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NEW! GTSC FEDERAL PROCUREMENT UPDATE WEBINARS

Welcome to the era of COVID-19! So much has changed since the start of the pandemic and GTSC has evolved rapidly to assure you get the communications and information you need to continue on with the mission of securing our homeland. We have reached out to our partners at DHS, Treasury, and the State Department and are confirming webinars daily. Please take note of new webinars in your weekly newsletter and check back here for updates!

BOOKMARK: www.gtscoalition.eventbrite.com to go directly to registration for all GTSC and Homeland Security Today events.

UPCOMING WEBINARS – REGISTER TODAY!

GTSC DAYS – PLANNING CALLS

The evolution of GTSC Days!

GTSC members are invited to provide their input to our planning for this fall. GTSC will still host our “days” spread over one week instead of one day. In the next few weeks, we will host 30 minute meetings for each week so we can hear about your priorities and interests. All GTSC members are invited to share 1) who they want to hear, 2) specific topics of interest, 3) procurements or projects of interest. Specifically, GTSC is looking for your input on the topics and speakers you’d like to hear at the following GTSC Days TENTATIVELY SCHEDULED for:

ICE Days: PLANNING CALL September 3, 9:00 AM – 9:30 AM. Click here to join.

Cyber security career awareness : PLANNING CALL – suggestions on topics and invitation to provide an insight about your cyber career September 3, 9:45 AM – 10:15 AM. Click here to join.

CISA days (truly tentative with Brian Harrell’s departure): PLANNING CALL September 3, 10:30 AM – 11:00 AM. Click here to join.

TSA Days: PLANNING CALL September 3, 11:15 AM – 11:45 AM. Click here to join.

Homeland Security Today Awards: PLANNING CALL September 4,10:00 AM. Click here to join.

U.S. Customs & Border Protection TacCom II, TALMEC , ATAP and RVSS/IFT

Date: TBA

TacCom II, TALMEC (Tactical Air, Land and Marine Enterprise Communications), ATAP (Advanced Trade Analytics Platform) and RVSS/IFT (Remote Video Surveillance System and Industry Fixed Towers)

Speakers:
Julie Koo, Director Information Technology Contracting Division U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Susan Baptist, Division Director of U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Kerri Bishop, Office of Acquisition (OA), Director-Mission Support Contracting Division, U.S. Customs and Border Protection

PLEASE NOTE OUR WEBINAR PROCESS:

As you may have seen, GTSC has developed a webinar and meetings channel. Given security concerns around certain platforms, GTSC has implemented new default security measures and a two-step registration process to assure a safe and fun experience. Once you register on eventbrite, the day before or day-of the webinar or meeting GTSC will verify your participation and you will receive another registration link from GTSC. That is the webinar registration.

Please be sure to register with your official company email. We cannot admit any .gmail, .yahoo, or other random emails into the calls.

Please click on the link and register for the webinar to get in and participate.

You will not have access to the webinar if you do not click and register at the webinar’s site.

If identified as a WEBINAR, we will not be able to see you.

If identified as a MEETING, we can see you if you allow us to.

Zoom does not require you to download anything; you simply click the link and join online.

Thank you for your patience as we evolve to beat the havoc caused by the Coronavirus!!

BOOKMARK: www.gtscoalition.eventbrite.com to go directly to registration for all GTSC and Homeland Security Today events.

Homeland Security Today webinars are NOT included here. To find those, sign up for the weekly webinar update here.

PAST WEBINARS

GTSC U.S. Coast Guard Cyber & IT Missions and Opportunities

AUGUST 27, 2020

Join us for a discussion around cyber and IT missions and opportunities at USCG

SPEAKER:

Rear Admiral David Dermanelian, U.S. Coast Guard

GTSC MEMBERS ONLY WEBINAR WITH DIRECTOR MATTHEW ALBENCE, ICE

AUGUST 19, 2020

Join GTSC for a webinar with the Director of ICE Matthew Albence, to discuss the agency’s day-to-day operations and impacts of COVID on their workforce of more than 20,000 officers, special agents, attorneys, and mission support professionals assigned to more than 400 domestic and international offices.

