#4 Get the Right Stuff

Requirements and Decisions

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  No different than purchasing equipment, make sure the objectives, requirements and decisions are acquired. 
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  Ensure the right people are engaged. The people defining requirements and approving them may be two different teams. 
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  Ensure requirements and decisions tie to overall project objectives, funding, and timeline 
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  Prioritize requirements: A) must have B) meets objectives C) rounds out delivery
• Determine urgency: 1) must do now 2) can wait
• Requirements and decisions have a priority/urgency rating: e.g. "A1" is a must have/urgent rating.

Equipment and staffing acquisition

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  Get the best money can buy 
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  Don’t assume people and equipment will work into the job 
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  You don’t have time to deal with incompetence or substandard equipment 
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  One very talented person can usually do three times the work a less competent or inexperienced person can. So it’s ok to pay double for that resource! 

Procurement

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  Don’t just throw this job over to the purchasing department 
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  The procurement process takes 2-3 times longer than you’ve planned for and has an enormous number of dependencies 
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  Always triple the planned duration for the procurement process and start it as soon as possible