Dean Carlson

DoD Contractors: FCI vs CUI We discuss CMMC Compliance requirements, implementing NIST 800-171 110 controls to meet CMMC Level 1 and prepare for CMMC Level 2 assessment.

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Beyond excited to announce the launch of the Platform One Solutions Marketplace! Huge shout out to the team and everyone who worked on this incredible leap forward in government acquisitions. Some of the many highlights: 1. Continuously open solicitation - Industry can submit DevSecOps solutions and be evaluated continuously, unlimited proposal submissions and evals every 30 days. 2. A digital, web based medium for DoD users to conduct market research with vendors in a post competition environment and immediately negotiate and award a variety of contracts and agreements. 3. A major focus on non-traditionals, startups, small business, commercial products and services, due to a very low barrier to entry and continuous feedback loops. 4. The P1SM is completely decentralized, allowing all other DoD users to use the marketplace without paying a fee or ordering authority training by meeting all the competition requirements for OTA's (10 USC 4021 and 4022), CSO's (DFARS 212.70) and BAA's (FAR/DFAR Part 35).

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DoD DIGITAL ENGINEERING I love it when DoD leadership steps out in front of the media and so clearly articulates the INTENT and VALUE of Digital Engineering approaches. Col Matt Strohmeyer nailed it. CUSTOM COMMON OPERATING PICTURE (COP) VIEWS FOR EVERY MISSION/LEADER "Instead of a single, standardized, god’s-eye-view, Col. Matthew Strohmeyer said Monday, the goal of GIDE is a constantly evolving ecoystem of different applications, analytics, and interfaces, customized to different users at every level, from four-star theater commanders to mid-grade staffer officers to junior leaders on the battlefield, that will all draw — in different ways — on the same vast pool of data, shared across the different armed services worldwide." POWER OF CLOUD COMPUTE CUSTOM COP SERVICES “the goal is not necessarily to create that one COP that can see essentially everything we have … one Common Operating Picture to rule them all,” the colonel continued. “We need to have a heterogeneous mix of mission applications to get after all the things that we are doing.” Digital Engineering Ecosystems should be typified by numerous vendors being present in an environment that is both collaborative and competitive. Each brings their People, Process, Technology mojo so the government can have access to the right tool for the right purpose. One size does not fit all and there is more than enough work for all of us to do. We're better together. OPEN-SPEC APIs TO LINK DATA & COP CAPABILITIES "Instead of a single super-standard for all data, Strohmeyer suggested, a more practical solution might be mandating Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that automatically translate between otherwise incompatible systems. In fact, before an organization is allowed to “play” in the GIDE experiments, he said, they must provide “open and common access to data,” whether through an API or another automatic translation tool." See my post 2 days ago on this topic: https://lnkd.in/gahF6KQj AGILE APPROACHES "Adaptability requires rapid feedback from a wide range of users, so Strohmeyer’s team has accelerated their already blistering pace, adding smaller weekly workshops to their ambitious quarterly experiments" "In fact, part of the GIDE philosophy — inspired more by Silicon Valley startups than Washington bureaucracy — is an eagerness to “fail fast.” Sometimes known as “agile” development or DevSecOps, the basic strategy is to put nascent tech in the hands of real users, let them test it until something breaks, fix it quickly, and then let the users test the updated iteration until that breaks too." https://lnkd.in/g2HTRWuu

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The DoD Inaugural Human-Machine Interfaces CTA now has an approved Roadmap and Vision & Strategy document. They can be found here (CAC enabled). https://lnkd.in/eZU2kZan For those without a CAC, request via the DoD CTO Website, Critical Technologies page (at the bottom). https://lnkd.in/eey4y2BP There are too many Stakeholders across our Department, Industry, Partner Nations and Academia to thank for their support in 2024 to help refine, scope, prioritize and deliver this as a collaborative Strategy. We had over 300 Stakeholder engagements, 5 deliberate HMI CTA Workshops and numerous Key Leader Engagements to get this right. We will continue to refine with our Ecosystem as we drive to accelerate these technologies and set the conditions across the Department for a persistent and endemic focus on these Critical Technologies in our primary Mission Focus Areas. 2024 was great, but now the real work begins. Get Ready.

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“Cost-minus contracting” is not a thing. Fixed Price Incentive-Firm Target (FPIF) contracts, however, have been around for a while. DoD goes through a cycle of Cost Plus and Fixed Price contracting. When costs seem to grow, DoD goes FP, shifting cost risk to contractors ever since the Air Force’s “Total Package Procurement” movement in the 1950s. When time to field capabilities grows and quality of capability declines (as has been the historical consequence of FP contracting), DoD assumes some cost risk back and welcomes CP to the fold again. In contracting, incentives are king. If we are shifting back to more FPIF contracts - especially for software development - DoD must be able to effectively manage product quality, time to deployment, and time to update/refresh. They also must understand and be able to scale the OTA lifecycle, from pilot to production to major program (if necessary). All of this is hard and involves risk…where to place that risk has been a cyclical question for DoD contracting since the Commission on Government Procurement. Rather than picking industry partners who say the rights things, DoD must focus on those who deliver outcomes and results. Industry partners must be honest and transparent with government - qualities that require more incentive for some - to prove that delivering those outcomes and results to the end user really is the highest goal instead of maximizing profit at their expense. In short: we don’t need Contracting Ad Libs. We need Effective Incentive Managament and Transparency in Contracting. #defensereform #contracting #nationalsecurity #defenseindustry #innovation #procurement #CP #FPIF

