People
Letter: Add variety of experience to acquisition workforce
It is interesting that the DOD IG is actively seeking acquisition employees. I suggest he check the existing roster forcertified acquisition types that are literally in the wrong jobs.
Acquisition
Contractors that accessed Obama's passport file named
<font color="CC0000"><b>UPDATED</b></font color>—Stanley and The Analysis Corp. were involved in the breach, according to the State Department.
Acquisition
GSA to go ahead with Alliant
Officials must decide specific remedy after court rules in favor of protesters.
People
House members seek information on proposed regulations
Lawmakers question exemption for reporting fraud and abuse.
Acquisition
Kelman: Can we talk?
A system being deployed in the United Kingdom offers a glimpse of how a partnership can work.
People
Deepwater cutter may be delayed, GAO says
The Bertholf was supposed to be ready next month, but acceptance trials could hold it up, a new report states.
Acquisition
Nortel keeps SSA contract
The company prevailed in a protest of its $300 million contract to build a VOIP network for the agency.
Acquisition
GSA awards $2.5 billion contract for contact center services
Nine companies win spots on the USA Contact contract, designed to help federal agencies set up contact centers quickly during emergencies.
People
Letter: Vendors will block Navy’s open-standards plan
A reader points to Massachusetts’ attempt to mandate open-source applications and predicts that vendors will lobby Congress to stop the Navy from trying the same approach.
People
Letter: Military should bring development back in-house
A reader says it isn’t a question of open- or closed-source software because the military services will always need applications tailored to their business needs.
People
Letter: Outsourcing is not always better or cheaper
It is a fallacy to think if you throw in 100 cheap(er) workers who have no subject-matter expertise against a new or legacy redeployed business application, they will be remotely successful in its creation.
Acquisition
Officials: Reconsider inherently governmental functions
Flexibility in defining the term leads to concerns about acquisition policies, procurement officials say.
People
Letter: Educating agency staff better than limiting award fees
The solution is to educate the agency staff on how to write an award fee determination plan, how to develop meaningful metrics, how to set performance standards and how to do the required monitoring.
Acquisition
EPA IG wants fewer cost-plus contracts
The agency also gave the contractors high ratings without sufficient documentation, the inspector general says.
Acquisition
New method weds enterprise architecture, acquisition
A soon-to-be-issued RFI would ask for best practices for model-based acquisition strategy.
People
OMB simplifies federal spending portal guidance
Agencies will continue to be graded on data quality and completeness.
Acquisition
Officials try to clarify acquisition rules
The proposal tries to ensure that the Federal Acquisition Regulation clearly reflects the Small Business Administration’s interpretation of the Small Business Act and precedence of small-business programs.
Acquisition
Letter: Contract should remain bundled, but keep small businesses involved, too
The answer isn't to unbundle contracts; it is to insure that the bundled contracts specify small-business participation in a measurable and enforceable way.
Acquisition