Skyway Wire
Sources Sought
I often get asked whether it is a good idea to respond to Sources Sought announcements. My response is always a surprised “Yes, of course!” But perhaps the question is being asked because of a lack...
How Attitude Affects Contracting
With this blog article I will recount my personal thoughts and observations on how a person’s attitude can and will affect their performance on the contract. ...
Government Priorities During Negotiations
Professionals in the government contracting arena, from both government and industry, should understand and acknowledge the fact that the two sides have different priorities. Aside from the obvious...
What Is an IDIQ and How Does It Help My Business?
FAR 16 covers “types of contracts” and this is where you’ll find indefinite delivery contracts, in FAR Subpart 16.5. There are actually three types of indefinite delivery contracts:...
Those Darn Government Proposal Evaluators are So Picky
There are a lot of ways the government evaluators can be really picky when they are reviewing proposals. Too many pages? Throw out the proposal! The volumes are not in the correct size binders? ...
What Do You Review Just Before You Submit Your Proposal?
Everybody reviews their proposals (or should!) right before submission - and usually more than once and by more than one person. You can call it what you want: Pink Team review, review of...
US Space Force – Seriously?
I write this blog to fulfill two obligations: first, to correct an erroneous statement I made and repeated in various Skyway forums and platforms in the past week, and second, to clear the air and...
Contract Management is like Flossing
“I love flossing”, said no one, ever. I recently went to the dentist for my semi-annual checkup. I got the obligatory “Have you been flossing?” question. To which I gave the obligatory answer, “Most...
Hiring and Managing the Talent You Need to Win – Part 3: “We All Need Somebody to Lean On”
Proposals are all about interdependence. Responding to a government RFP is a process with many moving parts: Subject matter experts (SMEs) develop solutions and proposal text, and review text....
Long Term Contract Pricing
In today's government contracting world, long term contracts are widespread. Given the length and complexity of the source selection process, many agencies will opt for long term contracts to reduce...
Treasure Hunt vs Treasure Map
National Treasure is such a fun movie. It’s interesting, it’s complex, it’s full of action and intrigue. It’s about the hunt. It’s about following the clues and working to figure out where the next...
JEDI Protest
No, this blog is not about Star Wars and the cute new toy Yoda. JEDI is the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) contract potentially worth $10 billion over 10 years, awarded to Microsoft...
What Can LPTA Source Selection Procedures Be Used For?
DOD recently issued a final rule to implement sections of the FY17 and FY18 NDAAs that establish limitations and prohibitions on the use of the lowest price technically acceptable (LPTA) source...
Cut the Blah, Blah – A Second Perspective
I am writing this article as a follow-up and expansion of the ideas expressed in the recent episode of the same name of the Contracting Officer Podcast. The point of the episode is that...
Navigating the VA Kingdomware (“Rule of Two”) Case
Any company pursuing business with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has more than likely heard of the infamous Kingdomware case which enforces the “Rule of Two”. After four years of mixed...
Hiring the Talent that Will Help You Win – Part 2
In the first in this series, we identified the types of professionals that contractors should hire to be successful in the government market. In this post, we are going to look at two of them,...