Congratulations! It’s your first day at your new job as a Program Manager (PM). The last few days have been a whirlwind. You got the call from your director that you had been selected to replace the PM for one of the smaller programs in the portfolio. The previous PM had been reassigned and you …
Continue reading “How an Integrated Master Schedule Can Avert Program Management Disaster”
In the current fiscal environment, there is an even stronger focus on being a good steward of taxpayer dollars. That is certainly commendable and definitely what is expected by John Q. Public. The recent trend to uphold that trust placed in the Government has been toward awarding contracts on a lowest price technically acceptable (LPTA) …
Continue reading “Is Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) Always The Best Deal?”
Do 1,883 pages of Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), comprised of 53 different Parts, dozens of forms, and a correction page feel like something to be feared? Does it keep you from buying what you need to support your agency? Many government decision-makers look at the FAR as a significant obstacle to their acquisitions, but at …
Continue reading “Fear of the FAR – Is It Getting in the Way of Doing Business?”
Reverse auctions, a relatively new contracting method used by the government to procure a variety of good and services where the price is the main factor, has caused much debate and provoked heavy criticism among contracting professionals in the last few years. Some believe that reverse auctions are an excellent method to streamline the procurement …
Continue reading “Can Reverse Auctions Move Your Contracting Process Forward?”
Have you ever stopped to consider the importance of the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) and how top management in both Government and Industry can use the evaluations to make strategic business decisions? The FAR requires CPARS evaluations but government auditors have reported that they’re not always done on time or with enough detail. …
Imagine this scenario. Your acquisition lead time is quickly slipping. Time is running short to develop your solicitation documents, which could jeopardize meeting the target project completion date. What do you do? It’s likely that you don’t start entirely from scratch on a completely blank page. Do you pull the last electronic version of the …
Continue reading “Avoid Risk by Using Solicitation/Contract Templates”
A Federal court recently struck a great blow to the validity of Teaming Agreements. Some Teaming Agreements, arrangements of understanding between Prime and Sub contractors, may now be unenforceable as contracts in Virginia and other states. Teaming Agreements are useful for defining the relationships between Prime and Sub contractors by defining the mutual expectations of …
Do not assume anything when you are writing a task order against an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract. Why? Ever write a task order and miss something or miss ensuring the proper contract language rigor is included? For example, what happens when a task order is written against an IDIQ contract and language requiring …
Continue reading “Writing a Task Order Against an IDIQ – Make Sure You’re Covered!”
Blogs criticizing the misuse and overuse of Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) source selections for services will flood your search engine results in seconds. Because integrity matters, let’s step back and ask the tougher question: How can we effectively apply LPTA source selection to complex services? Can we raise the bar for technical acceptability?
Integrity Management Consulting and GovLoop are proud to present a 12-part series called “Conscientious Contracting: A Thoughtful Approach to Acquisition and Program Management,” that aims to address common challenges and achieve new efficiencies in government procurement. Integrity Matters will bring you occasional posts written by GovLoop’s Andrew Krzmarzick, featuring the expertise of Integrity subject matter experts. It’s …