GTSC ESBG Procurement Update: NITAAC CIO-SP3 Small Business

AUGUST 11, 2020

Procurement update around the NITAAC CIO-SP3 vehicle.

U.S. Customs & Border Protection – ITI and other OIT requirements

JULY 7, 2020

SPEAKERS:

Sanjeev Bhagowalia, Acting Assistant Commissioner, Office of Information & Technology (OIT), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), DHS

Julie Koo, Director Information Technology Contracting Division U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Earl Lewis, Executive Director, Procurement, Deputy Head of Contracting Activity

Special thanks to Sev1Tech for their support of this webinar. Click their logo to learn more about GTSC’s Mid-Tier of the year!

GTSC Procurement Update: U.S. Department of Homeland Security – HQ

June 25, 2020

SPEAKERS:

Soraya Correa, Chief Procurement Office, U.S. Department of Homeland Security

GTSC Procurement Update: Internal Revenue Service

June 9, 2020

Speakers:
Shanna Webbers, Chief Procurement Officer, IRS
Harrison Smith, Deputy Chief Procurement Officer, IRS

Special thanks to Northrop Grumman for their support of this webinar. Click their logo to learn more about GTSC’s Mentor of the year 2018!

GTSC Procurement Update: U.S. State Department

June 9, 2020

SPEAKERS

Michael Dickson, Branch Chief, Information Management Contract Branch, U.S. State Department

Katie Lugo, Contracting Officer, Information Management Contract Branch, U.S. State Department

Grayson Cochran, Contracting Officer, Information Management Contract Branch, U.S. State Department

Anna Urman, Senior Procurement Analyst, U.S. State Department

GTSC Procurement Update U.S. Customs and Border Protection

May 27, 2020

SPEAKERS

Julie Koo, Director Information Technology Contracting Division U.S. Customs and Border Protection

David Hansen, Supervisory Information Technology Specialist, U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Earl Lewis, Executive Director, Procurement, Deputy Head of Contracting Activity

GTSC and Women of Homeland Security – A conversation with Beth Cappello – Acting CIO of DHS

May 19, 2020

Join GTSC, co-hosted by Women in Homeland Security, to hear from Elizabeth Capello on her mission, challenges, and vision as she works to manage the IT and cyber security needs of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security during the COVID crisis — and every day.

GTSC Procurement Update with DHS

May 7, 2020

Join GTSC for a members only webinar on procurement and acquisition activity at the U.S.Department of Homeland Security. GTSC will host a number of industry liaisons from headquarters to discuss procurement activity, touch on DHS’s response to Coronavirus, and answer questions submitted in advance. This webinar is geared toward activity not related to COVID-19, however, if you have questions about that we will certainly entertain them.

GTSC Procurement Update with ICE

April 30, 2020

Join GTSC for a members only webinar on procurement and acquisition activity at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Special thanks to members who responded to GTSC’s survey and asked for specific updates on:

· DHS ICE SEVP Application Design, Development, Test, Deployment, O&M, Eng, and Security

· DHS ICE-Security Assurance Support Services

· Modernize and Automate the Inspection Process at ICE Detention Facilities

· DHS, USCIS, CYBER SECURITY DEFENSE SERVICES (csds) – RFI

GTSC Members Only – Events, New Webinars, Procurement and Acquisition

April 24, 2020

Join us for an update on GTSC’s activities around:

>Procurement

>Events

>COVID-19

Questions and suggestions on what else we can be doing to help you.

GTSC Law Enforcement Information Sharing – Focus on Domestic Violent Extremism

April 23, 2020

2/14: GTSC ESBG: What’s Ahead for Small Business at DHS in 2020?