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Like most policy, the desired outcomes are seldom those to which we arrive, calling my shot: Step 1. Demand source code from contractor that I don’t know what to do with Step 2. Share it through one of many nightmarish repos with other government entities who also have no idea what to do with it Step 3. Hand code off to “software factory” staffed with prime contracted 0.5x developer drones Step 4. Prime suddenly drops a “proprietary” product that looks a lot like a bootlegged knock off but was “developed under IRAD” Step 5. Buy what was free, with an added VAR tax https://lnkd.in/eqv-62Dx

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A list of data and tech ramblings. 1. If the technology already exists and you are providing a service in the DoD, do the right thing and direct your client to the offering. Duplicating efforts for service revenue capture will come back to haunt you. 2. If you do not understand the business logic, your programmatic efforts and architecture will reflect as such. You need keyboard warriors who understand the problem beyond the surface level. 3. If you are a consulting firm, hire doers at a 20:1 ratio to those who talk or manage the doing. If you do not trust your people, look in the mirror and hire better—deployable tech and improvement over PowerPoint promises. 4. A well-equipped team with deep expertise and few barriers in front of them will boat-race any overly processed or micromanaged team. Micromanage smart and driven people at your peril. 5. Middle managers who can "go to the mattresses" and work with the team to deliver on time will beat anyone who cannot. You cannot process your way out of an expertise debt on teams or within an organization. 6. People who uphold high technical and deployment standards will benefit your brand 10 times more than those who knock out random low-value projects. 7. Coach people on how to ask questions. Guessing costs money and customers. 8. For every reaction, there is an opposite and unequal reaction. You are present to deliver a workable Version 1 that meets the client's expectations. Have your Day 1 standards reflect this cause. 9. Develop with the right tools, for the right reasons. Match the tooling to the business problem you are attempting to solve. 10. Not everything needs machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), digital twins, large language models (LLMs), or generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI). If it does, be damn sure the systems, data, and network you have in front of you can support it. If your team does not understand the systems, network, and data (The whole picture), stop and do not build things that do not work with a s**t. #technology #data

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The One Interview Mistake to Avoid and Space Force Awards Contract to Virtualitics If you want to ace your next interview, one industry leader says to avoid this mistake. And Virtualitics lands a key Space Force contract. https://lnkd.in/gCB6gsGv

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What does the class deviation to NIST 800-171 Rev 2 means for defense contractors? Spoiler alert: It means more business as usual. The DOD has aligned DFARS 7012 and CMMC 2.0, so they'll both be based on NIST 800-171 revision 2, as we had expected. This move is an important step in bringing CMMC 2.0 closer to a final rule as prior to this there was conflict between CMMC 2.0 and DFARS 7012 given the impending release of 800-171 revision 3. This memo makes it clear that DOD is going to focus on 800-171R2 for CMMC 2.0 and it is now aligned with DFARS 7012. So what to do now if you are a defense contractor? Well, focus on NIST 800-171 revision 2 as it is written today. Like we said - more of the same. 💼 Find out more about this important DoD update in our newest blog: https://hubs.la/Q02wCBxW0 #NIST800171 #defensecontractors #complianceiskey 🛡️✨

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Cracking the Code: Hiring AI/ML Engineers in the DoD I often hear people refer to AI/ML engineers as unicorns within the DoD space. But at OMNI Technologies, I feel like we’ve cracked the code. My approach is simple: invest in the right individuals and pair them with the right mentors. My key discriminators? I look for candidates with non-traditional backgrounds, but with a strong foundation in mathematics. If the math is solid, the rest can be learned. I’ve had the privilege to take a long-term approach to developing AI/ML talent, and I believe that’s the real key here. In my experience, those from unconventional paths often outperform classically trained engineers—including myself. Ultimately, our success in AI/ML at OMNI Technologies comes down to the people we hire and the long-term perspective we hold in nurturing their growth.

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Future advanced 'starliners' will look more like these (https://bit.ly/49aB40a) We also foresee NOT only our development costs being lower, ultimately Price-per-Seat will be lower as well and provided on much safer form of spacecraft. #futurespace #newspace #newspaceeconomy #newtravel #spaceliner #CTPSpace

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Complexity is going up, and the bureaucracy of compliance is going up with it. Coupling this with once-a-generation programs is a recipe for losing. Here's a new interview from Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) with Gregory C. Allen and Will Roper. 2 key points worth the listen: 🔹 Certifying aircraft software for the goverment still relies on signing documents time. 31:32 🔹 Product wins the race—but process wins the race season. 46:40 https://lnkd.in/gnXWPxxA

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Cost-plus for software development is a recipe for inefficiency. Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contracts are the way to go for both custom solutions and COTS products. If you can't quantify the value of the work, figure that out first, then contract with clear objectives using FFP. This ensures better value and less risk. Cost-plus models often lead to higher costs and lower value because companies chase volume to boost low margins. Plus, top software talent usually avoids cost-type contracts, leading to a potential race to the bottom on labor pricing. We should budget software development like a military campaign—strategically and systematically.

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Air Force Boosts Space Command with $20M Data-as-a-Service Deal to Palantir Palantir wins a $20M contract to deliver a data-as-a-service platform supporting Space Command, with completion set for June 2025. https://lnkd.in/g4_NBNbE

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Right on Shawn Barnes! With regard to DoD, USSF, and IC aspirations related to commercial space, actions > (voluminous) words. Vision without resources and implementation is hallucination. Investors will run out of patience, companies will disappear, talent will dissipate, and innovative technologies will whither and die - along with our marginal advantage over our adversaries. “Ruthlessly implement” indeed!

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