Acquisition Leadership:The SEWP Way

Acquisition Leadership:The SEWP Way

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SEWP Program OverviewSEWP Program Overview

SEWP: Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement•NASA-Wide IDIQ Contract Vehicle for purchase of IT Product solutions•Authorized by OMB as a Government-Wide Acquisition Contract

Program is 19 years old•Version IV started in May 2007•FY11 Government-Wide: 24,000 Delivery Orders worth over $2.3 Billion•70 Agencies / Over 10,000 customers in past year

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SEWP By The NumbersSEWP By The Numbers

38 Competed Prime Contractors

3800+ Manufacturers• Including Cisco, Sun, NetApp, EMC, APC, Microsoft, Oracle, etc.

1.9+ Million Products•Hardware, Software, Network Communications, Audio-Visual, Supporting

Technology•Maintenance / Warranty / Product Training•Firm Fixed Price Product Based Services; e.g. Installation

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SEWP Program ServicesSEWP Program Services

Help Desk• Pre-order support• Order processing and support• Post-order support

On-Line Information / Tools •RFQ, Search, FAQs, etc

Training•Free on-site and web-based training on proper use of Contracts

Outreach•Meetings / Retreats / Conferences

Order Processing/ Reports / TrackingQuality Assurance / Surveys

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SEWP Program OfficeSEWP Program Office

Post Contract Award Management •4 civil servants

- Program Manager- Deputy Program Manager- Financial Manager- Contracting Officer

•Contractor staff of over 35 personnel•Focus on customer support

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Program Structure - FinancialProgram Structure - Financial

Program budget is self contained• NASA provides no direct SEWP funding• No SEWP funding is provided to NASA except overhead

Working Capital Fund•Not tied to Fiscal Year•Budget closely monitored to ensure “non-profit” status

Program staffing and existence directly tied to usage and customer satisfaction•Operates essentially as a small business

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Program Structure - OversightProgram Structure - Oversight

NASA •Direct oversight: Part of the GSFC CIO Directorate•HQ oversight:

- CIO- Financial Office

Other Government Entities•Office of Management and Budget (OMB)•Congress / General Accounting Office (GAO)• Inspector Generals Everywhere

Others•Press / Public• Industry

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SEWP SuccessSEWP Success

Large non-GSA Government-Wide Contract Vehicle•Utilized by every Federal Agency

Clean “Bill of Health” from DoD IG and GAOLowest Service Fee in Government

•0.45% of order total (Typical fee is 0.75 to 1%)

Customer Service Survey by Outside Consultant•93% satisfaction rating for customer service

Can be leveraged by single customers; consolidated groups; up through CIO-level agency requirements•Tracking, support, training, oversight, insight along with up to date IT

product solutions

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Basis For SuccessBasis For Success

Customer Service

Work Environment•Diversity

Management

Leadership

Innovation and Change

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Customer ServiceCustomer Service

Entire staff is part of Customer Service• Involve non-Help desk staff in Program-wide activities•Form cross-functional teams•Share Program Vision•Support training and meeting activities

Customer Outreach•Reach out to the Customer•Provide easy access to training•Ensure Website and other materials are for the Customer and not the

Program

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Dealing With CustomersDealing With Customers

Always Smile•Keep a positive attitude•Let off steam at the right time

Customer is not always Right …But the Customer is never Wrong

The Customer may:•Be misinformed•Lack information•Lack understanding, etc.

Program must monitor Customer issues and increase information, outreach, etc.

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Work environmentWork environment

Door almost always open•Encourage staff to ask questions

Know the Staff•Strengths and weaknesses

Work Hard / Play Hard•Encourage appropriate “free time”•Staff-wide activities / celebrations

Foster team building

Encourage “taking the extra step”

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Staff DiversityStaff Diversity

Every staff has diversity

Not just the obvious (Race / Gender)

Many forms•Family status•Upbringing / background•Age•Education•Personality•Personal Goals•…

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Effects of Staff DiversityEffects of Staff Diversity

Diversity can cause issues with:•Communications•Expectations•Motivations

Diversity can (should) be leveraged for positive results•Diverse program requirements •Growth for staff and program •Understanding Customer Base – also diverse

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Handling Staff DiversityHandling Staff Diversity

Treat Program and staff as a “Whole”•While recognizing individual differences and contributions

Separate management expectation from management characterization•Recognize own position in diversity schema•Management must go beyond its own comfort zone

Avoid favoritism – real or perceived

Utilize Teams Carefully

Employee Code of Conduct

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Management Expectations - OHNSManagement Expectations - OHNS

The OHNS Management Philosophy

“Often Happy … …Never Satisfied”

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Often HappyOften Happy

Congratulate good work•Both directly to staff and to their management

Emphasize to outside world Program’s positive aspects

Show pride in staff accomplishments

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Never SatisfiedNever Satisfied

Program should not be seen as a finished product•Avoid stagnancy and self-satisfaction•Recently initiated shift from culture of speed to culture of quality

Technology, customer expectations, internal requirements always changing

Continuous improvement•Short-term Tweaking•Long-term Vision

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“Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.” - Warren G. Bennis

“Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.” - Warren G. Bennis

NASA SEWP Program has always been more than a set of contracts – it is viewed as an innovative experiment in IT acquisition

