18F/18f.gsa.gov

---
title: "Ask 18F — What’s the difference between a Contracting Officer’s
Representative and a Product Owner on agile software development
projects?"
date: 2020-03-10
authors:
- miatta-myers
- rebecca-refoy-sidibe
- uchenna-moka-solana
tags:
- acquisition services
- best practices
excerpt: "Ask 18F is an advice column that answers questions sent in by
federal employees. In this edition, we’ll talk about the difference
between a Contracting Officer’s Representative and a Product Owner on
agile software development projects"
---

_Ask 18F is an advice column that answers questions sent in by federal
employees. Our technical experts aim to provide you helpful resources
and a good starting point to tackle your problem. Got a question? No
matter how small the task or how big the project, email us at [18f@gsa.gov](mailto:18f@gsa.gov)._

## Dear 18F: What’s the difference between a Contracting Officer’s Representative and a Product Owner on agile software development projects?

### Miatta Myers and Rebecca Refoy-Sidibe - Acquisitions

### Uchenna Moka-Solana - Product

18F has helped agencies procure many contracts for software development
services with modern and innovative acquisition techniques. Our partners
often ask about the difference between the agile role of a product owner
(PO) and the government role of a contracting officer’s representative
(COR). Are they one in the same? Should they be the same person? What is
a product owner? This post will help demystify the two roles and
demonstrate the importance of both roles in modern software development
in the federal space.

## What is a COR?

In a traditional federal acquisition, the contracting officer’s
representative
[(COR)](https://www.acquisition.gov/content/part-2-definitions-words-and-terms#i1125357)[^1]
monitors the contractor’s performance, schedule, and spend rate. The COR
works with the contractor to provide guidance and direction but can not
modify the terms and conditions of the contract.

A person becomes a COR when a contracting officer (CO) “delegates” COR
authority in writing. This is a formal process that is required by
federal statute. Only government employees can be CORs, and they must
receive a federal certification (i.e. FAC-COR or DAWIA) before being
designated as a COR on contracts. Any contract can have a COR, but CORs
are usually delegated for service contracts or contracts that exceed the
simplified acquisition threshold. A COR is required for all contracts
that are not firm-fixed price[^2].

COR duties are typically assigned to people in addition to their
full-time positions due to time and budget constraints. It is not
uncommon for a person to be a COR on more than one contract. For larger
contracts or contracts that have task orders, there may be more than one
COR. When this occurs, there is a main COR and alternate CORs or one COR
per task order . In general, COR duties are seen as auxiliary
responsibilities to a government employee’s primary job.

**Key COR duties include:**

- **Reviews and/or Approves Invoices**: The COR may be one approver of many or the sole approver of vendor invoices. This depends on agency policy. The COR verifies the accuracy of the vendor’s invoice.
- **Inspects Contract Deliverables:** The COR verifies that all deliverables are in accordance with the quality assurance surveillance plan (QASP) and the terms and conditions of the contract.
- **Serves as Technical Point of Contact for Vendor:** The COR is the first-line point of contact between the vendor and the agency.

## What is a PO?

A [product owner](https://agile.18f.gov/agile-lexicon/) is a key
leadership role in agile software development that advocates for the
business stakeholders and users to the software development team. The
product owner must be empowered to make decisions in response to
feedback from stakeholders and users to achieve the product vision. The
product owner not only sets this vision, but explains how the product
will meet users’ needs, align with the agency’s strategy, and fulfill
the agency’s mission. The product vision is the guiding force that the
product owner uses to establish priorities and direct the team’s work;
the “north star” that drives the project. This vision needs to be
constantly communicated to the team, the stakeholders, and anyone else
involved in the project.

**Key PO duties include:**

- **Own, Define and Communicate the Vision:** Product owners should be impassioned about the vision for the product and have the ability to iterate on the vision based on feedback from stakeholders, team and customers.
- **Own the Product Roadmap:** Product owners develop plans that fuse business objectives with product strategy in order to identify technology solutions that meet both short and long-term goals.
- **Develop Product Strategy:** A successful product strategy breaks down the vision for a product over time and defines the market, offering, value proposition, distribution, and more.
- **Make Decisions:** The product owner makes decisions based on feedback from users, business objectives and priority of features. Not only does the PO make decisions, but they communicate to the team how these decisions were made.
- **Communicate with Stakeholders, Development Teams, and the Scrum Master:** The product owner relays status, educates stakeholders, organizes reviews, and performs solution demos.

## How are they different?

Traditionally, a COR serves as the eyes and ears of the contracting
officer and monitors the performance of the contractor team. In agile
software contracts, the duties of the COR increase or decrease depending
on the presence of a product owner[^3].

A COR may also be the product owner or it may be a different person.
Either way, both roles are essential to a successful vendor development
team in the federal government. CORs may have other functional roles on
the team, for example, product manager or developer, which give them
more insight into the quality of work performed. At a minimum, the COR
needs to know the quality of the development team’s work in order to
officially accept contractor deliverables. Because the PO is empowered
to make product decisions, the COR and PO (if they are different people)
must work closely together to ensure delivery. The PO is the
government’s decision maker and works with the contractor team lead to
prioritize work, groom the product backlog, and other tasks. The PO
serves as the liaison between the agency and the contractor team.

The table below gives an overview of the difference between a COR and a
PO.

<figure>
  <a href="{{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/Acquisitions/cor-po-table.png">
    <img src="{{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/Acquisitions/cor-po-table.png" alt="This table shows the difference in duties between COR and PO. COR duties: Monitor contractor performance, Inspect and accept products/services, Review all contractor invoices, Maintain a record (or file) of all actions taken as COR, Awareness of the contractor’s status and of any issues related to the contract. PO Duties: Clearly define and prioritize the Product Backlog to best achieve vision and add value to the agency and users, Optimize the value of the work the Development Team builds, Ensure that the Product vision and backlog are visible, transparent, and clear to all, Ensure the Development Team understands items in the Product Backlog to the level needed."/>
  </a>
  <figcaption>COR and PO Duties.</figcaption>
</figure>

## Why are they important?

For agile software projects, a close working relationship between the
COR and the PO is essential, if the roles are performed by different
people. If the COR and the PO do not collaborate on a regular basis,
there will be miscommunication, vendor confusion, and ultimately a
product that may not fit user needs. Agile software projects in the
federal space should identify a PO and COR at the beginning of a project
so that once a contractor is brought on, the PO and COR know what their
roles are and have established how they will work together as they
manage the work of the contractor team.

Through collaboration and division of responsibility, the PO can focus
on making the best product possible, and the COR can focus on making
sure the government is getting the best value for its money.

[^1]: For the purposes of this guide, the term COR also include COTR and ACOR.

[^2]: Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 1.602-2(d)

[^3]: For the purposes of this guide, the term product owner includes the role of the government product manager.