On a trip to San Diego I watched a Navy destroyer slip quietly under the Coronado Bridge. I remembered a phrase I’ve repeated many times throughout my career as a procurement leader and manager: “Don’t try to dial up an aircraft carrier in port to the perfect position. Just get it steaming in the right …
Continue reading “Smoother Acquisition Sailing – An Argument for Increased Communication”
With the number of certified and experienced federal acquisition professionals expected to drop in 2013, two new certifications could help industry fill the gap. Here’s my take on the DAWIA/FAC-C Certification equivalents for people looking to expand their skills.
In an environment of uncertain budgets and evolving technology, a modular or Agile approach to acquiring new systems can provide greater cost control and flexibility. In Part I of my primer on Agile, I wrote about the What and Why of the modular approach to buying information technology (IT). Now in Part II, I’ll look …
Continue reading “How to Make Agile Work for You in IT Acquisition”
Our Integrity experts each forecast one top trend for 2013. What emerging trends will dominate the next 12 months or more in acquisition and program management? And what should you know right now? Trending Up: Back to the Basics — Choosing the Right Contract Type Last November Mr. Frank Kendall, Under Secretary of Defense …
Continue reading “2013’s Top Trends in Acquisition and Program Management”
You’ve heard of strategic sourcing. You’re being advised to use it. But when does it work best and what’s the key to getting started? Integrity Fellow Tom Kuhn sits down with Chris Dorobek of the Dorobek Insider program for a wide-ranging discussion about how to make strategic sourcing work in federal agencies. Read the transcript, …
In my first post about the OMB 300/53, I laid out the operational basics, the scoring, and important stakes behind managing the business case process. It’s not easy to achieve an all green scorecard at the end of this process. But, it is do-able, if you anticipate the challenges and have proactive strategies. Having supported …
Continue reading “OMB 300/53 Business Case: The Path to Green Scores, Part II”
Each year Program Managers are tasked with proving that investments align with agency mission and support business needs with low risk during the investment lifecycle. The OMB Budget Exhibit 300/53 is a business case that justifies the strategic and economic value of any investment, say for example, in major IT infrastructure. The business case helps organizations …
Continue reading “Business Case Primer: How OMB 300/53 Can Lead to All-Green Scores”
Two years into the “Myth-Busters” campaign by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP), there is still a long way to go to improve information exchange between government and industry. How quickly can the federal government change its traditional ways of engaging, and what can we learn from popular social media platforms such as Facebook …
Continue reading “What Social Media Can Teach Us about Government/Industry Exchange”
Professional sports have successfully used Performance Based Contracting. Baseball players get bonuses for such things as making the all-star team, or winning so many games as a pitcher. Football players sometimes have a contract bonus tied to the number of offensive or defensive plays in which they participate. Can the Federal Government have similar success …
Continue reading “Making Performance Based Service Acquisition Work for You”
For a better part of twelve years the federal budget has been pretty ample and programs were free to operate in a much more flexible environment. “Supplemental” allotments of funding were in large supply at the Department of Defense (DoD). Then the faucet began to close as the wars have begun to wind down and …