One of the 4 Acquisition objectives (all 4 are intact 20 years later):

embrace innovative procurement transactions and processes

3 Godfathers of SEWP•Set the objectives, goals and frameworks the Program continues to strive to meet

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Creativity and InnovationCreativity and Innovation

“The essential part of creativity is not being afraid to fail.”— Edwin H. Land “The innovation point is the pivotal moment when talented and motivated people seek the opportunity to act on their ideas and dreams.”— W. Arthur Porter

“Absolute identity with one's cause is the first and great condition of successful leadership.”— Woodrow Wilson

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Keys to SEWP’s InnovationKeys to SEWP’s Innovation

Understanding the difference between administering a contract and managing an acquisition program

Bringing together disparate parts•Technical, procurement, policy•Government and Private Industry

Willingness to experiment

Hands-off upper management•Started as a non-entity / under the radar•Self-contained financially

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Keys to SEWP’s Innovation Part IIKeys to SEWP’s Innovation Part II

Accept responsibility for failures and move on

Staff: dedication to mission; willingness to listen, observe and recommend•Mission is to provide the best customer service and the best contract program

possible

No mandatory customers

Managed as if the Program is a Small Business not a Government Program

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A Personal PerspectiveA Personal Perspective

Technical Background•Creative mentor •Had to design from scratch•Forward thinking while remaining a Skeptic•Thinker not a doer

- Staff of doers is very important to success when leader has visions

Philosophy: Often Happy, Never Satisfied

Always something to learn and try

“The achievement of excellence can only occur if the organization promotes a culture of creative dissatisfaction.” — Lawrence Miller

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SEWP Leadership TimelineSEWP Leadership Timeline

First Government-Wide Acquisition Contract

Implicit goal – be the best program possible while keeping as low a profile as possible

Past 3-5 years have been a paradigm shift• Increased size• Increased visibility of GWACs and SEWP•Outreach is working

No longer under the radar •Viewed as a leader and need to fill that role•Leadership not confined to SEWP Contracts – Acquisition issues in general•We could run and hide or push forward

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SEWP Leadership HistorySEWP Leadership History

One of the first to use EDI over the Internet

Attempted to require RFID type functionality in mid-1990’s

First to post draft RFPs on Internet with interactive Q and A

Strong emphasis on customer service, outreach and training

Early adopters of blackberry technology

Contract Holder Relationship Manager concept

Many special contract clauses; warranty as a product for example

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“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing

the right things.” - Peter Drucker

“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing

the right things.” - Peter Drucker

Annual conference built around customers

Semi-Annual Industry forums

Federal IT Acquisition Summit•Goal was to provide a neutral forum for a variety of acquisition related activities to

provide information to Federal procurement personnel•Attendance: Over 300 Government attendees from 72 distinct Government offices

Innovative tools for customer, industry and internal use

General association leadership•NCMA Executive Advisory Council and NCMA Sponsor•ACT/IAC Acquisition Government Advisory Panel•OpenGroup Trusted Technology Forum (O-TTF)

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OpenGroup: O-TTFOpenGroup: O-TTF

Industry-led effort to standardize / accredit supply chains

Co-chair of the Acquisition and Global Outreach Workstream

Global in nature

SEWP’s goal:•Ensure final product is inclusive•Assist in formulating acquisition policy recommendations

Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other. — John F.

Kennedy

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SEWP Vision Statement

SEWP will solidify its reputation as an innovative, customer focused program as it

seamlessly transitions to SEWP V and will be a visible, leading contributor to NASA and the

Federal IT Acquisition Community.

SEWP Mission Statement

As an established and agile leader in the Federal Acquisition Community, the SEWP

Program Office manages a suite of government-wide IT product solution contracts that

provide NASA and all Federal Agencies with timely access to mission critical technologies.

The Program provides best value and cost savings for the Federal Government and

American taxpayer through innovative procurement tools and processes; premiere

customer service and outreach; and advocation of competition and cooperation with

industry.

“The price of greatness is responsibility.” — Winston Churchill

“The price of greatness is responsibility.” — Winston Churchill

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SEWP Customer Service ContactsSEWP Customer Service Contacts

Web www.sewp.nasa.gov 24x7x365

E-mail Help@sewp.nasa.gov Get answers within 24 hours

Helpline 301-286-1478 Mon–Fri, 7:30 AM–6:00 PM ET

Fax 301-286-0317 Fax orders

E-mail Orders

sewporders@sewp.nasa.gov E-mail orders

Mail Mailstop 703.S, NASA GSFC, Greenbelt, MD 20771

Find UsNASA SEWP

Follow SEWP@nasasewp

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The SEWP Management TeamThe SEWP Management Team

Program Mgr. / CoTR Joanne Woytek 301-614-7128 Joanne.Woytek@nasa.gov

Deputy Program Mgr. Darlene Coen 301-614-7127 Darlene.E.Coen@nasa.gov

Financial Manager Theresa Kinney 301-614-7138 Theresa.M.Kinney@nasa.gov

Operations Manager Terita Easton 301-614-7111 Terita.M.Easton@nasa.gov

Contract Holder Relationship Manager Al Marshall 301-614-7141 Alexander.Marshall-

1@nasa.gov

Business Manager Marcus Fedeli 301-614-7125 Marcus.A.Fedeli@nasa.gov

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