Please join GTSC’s Emerging Small Business Group and Women in Homeland Security for

What’s Ahead for Small Business at DHS in 2020

Aligning Small Business Capabilities with DHS Mission Needs

GTSC and WHS are showing you the love on Valentine’s Day! The Government Technology & Services Coalition’s Emerging Small Business Group and Women in Homeland Security invite you for a look at the work of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Small business specialists from across the components will join us for a discussion of their plans for 2020, the DHS Mentor Protege Program, and GSA will join us for a brief on Category Management. GTSC will also provide a copy of our latest paper on small business opportunities in light of Category Management.

WHEN: February 14, 2020

10:00 am – 12:15 pm

WHERE: Arlington, VA

REGISTRATION is required. This event is open to the homeland security community.

AGENDA

9:30 am Registration and networking

10:00 am Welcome & Introductions

Jon Ostrowski, COO, Government Technology & Services Coalition

Earl Holland, Chair, Government Technology & Services Coalition Emerging Small Business Group (ESBG)

10:15 am The Mentor Protégé Program

Sharon M Davis, Director, Manager, Protégé Program, U.S. Department of Homeland Security

10:30 am Panel: The Small Business Outlook at DHS

Robyn Towles, C&P Division Director, Transportation Security Administration

Robert Keegan, Small Business Specialist, Federal Emergency Management Agency

Anita Perkins, Small Business Specialist, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Michelene Rangel, Management & Program Analyst, Procurement and Planning Oversight, USCG

Denise L. Richardson, Procurement Analyst, Small Business & Industry Liaison Programs, USCG

11:45 am Category Management Update

Stacy Swann, National Account Manager, GSA Federal Acquisition Service

Distribution of GTSC Small Business Opportunities Paper

12:15 pm Adjourn

GTSC Releases 2019 Annual Report: Fostering Collaboration to Cast a Wider Shadow on the Homeland Security Market

The Government Technology & Services Coalition, the foremost organization for government contractors in the homeland security mission space, released its 2019 Annual Report at their Annual Meeting.

GTSC’s 2019 Annual Report: Fostering Collaboration to Cast a Wider Shadow on the Homeland Security Market, catalogs the non-profits activities and progress toward a trusted community to protect the nation.

The theme: Fostering Collaboration to Cast a Wider Shadow on the Homeland Security Market highlights the effectiveness of the over 200 contracting companies that have joined together to collaborate to bring the best solutions to the homeland security market. The organization saw 25% growth among its mid-tier members, contractors with revenue between $25 million and $1 billion, and saw over one million page views at their news site, Homeland Security Today (www.HSToday.us). In addition to engaging to improve procurement for all contractors, the organization works to provide a level playing field, increase competition, and assure that smaller companies with innovative solutions have an opportunity to share with the public sector officials that need them. The organization has attracted new government partners, and sustained vibrant partnerships with its traditional supporters.

“We are extremely happy that our approach to collaboration, facts, and practical solutions has been embraced by the homeland security community. We have worked very hard to create a community of trusted relationships between the public and private sector to work together to protect our nation. We work daily to bridge the communication gap and lack of understanding between those who are accountable for the mission, and those who support them to achieve it. Our non-profit’s work, our mission, has always been to support those on the front lines, executing our nation’s laws, to keep our children, citizens, and cities safer against all threats.” said Kristina Tanasichuk, CEO & Founder, at the release.

“Our partnership with GTSC is incomparable,” said Alba M. Alemán, CEO of Citizant and GTSC’s Mid-Tier Company of the Year. “GTSC, has been paramount in developing trusted relationships between industry and agency leaders to bring forward unique perspectives, so that those agencies will be better served and able to achieve mission-critical objectives. Moreover, to be a part of such an elite network of like-minded professionals passionate about national security and core infrastructure missions, is both energizing and humbling.”

GTSC was founded in 2011 by small business CEOs in the homeland security market to find ways to improve procurement and acquisition of innovative technologies, give small businesses a voice in the federal market, and provide a trusted community for those tasked with securing the country. The organization has evolved to represent the ecosystem of the homeland security market with small, mid-tier, and large companies engaged to collaborate, mentor, and network to achieve mission. In 2017, the non-profit purchased the Homeland Security Today media platform.

