People
DOD acquisition officials see trade-off problem
Best-value trade-offs are time-consuming and a sticky subject, especially when they involve complex contracts, a lot of money and bid protests.
Acquisition
DOD, GAO differ on measuring the workforce
Given the scale and value of DOD’s acquisitions and spending, GAO said defense officials would benefit by linking training to performance.
People
Delivering IT projects in quick increments: 23rd time's the charm?
Perhaps the recent recommendations by a TechAmerica panel finally will inspire agencies to take a more agile approach to system development, writes FCW blogger (and commission co-chairman) Steve Kelman.
Digital Government
CIOs need more budget power, VA's Baker urges
VA CIO Roger Baker says if CIOs had more budget power, IT management would improve.
Acquisition
IG: EPA faces acquisition workload issues
Officials say they've had no specific contract work unduly delayed or not awarded because of the current workload.
Acquisition
Coalition for Government Procurement gets government insider as head
The Coalition for Government Procurement has chosen a new president.
People
Commission: Government needs new approach to program management
The federal govenrment should make program management a formal career track and establish a training academy, a new report states.
Digital Government
Army to match processes to budget reality, says top official
The Army will revise its developmental model and make other adjustments to successfully counter adversaries around the globe and adjust to changing fiscal circumstances at home, Army Secretary John M. McHugh said today at the opening session of the AUSA conference and symposium in Washington, D.C.
People
Bite-size procurements can minimize big-time problems
The Obama administration wants agencies to stop multiyear, multibillion-dollar overhauls of major IT systems and infrastructure. Instead, agencies should start taking much smaller bites, officials say.
Acquisition
Focus on error-prone contractors to find improper payments, HHS IG says
Medicare could do better at identifying improper payments by looking to providers who are most likely to make errors, according to the Health and Human Services inspector general.
People
One way to keep big IT programs out of trouble
The latest Capability Maturity Model could help agencies improve the management of their service delivery programs, writes Jeffrey D. Sacks of Access Systems.
Digital Government
DOD cuts will slow overall fed IT spending growth
Federal spending on IT will increase slightly in the next five years. Who can expect to see their budgets grow and who faces cuts, according to new TechAmerica Foundation Vision survey forecasts.
People
How to improve procurement: Stop talking about requirements
Federal agencies would do themselves a favor if they stopped thinking in terms of requirements and started talking about user needs, writes consultant Ray Kane.
People
One more time: Contract management needs to be a core competency of government
Federal agencies waste a lot of time and money on large government IT projects because they lack the necessary management expertise, writes blogger Steve Kelman.
Acquisition
Small-biz contracting: The nightmares continue
Another case of alleged misdoings in small-business contracting could keep contracting officers awake at night.
People
OMB's hold on financial systems comes with a price
An OMB-mandated pause on financial system projects is likely to diminish momentum on modernization efforts, write Laurance Alvarado and John Cox, senior directors at Alvarez and Marsal.
Acquisition
SBA to launch small business program for women
SBA officials are setting up procedures to help woman-owned small businesses gain more access to the federal contracting marketplace.
Digital Government
GTSI suspended from federal government contracting
GTSI has been suspended from winning new government contracts but vows to defend itself against charges that it inappropriately received small-business contract dollars.
People
Contractors behaving badly: Report exposes labor law violations by IT vendors
Government Accountability Office auditors find that half of the 50 largest assessments handed out by the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division between fiscal 2005 and 2009 were charged to 20 federal contractors.
People