At the highest levels, Government contracting and Project Management share two approaches – Traditional and Agile.

For many years, the Government has been trying to adopt and adapt Agile practices because the Clinger-Cohen Act (Pub. L No. 104-106, 1996) made it mandatory.  However, making that transition has proven difficult!

There are a number of issues making this transition difficult.  One of the critical problems has been a lack of good information on how Government personnel can use Agile methods legally!  Another has been an ever-increasing workload for Government personnel, eliminating any time for researching and analyzing the deepening labyrinth of Government regulations to identify specific procedures for applying Agile.

In some cases, the actual workload (as defined by number of contracts and funds to obligate) is decreasing due to dwindling funds. However, the timelines to award these contracts and fill these requirements are getting longer because the volume of mandatory processes and documentation is increasing. In other words, the customer, the Program Manger, the Contracting Officer (CO), and even the taxpayer is spending more and getting less. This book provides specific examples and recommendations on how to use Agile strategies to reverse, or at least decrease, that trend.

The challenge for Government acquisition teams has always been to simplify the complex. The simplicity lies in judiciously spending taxpayer dollars to purchase needed goods and services. The complexity lies in doing so within the inter-related elements of the U.S. Constitution, the United States Code (U.S.C), Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), Federal Management Regulations (FMR), the policies of the agency or department, and even Presidential Executive Orders.

In many ways, the situation for Government contracting reflects the quote attributed to famous jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (1841 -1935), who said, “I would not give a fig for the simplicity this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity.”

To provide an understanding of the standard a CO must meet, it is helpful to review the regulatory guidance on the Contracting Officer’s authority. FAR Part 1.602-1(b) requires the CO “ensures that all requirements of law, executive orders, regulations, and all other applicable procedures, including clearances and approvals, have been met” before they sign any Government contract. Read that italicized text one more time. Think about the far-reaching scope of that standard and see how easy it is for Government contracting to be seen as “un-Agile” or even “anti-Agile”!

The good news is that the next paragraph of the FAR (FAR 1.602-2) balances that extraordinary level of responsibility with the following, “In order to perform these responsibilities, contracting officers should be allowed wide latitude to exercise business judgment.” That judgment allows the CO to implement Agile processes and tools. It also enables contracting and program management leaders to embrace these Agile processes to save time and resources.

In this series of blogs by our President, Kevin Jans, you will learn everything you need to know about Agile Government Contracting.