“As a fairly new business having started in 2012, I have been a part of various organizations and associations. GTSC has been the ONLY one that has consistently supported businesses and government entities with a passion for both sides. I can proudly say that Potomac Management Solution’s growth and success has been directly contributed to the programs, guidance and overall structure of GTSC!” said Diane McCain, CEO of Potomac Management Solutions and GTSC’s Small Business of the Year.

GTSC and Homeland Security Today also hosts the Annual Holiday Hero Awards recognizing those on the front-lines on watch every single day to protect our country from threats to homeland security. The awards recognize private citizens and public sector officials doing exceptional work on behalf of the homeland.

The 2019 Annual Report catalogs the numerous programs, meetings, networking opportunities, charitable events, and workgroups supported by the organization and the leaders and members shaping those activities.

Click here to view the report.

GTSC’s Annual Meeting 2019: A Look at 2020

Happy New Year and Welcome to an exciting 2020!

Thank you for being a member of the Government Technology & Services Coalition! Once a year we have the opportunity to gather for our Annual Meeting and learn more about the groundwork we’ve accomplished for a tremendous 2020, hear from our partners and leadership on how to approach the new year, and gather feedback on what you need from us!

On January 23, we will hear from leadership from the Department of Homeland Security, Internal Revenue Service and the Defense Logistics Agency to discuss 2020, their plans, and your opportunities. We will also hear from some of GTSC’s leaders on what activities are happening “behind the scenes” and how we carry your voice to the agencies in homeland security. Stay tuned for even more additions!!

GTSC has also achieved some significant milestones in both our association and with Homeland Security Today that we’d like to share and encourage you to help us keep the momentum going!

This is a GTSC Member ONLY meeting.

Please register today to build our team, increase our collaboration, and build a stronger GTSC for you.

I look forward to seeing you — thank you for your membership and continued support! Sponsorship is available for our Annual meeting and FEMA day — grab yours today.

Kristina

Kristina Tanasichuk | CEO

Government Technology & Services Coalition

Executive Editor, Homeland Security Today

GTSC Welcomes New Members FROM USCG, USCIS, TSA, & INTEL to Board of Advisors

The Government Technology & Services Coalition (GTSC), the premier organization for small and mid-sized companies in homeland and national security, today announced several new appointments to add more expertise to their prestigious Board of Advisors.

“GTSC’s has grown by leaps and bounds in the last several months as companies and federal partners realize the true potential of active, mission-oriented collaboration. Achieving the homeland security mission requires the expertise of both mission experts and those who execute to achieve top performance. Our recent Board of Advisor additions add tremendous vision and capabilities to our engagements,” said Kristina Tanasichuk, Founder & CEO of GTSC. GTSC welcomes:

Rear Admiral John Acton, Former Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard and Special Advisor to the Presidential Transition who will work with the Coalition on initiatives with the U.S. Coast Guard and continued White House transition. “It’s an honor for me to continue my support of GTSC. As we enter a period of budget tightening and evolving policy challenges, the role of medium and small companies in supporting our homeland security missions remains as essential as ever. With a security threat stream that continues to broaden and morph, these smaller companies can fill vital roles and often react quicker than larger, more bureaucratic firms. And GTSC plays an important role helping these smaller firms increase their effectiveness and efficiency, to the benefit of us all,” said Rear Admiral Acton at the announcement.

Joshua Seckel, Chief Engineer at WhiteHawk and former Chief of the Applied Technology Division at U.S. Customs & Immigration Services joins the Coalition to assist our federal partners to understand and implement agile development projects, agile thinking, and strategic development of projects and initiatives that includes an agile framework. At the release, Seckel said, “I’m looking forward to working with the GTSC community to bring modern development practices into both government agencies and contractors supporting them.”

