Have problems managing due-outs from meetings?

I had a conversation with a coworker about managing due-outs (taskers and other assignments mentioned) from meetings throughout the week.  I mentioned a note taking process that I discovered some time ago.  I actually found a notepad that used it (maybe at Office Depot, Staples, or Office Max- couldn't find a link online for the same one) and I made a lot of meeting notes that way until the pad ran out. 

I had already planned going back to that method and found an Microsoft Word template that I modified slightly to use instead of the pad.  You can save it as a straight document or as a template in your Word software.

To modify yours like mine, open the template.  I deleted the Student Name at the top.  I changed the heading of the next section to "Meeting Topic/Name" and added a line (pressed the ENTER key) added a heading for "Attendees".  The Subject, I changed to "Date".  Where the template says Summary, I changed that to "To-Do's and Due Outs" and tabbed to the next table cell and typed, "Summary and Take Aways."  In this cell, I found the "borders" button within "paragraphs" in the Word Home ribbon and added the "left margin" to that cell.  The result is the wide lower section is divided into two separate sections.  Next SAVE-AS a document or template, your choice.

The beauty of this note keeping system is that this seems perfect for typical business meetings that we all seem to attend.  There are five sections: one is where you note the details of the meeting, such as name/topic, date, who attended, etc; the next section is a lined area to make your notes, much like your regular notepads have; a section for adding arrows, stars, main keyword(s) and other cues to draw attention to a particular place in the note (you can just doodle here if there are no key ideas in the meeting yet); a section to summarize or note the main points to remember which you would add when you got back to your desk (usually) and finally- and to me the best part- is a section that you can note the to-do’s or due outs that are mentioned throughout the meeting.  Flipping through the past few sets of notes, you can see the due-outs and make sure you have taken care of them.

After looking at this, you might find it of use.  If you plan to save your meeting notes in a binder, place your cursor along the long edge of the table until it changes into a pair of parallel lines, then click and drag the margin to accomodate holes (save, as before)  and then make sure you tell the printer to punch holes in it.

Questions about this?  I’ll be glad to answer if I can.  Want to modify it?  I can assist with that, too.

This is called the Cornell Note Taking System (actually a modified version) if you want to Google it and learn more. 

A new term for the contracting professional: Acquisition malpractice

Thanks to Mr. John Thos. Brown for pointing this out of an otherwise overlooked news article in his blog, Blogged Down in Procurement. We want to be considered as professionals and as such we need to practice our craft accordingly. Sometimes that means calling attention to our errors and Mr Frank Kendall, the new DoD Chief of Procurement (actually his title is Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics) is doing so.

Regardless of how busy we become, it is important to take time to make the good decisions. It is also important to remember that this is a profession and our ongoing professional development includes learning from the mistakes of others.

And add "acquisition malpractice" into your vocabulary.

The New York Times is a small business???

Lately, there has been an increased emphasis on correctly entering the Contracting Officer Determination of Business Size and how incorrectly entering the data can create headaches down the road. While not on the front page of the Washington Post (a contracting officer's greatest nightmare), here is a lengthy article in The New York Times blog's business section that points out how important it is in the Big Scheme of Things to accurately complete the Contract Action Report.

While the article does not go so far as to say that awarding contracts reserved for small businesses to large businesses is a catastrophe, it does say that critics have long reported that the government's efforts are not as much as reported. Also, government efforts might diminish if mandatory goals appeared to be met.

Regardless, a quote from the article shows what others outside our profession believe about the federal procurement process, as a result of errors like this:

“Contract error and mismanagement amounts to tens of billions of dollars’ worth of contracts a year being diverted away from small business,” [Elliott Rosenfeld of the American Small Business League] added. “With such faulty standards of oversight, accountability and transparency, we wonder how easy it must be to hide fraud in the federal contracting process.”

This article also correctly points out that the "official" size standards to be used as a reference at time of award found in the Online Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA), not the Central Contactor Registry (CCR). See DFARS 219.3 (you'll need scroll down or click the link for the subpart) for details and for the OUSD(AT&L) memo detailing how to correctly report the contractor's business size.

One more reminder to be careful, accurate and timely in reporting contract actions and that the additional care and time you take will reflect well on our profession.

Bill would require contracting officers to track more contractor data

The mess that was the Recovery Act for the federal contracting community was just the tip of the iceberg. See what lawmakers think contracting officers have time. energy and visibility of at House bill American Jobs Matter Act would require contractors to say how many jobs they would create for each contract award -- Federal Computer Week. This may still be just the tip. For now, the federal procurement process is responsible for growing the economy, putting small business to work, putting veterans to work, putting women to work and now they want to keep track of it through contracts, Who will pay? We the taxpayers, that's who. Who will do it? We the contracting professionals.

Thank goodness we aren't on furlough, or who or nothing would get done!

Importance of a proper NAICS code and product or service code- revisited

I wrote earlier about the importance of using proper codes in FedBizOpps (especially). Recently, the GAO sustained the protest of TMI Management Systems, Inc., (file number B-401530, dated September 28, 2009) when the contracting officer used a product code rather than a service code in the FedBizOpps solicitation.

The GAO stated that Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) requires full and open competition, publicizing requirements and allowing contractors an opportunity to make informed decisions about whether or not to provide a proposal. Similarly, the GAO notes that the FAR says to use FedBizOpps and to use the "most appropriate procurement classification category."

The GAO also found that there were probably other service codes that may have been closer matches to these services needed. The way they tested it out was to see what cods were used by other solicitations that listed the same NAICS code. None were listed with the product classisfication code.

As part of its claim, the protestor claimed they could locate the requirement as they searched using the codes they could perform and the GAO found that that was a reasonable practice and that searching for others codes, assuming the agencies would use the wrong codes, is an unreasonable assumption contractors shold have to make.

In summary, GAO declared that "misclassification of this procurement deprived [the contractor] of an opportunity to respond to the RFP and that [the agency] therefore did not use reasonable methods to obtain full and open competition as required by CICA.

Government, pay the contractor costs and resolicit the requirement.

What to take away? When in doubt, search through FedBizOpps to determine what codes were used for the same NAICS code. Choose a better fit for your requirement.

Comments? Let me know.

Wondering what is "new" in this field of contracting? Check it out...

Here is an updated link to my latest readings of the past week or three.