Contingency Contracting Officer Proficiency Assessment Test Development for Construction, Architect-Engineer, and Contingency Contracting

Abstract

In September 2011, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) published a proficiency training guide titled, 51C/1102 Proficiency Guide for Construction, Architect-Engineer, & Contingency Contracting, for military contingency contracting officers (MCCOs) and 1102 interns within USACE. The training guide groups contracting tasks into four subject areas encompassing 45 separate contracting tasks in all. The research team of this report supplemented the USACE training by providing a Proficiency Assessment Test (PAT) based on the 51C/1102 Proficiency Guide to assist mentors of MCCOs/1102 interns with a tool for standardizing a way for MCCOs/1102s to demonstrate proficiency of individual tasks. Objectives of the project include the development and implementation of a pilot PAT of select contracting tasks followed by a comprehensive written proficiency assessment test used as a tool to measure proficiency for each of the 45 individual tasks. The research team vetted questions through experienced USACE MCCOs and subject matter experts. Further, these experts assisted the team by providing valuable feedback from participating in the pilot PAT. After incorporating feedback from the sponsor, the research team provided USACE a final PAT that encompassed nearly 800 questions to measure proficiency of the 45 individual tasks.