Performance Based Acquisition
“Contract for the outcome you want” — easy to say, but harder to do well. Performance-based acquisition is the preferred method for buying services, and for good reason: done well, it gives the contractor room to innovate while holding them to measurable results. Done poorly, it collapses into a level-of-effort contract wearing performance-based clothing — outcomes no one can measure, surveillance that doesn't surveil, and incentives that reward nothing.
This course teaches you how to structure a performance-based acquisition correctly — and, just as important, why each piece works the way it does, so you can adapt when a real acquisition doesn't match the template.
This course offers more than a by-the-book view of performance-based acquisition. It goes deeper — into the why behind the how — so students leave with the kind of understanding that lets them think critically, apply sharper judgment, and confidently lead a performance-based acquisition from beginning to end. We cover best practices and lessons learned, with an emphasis on real business cases everyone can learn from.
Phoenix Canyon offers this course in three lengths — choose the program that fits your schedule and learning goals:
Performance-Based Acquisition — One-Day Essentials
Make the call.
The decision-and-awareness version, in a single focused day. We cover when performance-based acquisition is the right approach and when it isn't, what genuinely measurable outcomes look like, when to use a Statement of Objectives (SOO) versus a Performance Work Statement (PWS), and how to recognize an effective Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) — plus the early warning signs that a requirement is in trouble and what to do when you see them. A strong orientation for teams new to performance-based work, and a useful reset for those who've seen it done poorly. The right choice when you need the essentials with less time away from the desk. 8 CLPs.
Performance-Based Acquisition — Three-Day Strategic Concentration
Build it right.
The hands-on construction course. Three days to work through the government's seven-step performance-based services process and actually build a sound acquisition: deciding when performance-based is the right call, structuring outcomes a contractor can price and deliver, setting performance standards and acceptable quality levels that genuinely measure performance, and writing the documents that carry it — the SOO, the PWS, and the QASP — so they connect to one another and to the outcomes you're buying. You leave able to structure a correct performance-based acquisition for a standard services requirement, not just recognize the pieces. 24 CLPs.
Performance-Based Acquisition — Five-Day Masterclass
Lead the hard ones.
Here you learn to run a performance-based acquisition when the template doesn't fit and when performance goes wrong. The five-day builds everything the three-day does, then goes where the real difficulty lives: structuring incentives and knowing which mechanism fits which situation (incentive-fee, award-fee, award-term, and when none of them belong), handling complex requirements, and building surveillance that holds up when a contractor pushes back. You'll spend real time on the post-award reality the shorter courses only point at — monitoring performance, catching slippage early, and what to do when a contractor falls short. With extended case studies drawn from real acquisitions, you leave able to lead a difficult performance-based acquisition through its entire life, including the parts that go sideways. 40 CLPs.
This course is taught by Melinda Milheim, JD, who served as a Contract Specialist and COR for the U.S. Navy and the Department of Health and Human Services / Indian Health Service, where she worked on more than $7.7 billion in mostly services contracts — spanning RDT&E, IT, medical, major weapon-systems, and engineering programs. She draws on that experience, along with her law degree and MBA studies, to teach acquisition in an engaging and innovative way, breaking down complicated principles into easy-to-understand pieces — so participants leave with sharper judgment, not just a stack of slides. An award-winning DAU/WarU (DAWIA and FAI) instructor, she has taught more than 1,000 federal acquisition workforce students across 20-plus agencies.
Best for: acquisition team responsible for performance-based service contracts — contracting officers, contract specialists, contracting officer's representatives, quality assurance personnel, program and project managers, and requiring-activity staff. Federal contractors can get great benefit from this course as well.
Format: Available as a one-day (8 CLPs/0.8 CEU), three-day (24 CLPs/2.4 CEU), or five-day (40 CLPs/4.0 CEU) course, delivered in person or virtually. Phoenix Canyon issues every attendee a certificate of completion documenting the number of training hours as well as CEUs and CLPs earned, which eligible attendees may apply toward Continuous Learning or Professional Development requirements at their organization’s discretion. Phoenix Canyon is a DAU/WarU equivalent course provider.
You might also consider
Writing an Effective Performance Work Statement (PWS) — One-Day Essentials— a focused deep-dive into the document that makes or breaks a performance-based acquisition.
How to Be Protest-Proof: a Bid Protest Prevention Course — One-Day Essentials— because a well-structured acquisition is a defensible one; how to build the kind of record that holds up if an award is challenged.
Source Selection: The Complete Process Under the RFO FAR (4-Day Package) — how the government chooses among offerors and makes the best-value decision your performance-based structure feeds into.
Pricing is set per engagement. Contact Phoenix Canyon to request a quote.