Jill Vaughan, Senior Advisor at GSIS and former Assistant Administrator for the Office of Security Capabilities and the Chief Technology Officer at the Transportation Security Administration joins GTSC to contribute to, and continue the strategic development of, “Smashing the Box” events and the challenge of bringing new security technology to our federal government partners.

Caryn A. Wagner, Former Undersecretary for Intelligence & Analysis at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security joins the Coalition to further the quality of the threat and risk information collected by our federal partners and the data analytics that support it. “I am committed to working the seams between national and domestic security and look forward to my association with GTSC.”

Profiles of these and all GTSC Board of Advisors are available at: https://gt.gtscoalition.com/about-us/strategic-advisors/

Members of the Board of Advisors provide input to GTSC’s programming, identify areas of collaboration and increase the awareness and understanding of the Federal homeland and national security mission. GTSC works on behalf of its members with the U.S. Departments of Homeland Security, Defense, State, Justice and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Since its inception, GTSC has worked with these agencies to achieve mission in an increasingly challenging budget environment, advocate for the value of small businesses, increase understanding of mid-tier companies, improve market research and increase collaboration between the public and private sector.

READ THE RELEASE: Press release Advisors May 17 2017

GTSC Launches “GTSC Days”

GTSC is very excited to unveil our “GTSC Days” web presence! Given our CBP, TSA, USCIS Days are some of our member favorites, we thought we’d give our esteemed members even more PR and thanks. Special thanks to Andrea Stone Sara Kindsfater-Yerkes Diane Ashley Kristin Cooke Alan Carpenter Dennis Brad Cole Kris McMenamin Leslie Hubbard-Darr and a few others for Chairing and supporting our GTSC days! www.GTSCdays.com

CBP Day 2017 May 11

GTSC is excited to announce our 5th annual CBP Day!

Annually we welcome a deeper dive into the mission of the Customs and Border Protection with a stellar line-up of speakers and attendees to discuss, explore, and problem solve around the CBP mission.

This year, GTSC will host CBP Day May 11 in Arlington, VA and we’ve already confirmed many in the leadership of this incredibly important component including: Valerie Isbell, Acting Deputy Assistant Commissioner of the Office of Information and Technology Enterprise Services; Linda Jacksta, Assistant Commissioner, Human Resources Management; Brenda Brockman-Smith, Executive Assistant Commissioner, Office of Trade; Ron Vitiello, Acting Deputy Commissioner, U.S. Border Patrol; Colleen Manaher, Executive Director, Planning, Program Analysis, and Evaluation (PPAE), Office of. Field Operations (OFO), Entry/Exit Transformation; Ed Mays, Executive Director, Enterprise Data Management & Engineering Directorate, Office of Information Technology (OIT);John Wagner, Deputy Executive Assistant Commissioner, Office of Field Operations, Shannon Laurenz, Chief , Enterprise Data Center Operations Branch, Enterprise Data Management and Engineering, Office of Information and Technology, Enterprise Services,Kyle Barnett, Lead ITSPEC (APPSW), Cargo Systems Development Division, Office of Information and Technology,Thomas Mills, Chief Systems Engineer, Office of Information and Technology,Earl J. Lewis III, Director, Information Technology Contracting Division,Michelle Mrdeza, Senior Advisor, Cornerstone Government Affairs & Strategic Advisor, GTSC; former Majority Staff Director of the House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Homeland Security,Troy Riley, Executive Director, Trade Remedy and Law Enforcement Directorate (TRLED), Randy Mitchell, Director, Commercial Operations and Entry Division, Trade Policy and Programs (TPP),Debbie Augustin, Executive Director, Trade Transformation Office (TTO) and Kraig Moise, Associate Chief, TacticalAir, Land & Marine Enterprise Communications (TALMEC). Stay tuned for even more!

Join us today to attend this annually sold out event.

