Integrity just completed relocation to an expanded new headquarters this week, custom-built to meet the needs and goals of the business in 2015 and beyond. Like any major project, it involved complex planning, thousands of individual decisions, and frequent deadlines that had to be met to move on to the next phase, and ultimately project …
Continue reading “Milestone Decisions: Checkpoints for Acquisition Success”
As a Program Manager, have you noticed a trend that your program keeps on repeating the same lessons learned or mistakes? As a program, when completing a yearly reporting requirement, do you hear yourself stating to your staff that we did not complete x, y, or z in order to fulfill our operational requirements? If …
Since 2001, software developers have used the Agile methodology, employing short sprints and cross-team collaboration, to bring products to market faster with earlier customer input. Others have begun to apply the tenets of Agile beyond IT to the general field of acquisition. Why? To speed results, lower risk, and benefit from lessons learned throughout the …
Continue reading “AGILE ACQUISITION SUPPORT: REAL-WORLD CONSIDERATIONS”
You’ve won the contract! You’ve hired the team, but they can’t start work at the same time due to delays with the suitability process. You must execute the requirements of the contract with only a portion of your staff, while providing an orientation to the work and some on-the-job training. You start with a couple …
Continue reading “Rudder Check – Engage and Educate New Team Members to Stay On Course”
In this time of tight budgets and mandates to do more or the same with less, the need for innovation through greater communication and cooperation is greater than ever. The intelligent use of Integrated Product Teams (IPTs) that foster an organizational climate of cross-functional collaboration can drive innovation throughout your processes. This is accomplished by …
Continue reading “How Integrated Product Teams Can Improve Performance and Save Money”
We took a pause from our normal hectic workday schedules to gather here at our headquarters for a potluck Thanksgiving lunch. It was nice to slow down, enjoy a meal together and talk about peoples’ families, holiday plans and traditions. It is the people, after all, who make our company and any company succeed. We …
Today’s fiscally constrained environment is being felt in many places, including acquisition. The Federal Government spends billions to execute its missions through acquisitions. After talking with one of my colleagues about the impact on the acquisition discipline, she astutely said “though resources may be narrowing, the way you approach acquisition shouldn’t”. In fact, to face …
Continue reading “Widening the Aperture of Acquisition & the Acquisition Team”
You don’t have work in the federal budget field to know that agencies are closely reviewing every budget line item to see where they can streamline to reduce costs. It is vital that government Program Managers (PMs) understand the importance of building and reporting on sound business cases for their investments – the OMB300 process. …
Continue reading “How to Get Buy-In on the Value of the Business Case”
With the arrival of sequestration and slashed budgets, agencies have been facing many tough decisions on where to cut spending and save money. Acquisition teams have been given the difficult task of doing the same or even more with less. The pressure to maintain current levels of support with less funding may seem to put …
Continue reading “Why Partnering Matters in a Tight Budget Environment”
When the pressure is on to perform at a higher level due to limited resources and tight time constraints, your team’s morale is likely suffering. As a manager, you are probably also feeling overwhelmed. Many of us have experienced wanting to be proactive but struggling to find time to focus on the less tangible aspects …
Continue reading “How Investing in Your Team Can Pay Off – Even in Tight Times”
