Digital Service Academy

Developing and Inspiring Tomorrow’s Contracting Professionals

"Digital Service is a whole new ballgame for programs and acquisitions. I'd be lost if I didn't have a Digital Service expert on my team.”

– Government Digital Service Director X

What are contracting professionals asking themselves?

How do I use free Open Source architecture to quickly re-design my .gov and build a new content management system while adding the flexibility to migrate back to the legacy license-based stack in the future?

If I want to develop a new case management system on a Salesforce SaaS platform, how can I be connected with other buyers across the enterprise to drive efficiencies?

How much does it cost for an enterprise-wide license agreement I can utilize to build new business intelligence reports?

Where can I find libraries of contract templates, language, and clauses for successful procurements that acquired agile sprints or time-boxed releases with loosely defined requirements?

Is there a way for me to invite vendors to show me what they can quickly produce with some publicly available data sets in the form of clickable prototypes or demos before committing to a longer-term agreement?

What is different about digital service acquisition?

Access

Users are able to connect with information and products anywhere and anytime

People expect useful, relevant, and personal experiences

Experience

Successful services are delivered when programs and IT professional services are scoped to address the end-to-end user experience

Products and services are delivered across a variety of platforms, devices, and delivery channels

Design for Digital

Policies, processes, and systems are evolving, requiring greater flexibility for future adjustments

New services are being designed, built, and operated with very different methods and technologies

New Mindsets

Teams span program, project, product, and acquisition talent across silos

Procurement professionals must set their objectives in terms of outcome performance metrics

A continuous learning environment is necessary to maintain a comprehensive understanding of digital service skillsets

Booz Allen views this challenge as the first of many digital service talent development efforts for the Federal Government — its CXOs and leaders, front-line staff, business and technical experts, and acquisitions professionals.

What are the outcomes of a digital service contract?

Nurture Innovation

Provide contractual flexibility to optimize value for customers, enable new business models, and expand public and private partnerships

Human-Centered Design

Invest, build, and deliver services that real people need and will use effectively

Agile and Iterative

Reduce risk and waste by testing and improving digital solutions during the development process

Reusable Solutions

Co-create solutions with program owners and help them broaden access to innovative vendors through new acquisition methods and performance evaluation measures

What are insightful examples of digital service programs and acquisitions?

The US Federal Government is re-evaluating whether traditional proposal approaches are leading to the best results in the digital space. New contract opportunities such as USDA’s Recreation One Stop, Commerce’s data.commerce.gov, and GSA 18F’s Agile Services BPA employ new acquisition techniques tailored specifically to digital service. For instance, GSA, USAID, and Commerce are using hack-a-thon concepts that require respondents to generate working code, vice written text as the proposal content. Meanwhile, USDA is using alternative fee-for-service business models that encourage contractors to create innovative solutions and get rewarded for generating desired results.

Booz Allen and the digital service industry are integral partners in this journey

What learning challenges do contracting professionals face?

Learner Diversity

Contracting professionals have diverse backgrounds and experiences

Training must be designed for multiple learning experiences

Any program will address needs in training, education, and collaboration

Shifts in Lifecycle

Understand and design experiences that simplify changes in the acquisition lifecycle

Need a modular learning solution that can evolve and expand as acquisition policies and expectations are refined

Performance

Rather than tell, students will learn what digital service contracts look like by performing the tasks

Test new incentives to drive continued education and use of new methods

Knowledge Sharing

Rely on informal and formal networks for information

Tap into social collaboration to share experiences and feedback

Need content to keep pace with evolving products, open source technologies, and delivery methods

Meet Our Team of Experts

Ron Sanders

Booz Allen Industry Leader in Human Capital and Organizational Development

Bryce Pippert

Booz Allen Leader in Digital, Open Data, and Analytics Solutions

Brian Love

Booz Allen Leader in Digital Citizen Services and Design Thinking

Juli Dixon

Booz Allen Leader in Acquisitions and Procurement Mastery

Dan Tucker

Booz Allen Leader in Modern Systems Delivery

Kendra Herlig

Booz Allen Leader in Learning Strategy and Instructional Design