A Case Study on the Power of Partnership: How Federal Agencies Can Find Qualified Small Businesses, Faster

When the Government Technology and Services Coalition (GTSC) was formed a little over 5 years ago, one of our primary missions was to improve and assist our federal partners in performing their market research. We immediately formed a “Market Research” workgroup, chaired by Brian Nault, President of BlueWater Federal to identify how the government could find the best providers, and reach the largest number of competitors, possible to meet the demands of their mission at the best price and highest quality.

We met with procurement officials and contracting officers to discuss some of the challenges of “being noticed,” by federal agencies, particularly for small businesses. We conveyed the shortcomings of the “Requests for Information” from a small business’s perspective, described how the lack of response from some agencies to the information provided in an RFI hindered a robust response from industry, and explained how the value of responding often was not high enough given the need for companies to spend time staying afloat chasing real opportunities. All of these shortcomings held true for any size business.

We are still working on improving the RFI process but recently we were able to provide some tangible assistance to a partner in the government – and were successful in showing that with the proper partnership, the government can get better, and faster access to qualified providers.

It began with a call from GTSC member and GTSC Small Business Member of the Year 2016 Kathy Pherson, CEO of Pherson Associates, a Woman-Owned Small Businesses (WOSB), who was concerned that a partner agency found no Woman-Owned Small Businesses in a certain NAICs code. The member connected us with the agency and to their credit, they were very interested in hearing from us! GTSC put out a call for firms qualifying for the requirements. In less than 48 business hours we had amassed over 25 qualified WOSBs and submitted them to the agency.

With that, they altered their initial track structure for the intended procurement to reflect this market research.

Why am I writing about this? This is obviously an “ideal” scenario!

I wanted to provide a real life example of how our government partners can leverage their industry partners to find their most qualified providers and best solutions competitively. We encourage all of our government partners to consider:

Go to where the small businesses live. There are very few organizations that really represent small businesses in the federal market. Why? Simply because they do not have tremendous marketing dollars. Small companies look for the most resources for the least outlay of the capital they use to grow. Federal agencies should forge close ties with non-profits that work with, and actively represent small businesses.
Develop and Leverage relationships.Every market is a series of relationships – healthy markets are composed of those you trust and those you do not. That is why “industry relations” are so important to a vibrant federal market. Good relationships with industry allow an agency to reach and get assistance to find the small businesses they need. It also saves a tremendous amount of time and leg-work to try and find new communities around every procurement.

Be strategic. Different organizations are good at different things. The best federal industry liaisons, procurement officers, and leadership understand their market’s industry partners, who represents what, the organization’s mission, and the efficacy of the organization. Developing these relationships with industry allows them to understand how to best leverage existing resources and find active, engaged businesses.

Talk to your industry partners. We may finally be coming out of a period where many in the federal government were reluctant to talk to industry. The message we’ve been hearing more than ever – from nearly every component within the Department of Homeland Security – is that acquisition and procurement leaders are encouraging their staff to get out more and talk to, and learn from, industry. As a matter of fact, under the leadership of DHS CPO Soraya Correa the Department has undertaken “Reverse Industry Days” – devised by industry – to provide their contracting staff an opportunity to learn about industry and how it operates. GTSC’s Acquisition & Procurement Workgroup lead, Carolyn Muir from SE Solutions and a former contracting officer with the Navy has been instrumental in crafting and adding tremendous value to the topics and lessons provided in these “Master Classes” on government contracting.

We continue to applaud these changes to our procurement and acquisition process and look forward to continue leading both industry and government as we navigate a market environment moving faster than conventional procurement can handle.

Kristina Tanasichuk is CEO & Founder of the Government Technology & Services Coalition, a non-profit, non-partisan organization of small and imd-sized companies working in homeland and national security. She is also the president of InfraGardNCR, a public private partnership between the private sector and the FBI to share information to protect our nation’s critical infrastructure, and the president and founder of Women in Homeland Security.

