IBR Findings

After completing IBR activities, the IBR team is responsible for developing the final action item reports, which are then formally submitted to the contractor. The contractor is given about a month to respond. The team reviews the contractor’s response and a determination is made as to whether the contractor has sufficiently addressed the action items. The action item may be closed, more information may be requested from the contractor, or a risk may be introduced into the risk management plan. In some cases, IBR reports can remain open for a significant amount of time.

When closing IBR actions, it is important to ensure that these items receive ongoing attention from the program manager (both government and contractor) based on lessons learned. An effective way to do this is to incorporate these action items into the business rhythm (usually monthly, including the monthly program management review). Any and all IBR action items captured in the out-brief and supporting documentation should go directly into the contractor’s internal action item database for disposition and closure with the appropriate government approvals. The monthly program management review should be used to track the status of the IBR actions. The contractor should be held accountable to track the action items and provide status updates until the government approves closure.

Although a formal IBR report is not usually required, the government program manager should create a memorandum for the record describing the findings and the program manager should retain all backup documentation. Finally, the government should make a determination about whether the performance measurement baseline is reliable and accurate for measuring true performance.