Contract Management Standard

The Contract Management Standard is a voluntary consensus standard developed through an open and inclusive process to benefit the global contracting community. It supports better outcomes, stronger relationships, and greater consistency in how contracts are managed worldwide. 

The CMS™ is an ANSI-Approved Standard, an internationally recognized third party, and maintained by the Standards Consensus Body, a balanced panel of practitioners from Government, Industry, and Academia. This standard describes contract management in terms of the processes created through the integration and interaction of job tasks and skills and the purposes they serve. The common and repeated application of this standard will improve productivity, increase efficiency, and reduce costs.

The CMS™ is a free download available to NCMA members and nonmembers alike.

Download the CMS™ (Fourth Edition)

The Purpose of the Contract Management Standard

The CMS™ has five purposes:

1. To define and standardize the term “contract management.”
2. To present and define the processes involved in all phases of the contract lifecycle (pre-award, award, and post-award).
3. To develop and perfect contract management practices, policies, and processes.
4. To inspire critical thinking and learning to bring efficiency to the contract management profession.
5. To be a constantly-evolving document with a formal change process.

A Consensus-Based Approach

The CMS™ was developed and is maintained using a consensus-based approach to the standards development process through the Standards Consensus Body, a balanced panel of practitioners from Government, Industry, and Academia.

Credibility

The CMS™ was established as the result of a job task analysis survey of contract managers and working groups comprised of materially affected and interested parties. This process included a survey of contract managers, expert drafting, peer review, and a formal public comment validation.

On April 22, 2019, the Board of Standards Review of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) approved NCMA’s Contract Management Standard® publication as an American National Standard (ANS). As the sponsor of ANSI/NCMA ASD 1-2019 (R2022), NCMA continues to fulfill its vision to, “lead in defining the standards and the body of knowledge for the contract management profession.” Learn how this impacts NCMA.

Ongoing Maintenance

We strive to continually improve our products and services to advance the contract management profession. We seek your opinion on strengths, shortcomings, and suggestions for improvements. Please share your feedback for review by the appropriate body or contact [email protected] with general questions and to inquiry about NCMA standards activities.

Policies and Procedures

Our standards activities are guided by the NCMA Standards Development Program Policies and Procedures Manual.