COR Performance Monitoring & QA 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A contractor's monthly status report shows performance metrics are trending downward over three consecutive months. What should the COR do?
- Wait until performance falls below the AQL before acting
- Proactively document the trend and discuss concerns with the CO (Correct answer)
- Extend the contract period to give the contractor more time
- Increase payment to motivate better performance
Correct answer: Proactively document the trend and discuss concerns with the CO
A downward trend is an early warning; the COR should flag it proactively so the CO can address it before it becomes a formal deficiency.
Question 2: Which document formally records a contractor's failure to meet contract requirements and initiates a response from the contractor?
- Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP)
- Contractor Performance Assessment Report (CPAR)
- Cure notice (Correct answer)
- Surveillance activity checklist
Correct answer: Cure notice
A cure notice formally notifies the contractor of a condition endangering contract performance and requires corrective action within a specified time.
Question 3: In performance-based contracting, the government's primary role during performance monitoring is to:
- Supervise how the contractor accomplishes each task
- Verify that required outcomes and quality standards are met (Correct answer)
- Direct the contractor's workforce on daily assignments
- Provide detailed technical instructions for every task
Correct answer: Verify that required outcomes and quality standards are met
Performance-based contracts hold contractors accountable for results, with the government verifying outcomes rather than micromanaging methods.
Question 4: What is the primary purpose of periodic surveillance in contract administration?
- To reduce the contractor's workload by identifying inefficiencies
- To verify ongoing contract compliance without reviewing every output (Correct answer)
- To renegotiate contract terms based on changing conditions
- To document contractor personnel for future hiring decisions
Correct answer: To verify ongoing contract compliance without reviewing every output
Periodic surveillance provides a statistically reasonable check on compliance without the resource cost of 100% inspection.
Question 5: A contractor requests a contract modification to change a key performance indicator (KPI). The COR's role is to:
- Approve the modification directly if it seems reasonable
- Evaluate the technical merits and provide a written recommendation to the CO (Correct answer)
- Deny the request without reviewing it
- Ignore the request as modifications are not a COR responsibility
Correct answer: Evaluate the technical merits and provide a written recommendation to the CO
The COR provides technical analysis and a written recommendation to the CO, who has sole authority to approve or deny contract modifications.
Question 6: Which of the following BEST describes 'contractor-generated quality control' under a performance-based contract?
- The government inspects all work before the contractor submits it
- The contractor maintains its own internal QC program to meet standards (Correct answer)
- The COR performs daily audits of the contractor's processes
- Third-party inspectors verify all deliverables before acceptance
Correct answer: The contractor maintains its own internal QC program to meet standards
Performance-based contracts expect contractors to self-manage quality through their own QC programs, with the government verifying outputs.
Question 7: When completing a Contractor Performance Assessment Report (CPAR), the COR should base ratings on:
- Personal impressions of the contractor's personnel
- Objective documented evidence gathered throughout the rating period (Correct answer)
- The contractor's own self-assessment submitted at year-end
- Verbal feedback from end users only
Correct answer: Objective documented evidence gathered throughout the rating period
CPAR ratings must be supported by contemporaneous documentation to be defensible and fair.
COR Performance Monitoring & QA 3
A contractor's monthly status report shows performance metrics are trending downward over three consecutive months.
What should the COR do?