“Contract for the outcome you want” — easy to say, but harder to do well. Performance-based acquisition is the preferred method for buying services, and for good reason: done well, it gives the contractor room to innovate while holding them to measurable results. Done poorly, it collapses into a level-of-effort contract wearing performance-based clothing — outcomes no one can measure, surveillance that doesn't surveil, and incentives that reward nothing.
This course teaches you how to structure a performance-based acquisition correctly — and, just as important, why each piece works the way it does, so you can adapt when a real acquisition doesn't match the template.
This course offers more than a by-the-book view of performance-based acquisition. It goes deeper — into the why behind the how — so students leave with the kind of understanding that lets them think critically, apply sharper judgment, and confidently lead a performance-based acquisition from beginning to end. We cover best practices and lessons learned, with an emphasis on real business cases everyone can learn from.
Phoenix Canyon offers this course in three lengths — choose the program that fits your schedule and learning goals:
Performance-Based Acquisition — One-Day Essentials
Make the call.
The decision-and-awareness version, in a single focused day. We cover when performance-based acquisition is the right approach and when it isn't, what genuinely measurable outcomes look like, when to use a Statement of Objectives (SOO) versus a Performance Work Statement (PWS), and how to recognize an effective Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) — plus the early warning signs that a requirement is in trouble and what to do when you see them. A strong orientation for teams new to performance-based work, and a useful reset for those who've seen it done poorly. The right choice when you need the essentials with less time away from the desk. 8 CLPs.
Performance-Based Acquisition — Three-Day Strategic Concentration
Build it right.
The hands-on construction course. Three days to work through the government's seven-step performance-based services process and actually build a sound acquisition: deciding when performance-based is the right call, structuring outcomes a contractor can price and deliver, setting performance standards and acceptable quality levels that genuinely measure performance, and writing the documents that carry it — the SOO, the PWS, and the QASP — so they connect to one another and to the outcomes you're buying. You leave able to structure a correct performance-based acquisition for a standard services requirement, not just recognize the pieces. 24 CLPs.
Performance-Based Acquisition — Five-Day Masterclass
Lead the hard ones.
Here you learn to run a performance-based acquisition when the template doesn't fit and when performance goes wrong. The five-day builds everything the three-day does, then goes where the real difficulty lives: structuring incentives and knowing which mechanism fits which situation (incentive-fee, award-fee, award-term, and when none of them belong), handling complex requirements, and building surveillance that holds up when a contractor pushes back. You'll spend real time on the post-award reality the shorter courses only point at — monitoring performance, catching slippage early, and what to do when a contractor falls short. With extended case studies drawn from real acquisitions, you leave able to lead a difficult performance-based acquisition through its entire life, including the parts that go sideways. 40 CLPs.
This course is taught by Melinda Milheim, JD, who served as a Contract Specialist and COR for the U.S. Navy and the Department of Health and Human Services / Indian Health Service, where she worked on more than $7.7 billion in mostly services contracts — spanning RDT&E, IT, medical, major weapon-systems, and engineering programs. She draws on that experience, along with her law degree and MBA studies, to teach acquisition in an engaging and innovative way, breaking down complicated principles into easy-to-understand pieces — so participants leave with sharper judgment, not just a stack of slides. An award-winning DAU/WarU (DAWIA and FAI) instructor, she has taught more than 1,000 federal acquisition workforce students across 20-plus agencies.
Best for: acquisition team responsible for performance-based service contracts — contracting officers, contract specialists, contracting officer's representatives, quality assurance personnel, program and project managers, and requiring-activity staff. Federal contractors can get great benefit from this course as well.
Format: Available as a one-day (8 CLPs/0.8 CEU), three-day (24 CLPs/2.4 CEU), or five-day (40 CLPs/4.0 CEU) course, delivered in person or virtually. Phoenix Canyon issues every attendee a certificate of completion documenting the number of training hours as well as CEUs and CLPs earned, which eligible attendees may apply toward Continuous Learning or Professional Development requirements at their organization’s discretion. Phoenix Canyon is a DAU/WarU equivalent course provider.
You might also consider
Writing an Effective Performance Work Statement (PWS) — One-Day Essentials— a focused deep-dive into the document that makes or breaks a performance-based acquisition.
How to Be Protest-Proof: a Bid Protest Prevention Course — One-Day Essentials— because a well-structured acquisition is a defensible one; how to build the kind of record that holds up if an award is challenged.
Source Selection: The Complete Process Under the RFO FAR (4-Day Package) — how the government chooses among offerors and makes the best-value decision your performance-based structure feeds into.
Pricing is set per engagement. Contact Phoenix Canyon to request a quote.