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October 20, 2016 By AMK

Cutting through the red tape to faster, smarter acquisition

The fundamental mismatch between the speed of acquisition and the speed of government is an endless topic of conversation among government and industry alike. But while most officials tend to blame the rules, some leaders believe hide-bound people and processes are a bigger problem. 

reverse-industry-day“Culturally, we have not necessarily come to that awareness that it takes a team,” said Air Force Lt. Gen. William Bender, the service’s chief information officer, before launching into an examination of a typical Air Forces systems development program during the Oct. 4 Synergy Forum in Washington, D.C.  That typical program, he said, begins with a two-year process “to determine if a materiel or non-materiel solution is required,” continues with a year to define the requirements, “two more years to get it into the budget, and four years to deliver it.”

The status quo is not working, he said.

Bender’s solution is a new acquisition framework he’s developing and hoping to sell to Air Force leadership. Others are trying their own solutions.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.govtechworks.com/cutting-through-the-red-tape-to-faster-smarter-acquisition/

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: 18F, acquisition reform, acquisition workforce, Air Force, Army, DHS, DoD, GSA, innovation, IT, procurement reform, R&D, reverse industry day, TechFAR Handbook, technology

August 8, 2016 By AMK

OMB unveils new one-stop shop for digital services

The U.S. Digital Service, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the General Services Administration (GSA) opened a centralized online hub where federal agencies can go for the low-down on how to acquire digital services.

U.S. Digital ServiceIn a July 26 blog post, USDS Administrator Mikey Dickerson and Anne Rung, chief acquisition officer at the Office of Management and Budget, unveiled the TechFAR Hub, designed to offer federal procurement employees workaday tools they can use to get digital services.

The effort jibes with other Obama administration moves to centralize information for contracting personnel. USDS’ TechFAR Handbook and Digital Services Playbook both provide best practices and techniques for digital services.

Keep reading this article at: https://fcw.com/articles/2016/07/26/techfar-hub-usds.aspx

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: acquisition reform, acquisition strategy, digital services, Digital Services Playbook, FAR, GSA, OMB, TechFAR Handbook, U.S. Digital Service

August 11, 2015 By AMK

Can government be agile?

Agile is having a moment. With a promise of faster and better outcomes for everything from start-ups to the labyrinthine federal government approach to services procurement, the agile way is very much in the spotlight.

But along with this sudden fame comes the inevitable oversimplifications and forced contrasts, such as the supposed clash of the methodologies that pits agile against formal project management.

U.S. Digital ServiceThis is an artificial debate. The truth is that these two approaches can and do co-exist successfully. Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements; agile allows teams to deliver projects piece-by-piece and make rapid adjustments as needed. Agile is not done in place of managing a project. Instead, it is frequently introduced as a way to speed up phases of a project.

TechFAR Handbook TOC 08.2015With its promise of a faster path to the right results and more satisfied customers – especially on complex projects – it’s no wonder that agile is a cornerstone of U.S. CIO Tony Scott’s mission to vastly improve customer satisfaction with federal technology services. This Agenda has already yielded such practical tools as the Digital Services Playbook—actually released and made public by Scott’s predecessor Todd Park—whose 13 plays from proven private sector best practices include Play 4, “Build the service using agile and iterative processes.” There is also the TechFAR Handbook, a helpful guide to flexibilities in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) that can make it easier for agencies to implement plays in the Playbook through acquisition.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.federaltimes.com/story/government/management/blog/2015/08/07/can-government-agile/31293553/

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: acquisition reform, agile, best practice, IT, procurement reform, TechFAR Handbook, technology, U.S. Digital Service

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