Glossary / Solicitations, Products
Performance Work StatementPWS
A Performance Work Statement (PWS) is a document that describes required outcomes and measurable performance standards for a contract, leaving the contractor discretion over how the work is performed. PWSs are the preferred form for performance-based acquisition (FAR 37.6), in contrast with SOWs that specify methods. A PWS is paired with a Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) that defines how the government will monitor compliance with performance standards.
Why it matters to your pipeline
Performance-based contracting under PWSs lets contractors innovate on method while being held to outcomes. For contractors, this is double-edged: it rewards technical efficiency but leaves the risk of achieving outcomes. Proposal-management discipline matters, because teams must interpret PWS outcomes and QASP metrics precisely, because those become the basis for CPARS and any dispute over performance.
When this term shows up in an opening GovSmith finds for you, your vCM explains what it means for that pursuit and does whatever it calls for. You decide; we do the work.
Example
A PWS requires '99.5% uptime for the help-desk system.' The contractor proposes an approach using commercial cloud services and achieves 99.8% actual uptime, well above the standard. The QASP documents compliance and CPARS reflects 'Exceptional' for quality.
Find out what applies to you
Some terms will matter to your business right away and some won’t for years. A vCM can tell you which are which.