Get Off the Lessons Learned Treadmill in 2015
Are you repeating the same lessons learned or mistakes?
Posts By Tracey Wright
Best Collaboration Tools for Project Teams
By Latesha Goodman, Acquisition Analyst Imagine you’re an analyst who has recently joined a project team. Your job duties include generating large, complex program documents on tight deadlines. Producing poor quality deliverables will put your stakeholder’s schedule and budget at risk. You know accomplishing this task will require the input of various team members, manyRead… Read more »
With A Great Contract Management Plan, The Sky is the Limit
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 »
Gold Plating vs. Value Engineering
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 »
How to Make Telework Succeed for Your Team
By Charmaine Richman, PhD, Program Manager With Labor Day weekend over, it’s full steam ahead for government agencies and those who support them. For some, telework will be part of the mix as teams manage the fiscal year-end rush. Recently I started supporting a federal agency where telework is encouraged and systems are inRead… Read more »
How an Integrated Master Schedule Can Avert Program Management Disaster
Congratulations! It’s your first day at your new job as a Program Manager (PM). The last few days have been a whirlwind. You got the call from your director that you had been selected to replace the PM for one of the smaller programs in the portfolio. The previous PM had been reassigned and youRead… Read more »
Is Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) Always The Best Deal?
By Cindy Wilkins, Sr. Program Analyst In the current fiscal environment, there is an even stronger focus on being a good steward of taxpayer dollars. That is certainly commendable and definitely what is expected by John Q. Public. The recent trend to uphold that trust placed in the Government has been toward awarding contracts onRead… Read more »
Ready, Set, Go… Cross the Acquisition Package Finish Line by Fiscal Year End
This is sprinting season for any acquisition professional working on completing acquisition packages, negotiating offers and awarding the proposals. Contracting Officers (COs) should be proactive in doing all that needs to be done to ensure the requirements are awarded in a timely fashion. While each agency has its own internal policies and regulations, there areRead… Read more »
The Double Down Strategy of Contract Management Risk
By Mike Ipsaro, PMP, CCE/A In blackjack, there is a strategy known as doubling down, in which players double their bet to get one more card in addition to their two card hand. Doubling down increases players’ chances of winning, just like risk management increases the chances of success during a contract’s lifecycle. Risk isRead… Read more »
Fear of the FAR – Is It Getting in the Way of Doing Business?
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 »