Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

TSA wants industry input on its proposed agile contract vehicle

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The Transportation Security Administration is asking industry to weigh in on its strategy for building a bullpen of tech companies the agency could call on to stand up new software applications.

The agency last week issued a special notice detailing its Fast Agile Scalable Teams procurement program, a proposed contract vehicle TSA plans to use to acquire custom software and modernize legacy systems.

Vendors selected under the blanket purchase agreement would be required to apply agile methodology—breaking large projects into smaller chunks, developed in sprints—to build and maintain a suite of enterprisewide software applications.

“In order to successfully execute [its] mission, TSA must have the capability to customize mission support systems [and] develop custom software solutions when no solution is commercially available or from government sources,” the agency wrote in a performance work statement.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/it-modernization/2018/11/tsa-wants-industry-input-its-proposed-agile-contract-vehicle/152590/

Here’s why the management consulting business model is broken

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Disruption is coming to the world of management consulting. Recently, I documented the many disruptive forces at work on the consulting business model. Cracks in the façade are showing, revealing a business model more fragile than agile.

management consultingMany federal management consulting firms do, if fact, have a track record for responding to change — when things are good. But even with sequestration and budget cuts in recent years, things have still been pretty good. But change is coming.

Our business model is fragile. Two factors contribute to its fragility. First, there is a subtle but important disconnect today between what consultants are selling and what clients are buying. Second, as consultants gain experience, they aspire to spend less time with their federal clients—not more.

Keep reading this article at: http://about.bgov.com/blog/these-two-factors-explain-why-the-management-consulting-business-model-is-broken/

GSA, 18F award first set of contracts to 16 companies for ‘agile’ development services

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The General Services Administration has announced that 16 companies were selected to sell so-called ‘agile’ software development services to federal agencies through a governmentwide contract – the first of three sets of contracts to be awarded.

‘Agile’ is an approach that federal agencies are increasingly using to develop software in increments, typically in a few weeks to a few months, rather than wait two to three years until such a project is delivered.

18F at GSAThe department’s in-house consulting firm, called 18F, pushed for the blanket purchase agreement. In an Aug. 28 blog post, members wrote that there was “explosive” demand for their services to build products for agencies through the agile process.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.fiercegovernmentit.com/story/gsa-18f-award-first-set-contracts-16-companies-agile-development-services/2015-08-31

Fast acquisition and fair competition tough to balance

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As agencies face a changing threat environment and any number of crisis and emergencies, federal managers must strike a balance between how they respond with rapid contract awards while adhering to regulations for full and open competition.

Rapid acquisition should be the norm in government for both emergencies and routine procurements, given the rapid pace of technological change. With that model, agency officials have to anticipate emergencies, putting in place competitively awarded contracts that can be used in the event that a crisis occurs.

“You have some cases during a natural disaster or terrorist attack where you don’t have the time to go out to the marketplace to do a full competition. The most important thing is to provide relief for the situation,” said Stan Soloway, president and CEO of the Professional Services Council, an advocacy group for the government contracting community.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.federaltimes.com/longform/government/acquisition/2015/07/14/acquisition-speed-fair-competition/30103679/

DoD CIO to industry: Do your homework

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Defense Department Chief Information Officer Terry Halvorsen said that a recent trip to Silicon Valley reinforced the fact that the department will be looking to industry to drive innovation for the nation’s military. Not only will a closer partnership require DoD to move more quickly, it will require vendors to better understand DoD’s needs, he said.

US DoD logoHalvorsen said DoD will have to speed up acquisitions if it wants to work with some of the up-and-coming companies that work in a venture capital environment.

“Six months is a really long time for them,” said Halvorsen July 9 at the DoD CIO Mobility Industry Day, hosted by AFCEA’s Washington, D.C. chapter

Keep reading this article at: http://www.fiercegovernmentit.com/story/dod-cio-industry-do-your-homework/2015-07-13

Can small, innovative companies break into D.C. contracting scene?

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Sharath Mekala’s two-person tech startup isn’t a textbook government contractor.

Village Defense, spawned through a startup incubator called 1776, develops a free app that lets neighbors send real-time alerts to one another if they notice suspicious activity. A premium version, which costs $125 a month, is designed for homeowners associations.

technologyA Washington area native, Mekala recently uprooted from Atlanta and returned to D.C., in part to market Village Defense to behemoth potential customers: the Defense Department, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Education Department. He says President Obama’s public safety initiative, which includes a blueprint for improved community policing, creates an opportunity for apps like Village Defense.

“I think the government is trying to keep up with [technology]… earlier on you’d have to push your way in,” Mekala says.

Federal procurement, once largely unapproachable by startups, could be transforming to let small, creative tech companies in.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.nextgov.com/cio-briefing/2015/07/startup-shakeup-can-small-innovative-companies-break-dc-contracting-scene/117640/

This story appears in the July-August issue of Government Executive magazine. 

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