Part II: Implementing Agile at USCIS

PART II

In part II of our interview with Josh Seckel, Sara Kindsfater-Yerkes, Chair of the GTSC Business Development Exchange, was able to sit down with USCIS’ Chief of the Applied Technology Division (ATD) to discuss the agile transformation at U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Among ATD’s chief responsibilities are driving the adoption of agile across the USCIS enterprise, brought about in part by providing agile coaching services – experts across the technical, process and organizational change domains who help clients shift their culture and mindset to lean/agile thinking. This is a sea change in Federal IT – moving away from the lengthy, and staged waterfall methods to continuous activities for developing software. By doing them continuously quality improves because testing starts day one, visibility improves through collaboration and increased visibility, and risk is reduced through continuous feedback and prioritization of work.

GTSC: You’ve been through some of the best agile coaching training out there – for those who aren’t coaches what does “being a good mirror” mean?

Josh: Yes. They are able to point out to the team what is engrained that they are doing and can’t see for themselves, and get them to question, “is there a better way” versus accepting “we’ve always done it this way”. That takes a special relationship – one built on trust, honesty but without being a snitch, not judging but helping and not being oversight.

GTSC: So how are coaches typically different than scrum masters?

Josh: Again, really good scrum masters can be agile coaches, as long as they’ve had experience helping teams grow and get better. It’s a really small number of people that can do that though – be scrum masters AND agile coaches. Biggest differences between scrum masters and agile coaches is their area of engagement – scrum masters focus on team, coaches focus on project or program, and multiple teams of developers, scrum masters and stakeholders. At USCIS we have agile coaches that focus on divisions and entire portfolios of systems.

GTSC: This is somewhat self-serving given my background but how is agile driving culture change in the government?

Josh: Agile is helping the government breakdown silos, slowly. People are talking – maybe not collaborating to the fullest extent but we’re realizing why it’s important to talk to other parts of the organization. Within USCIS the IT people are engaging the business side more than they used to. Speed is also a big driver of change – there’s a new expectation for delivery on the order of months not years. The pace of change in government is increasing – I know it’s been that way in industry – but in government we are really pushing to think about what comes next. Agile is also changing the way we think about quality – we’ve got to deliver quicker, with less resources and keep focused on quality while maintaining that pace. Next, we’ve got to focus on understanding MVP (minimum viable product) on the business side – that’s coming.

GTSC: It’s a consistent pain point – how do you procure agile services?

Josh: We’ve got to focus on agile acquisition, not acquisition for agile. What I mean is we need look at what we need to change in the acquisition process. We’ve also got to keep contractual requirements in contracts and leave business requirements out of them. Come to Agile 2016 to hear me talk about this – I have a lot to say on this topic!

GTSC: As you know, GTSC’s “tag line” is, It’s All About Mission. How do you think agile impacts the mission of USCIS?

Josh: Agile impacts the mission of USCIS by providing more immediate responses to changes in direction, both large and small. When the executive order for Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) came down, we were able to start working on the changes much faster than history would indicate. And when the court stayed the order, we were able to switch back very rapidly as well. Or on the small level, we are fixing and changing items on a rapid basis because of user feedback. This enables the officers to be much more responsive to the applicants rather than having to deal with a long wait and many work arounds.

GTSC: So last question, how do we work together (government and industry) to continue to bring things like agile, to the government to improve government?

Josh: Neither can do it alone – agile, devops, etc. – it has to be a partnership. We’re going to put out RFPs for agile delivery, and we’re going to expect that those bidding can do things like test driven development (TDD). If companies bidding don’t have the skills they won’t win. It’s a different world. Companies need to keep the skills of their teams up to date and growing; we’ve all got to focus on the work and the mission.

JOIN US to hear Josh in person discussing best practices in agile at USCIS, March 10, 2016. REGISTER here.

Sara Kindsfater-Yerkes, leader of GTSC’s DHS Business Development Exchange and member since 2012, is an Organizational Change Strategist with expertise in guiding large-scale transformations, Sara is passionate about helping individuals and teams to become high performing and creating cultures in which all can thrive. She currently supports Josh and USCIS in the cultural adoption of lean/agile practices.