The innovation team at General Services Administration’s 18F has been testing new ways to speed up the acquisition process, particularly when it comes to agile development of software. Today (Oct. 26, 2015), the team will be trying out what could be “a terrible idea.”

18F members will be posting an open competition to GitHub for work on the team’s CALC tool. The work will be paid for using the agency’s micro-purchasing authority, which lets federal offices procure products or services under $3,500 using a credit card.

The bidding will start at $3,499 and the lowest bidder will be given 10 days to produce working code. If the winning vendor fails, the next lowest bidder will have 10 days to succeed where their colleagues could not.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.federaltimes.com/story/government/acquisition/2015/10/22/micro-purchase-pilot/74392760/