Federal regulations prefer that agencies use firm-fixed-price (FFP) contracts, which place all performance costs and risks on the contractor. That may sound like a good thing but, in practice, the FFP approach can be a problem.
Business arrangements between governments and third parties come in many forms, including a time-and-materials (T&M) contract type. Here’s why T&M arrangements can be so beneficial for both agencies and the entities they work with.
The lowest bidder isn’t always the best choice — especially when it comes to government software purchases. Here’s what you could be missing.
The collaborative development envelope addresses poor performance and provides incentives to achieve better solutions with a transparent approach.
Over the past several years, concern about pricing variability among the same or similar items on different schedule contracts led some agencies to publicly question whether they could rely on rates negotiated by GSA.
By Cindy Wilkins, PMP, SCEA Your team may have spent hours and hours considering the program management, risk management and quality assurance issues involved in letting a new government contract. But have you pulled the key information about how that contract will be managed into a single plan? A Contract Management Plan (CMP) is oneRead… Read more »
By Anna Hartley, PMP, CFCM, ICCM-F level 2 You manage or are part of a project and decide to add additional features or functionality to the product or service you provide. You think it will please the customer and make the team look good. But what if it slows the project, adds costs or isn’tRead… Read more »
By Craig Taylor, PMP Do 1,883 pages of Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), comprised of 53 different Parts, dozens of forms, and a correction page feel like something to be feared? Does it keep you from buying what you need to support your agency? Many government decision-makers look at the FAR as a significant obstacle toRead… Read more »
By Anna Hartley, Senior Acquisition Specialist Reverse auctions, a relatively new contracting method used by the government to procure a variety of good and services where the price is the main factor, has caused much debate and provoked heavy criticism among contracting professionals in the last few years. Some believe that reverse auctions are anRead… Read more »
By Cynthia Zieman, CFCM Imagine this scenario. Your acquisition lead time is quickly slipping. Time is running short to develop your solicitation documents, which could jeopardize meeting the target project completion date. What do you do? It’s likely that you don’t start entirely from scratch on a completely blank page. Do you pull the lastRead… Read more »