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
Letter: Ignoring small-biz goals should have consequences
A reader says agencies shouldn’t be able to get away with not achieving small-business contracting goals.
People
DHS to hire Hopkins lab to test virtual fence
The Homeland Security Department plans to hire Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory conduct independent testing as it develops its software and technology system to bolster border security.
Acquisition
Denett: Bundling recommendations likely by May
Rep. Nydia Velázquez says OFPP has stalled on setting a policy on unbundling contracts.
People
Navy to focus only on open systems
A senior official says the service can no longer afford to buy proprietary systems.
Acquisition
Court stops work on $50 billion Alliant contract
GSA failed to give adequate weight to prices as it reviewed the 62 proposals for the 10-year, $50 billion contract, claims court judge finds.
People
GSA issues Security LOB enterprise software notice
Under the SmartBuy program, GSA will set up a blanket purchase agreement for situation awareness and incident response software.
Acquisition
Judge rules in favor of Alliant protesters, source says
Many of the protesters say the bid evaluations didn’t match the criteria in the Alliant request for proposals, and that GSA failed to treat each company equally.
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