Simulating a Contract Closeout Process

Literature Review

Moser and Arviso (2007) emphasize the importance of closing complete contracts in a contracting organization. They outline many of the important FAR clauses, which regulate closeout procedure, and what contributes to a successful contract closeout process. The message that is being emphasized in this article is that an effective contract closeout process requires extensive knowledge about FAR clauses and procedures, solid communication between the contractor and the government, and a strong contract closeout team dynamic.

Forrester (1961) centralized many of the theories and principles underlying the modeling of industrial systems in his book Industrial Dynamics. When describing models of industrial systems, Forrester expressed the importance of how mathematical models must be dynamic, address business fluctuations, and uncertainty in the system. Mathematical models are only useful when the model fully explains the real system and is able to predict future conditions. Any vagueness must be eliminated, or else the model cannot be validated. The true value of a mathematical model is derived from the precision of the model, not the accuracy. Forrester outlines the development of a scientific method for process improvement for which he refers to as the “Steps in Enterprise Design.” The steps are as follows: