of Work (SOW) is a document that enables offerors to clearly understand the government’s needs for the work to be done in developing or producing the goods or services to be delivered by a contractor.  It defines (either directly or by reference to other documents) all work (non-specification) performance requirements for a contractor. It also facilitates the preparation of a proposal and aids the Government in the conduct of the source selection and contract administration after award.

Handbook: MIL-HDBK-245D DoD “Handbook for Preparation of Statement of Work”

Checklist for a Statement of Work (SOW)

  1.  Is the SOW consistent with all sections of the Request for Proposal (RFP)?
  2.  Is the SOW organized under the following major headings?
    1. SCOPE
    2. APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS
    3. REQUIREMENTS
  3. Is the “SCOPE” section free of everything that could be interpreted as:
    • Directions to the contractor to perform work tasks,
    • Specification of data requirements, and
    • Description of deliverable products?
  4. Do documents listed in Section 2 have the specific version listed, along with other publication facts such as document numbers and dates where applicable?
  5. Are all of the documents listed in section 2 actually cited?
  6. When documents are cited, are only the specific sections necessary to do the work cited?
  7. Is the document clear and complete enough for the contractor to estimate the probable cost and identify all resources needed to do the work?
  8. Is there no question as to whether the contractor has been told what specific tasks to perform?
  9. Are the binding requirements clearly distinguishable from the background information?
  10. Is the SOW free of “how to” requirements?
  11. Is the SOW free of statements that order or describe data items?
  12. Is the SOW free of references to Data Item Descriptions (DID)?
  13. Is the SOW free of proposal requirements and evaluation factors?
  14. Is the SOW free of business management matters that belong in the other contract sections, like requirements for time of performance?
  15. Is the SOW free of specifications and amendments to specifications for equipment, parts, materials or other goods?
  16. Is the SOW free of references to Government in-house management instructions?
  17. Is the SOW free of requirements that cite Government specifications or standards?
  18. Is the SOW free of requirements that cite handbooks, service regulations, technical orders, or any other Government document not specifically written according to DoD standards?
  19. Does the title page contain the title, preparation date, procurement request number or contract number, revision number, date, and identity of the preparing organization?
  20. If the document exceeds five pages, does it have a table of contents? If so, is the table correct?
  21. Does the SOW require the delivery of a product or result other than just periodic progress reports?
  22. Does each paragraph cover only one requirement?
  23. Does each paragraph and subparagraph have a title?
  24. Is the SOW free of pronouns with ambiguous antecedents?
  25. Is the terminology consistent throughout the entire package?
  26. Have you double-checked all of the “shall’s” and “will’s”? Are you sure there are no “any’s” and “or’s” that could be interpreted differently from what you might like?

AcqLinks and References:

Updated: 7/3/2021

Rank: G2

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