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Requirements development workshops are best suited for services requirements with a total estimated lifecycle value greater than or equal to $50 million. Requirements may also qualify if they are significantly complex or mission-critical.
For DoD, if your estimated value is greater than $500 million, we recommend that you reach out to DAU to ensure you are compliant with DODI 5000.74 Defense Acquisition of Services.
We suggest teams to reach out at least 12 to18 months prior to the desired award date. That said, we’ve worked with teams on shorter lead times, but we may modify our approach to provide the most effective experience for the acquisition team.
We ask that all key team members participate in every facilitated session. This includes, at a minimum: the Program/Project Manager, Procuring Contracting Officer, Contracting Officer’s Representative(s), requirements owners, subject matter experts. It may include legal, budget, or other functions depending on the requirement.
NOTE: It is better to identify more people up front and have them excuse themselves if they don’t need to be there than attempting to bring in people who aren’t there and should be.
The facilitated requirements development workshop is offered either in-person or virtually. We have successfully facilitated virtual workshops since 2020.
We are open to doing in-person if it makes sense for both the acquisition team and the facilitation team, and with appropriate levels of leadership approval. If in-person, we will work with the requesting team to identify the appropriate space to support the facilitated session.
Virtual workshops are conducted via ZoomGov, using tools such as breakout rooms, whiteboards, and polls. If possible, it is recommended to download the Zoom application prior to the workshop. Participants should plan to be on video and actively engaged throughout the workshop. We can explore alternatives to ZoomGov if your agency has a restriction on its use.
You IPTs are also encouraged to set up shared folders (MS Team, Sharepoint, Google Drive) where everyone can access working documents and upload content from the workshop.
We recommend reaching out as early as possible. Once we receive the intake form, we will reach out to schedule an intake call with the PM, CO, and Sponsor(s) and other critical stakeholders within a few days.
Our ability to schedule a workshop depends on demand. Sometimes we are able to schedule a workshop within 30 days, but that is not guaranteed.
The IPT is comprised of the both the Program and Contracting Offices and other functions and roles as needed (such as Legal or Finance)
We expect the agency to have identified a Program/Project Manager for the requirement, but if there are questions around who it should be, we would be willing to work with your office to determine the best fit.
Project sponsors are individuals who are supporting or sponsoring the requirement, such as a senior leader or director. For example, it could be a Center Director on the Program side and/or a Head of Contracting Activity on the contracting side, or both.
Sponsors do not always attend the CSAW. Often, participants present their work to sponsors at the conclusion of the workshop. But sponsors are welcome to attend.
About half of the requirements we’ve supported have been services acquisitions in the IT space. This includes requirements that involve Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) products or Software as a Service (SaaS’s), but the preponderance of work must be services.
We have facilitators with ScrumMaster (CSM) and Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) certifications, along with Agile development experience. If additional expertise is needed, we can help identify subject matter experts (SMEs) within your agency or others who may serve as coaches.
The workshop is a starting point that helps teams focus requirements on outcomes rather than processes.
We provide tools for developing requirements, standards, AQLs, and surveillance methods. Most teams also reach consensus on Vision, Mission, and High-Level Objectives, which is often overlooked but highly valuable.
Workshops are customized to team needs and may include:
And always include:
The most tangible document that the team will walk away with is a Requirements Roadmap Worksheet (you can find a sample document here and practical spreadsheet here). This supports the development of the performance work statement (PWS) and solicitation package. The workshop is not intended to produce a finished PWS by the end of four days. But teams always walk away with clarity on what they have left to do.
Our facilitators are Federal Employees and have been certified or are pursuing certification as CSAW Facilitator / CSAW Co-Facilitator. All facilitation team members sign an NDA and provide that to the agency CO/KO.
There is currently no cost for the facilitated workshop itself. For in-person workshops, we do ask the sponsoring agency to provide workshop supplies (ex. Sticky notes, flip charts, etc.) and will provide a list to the agency point of contact (POC). Participant travel expenses are the responsibility of the participant’s agency.
Yes. Following the workshop, The Center offers some additional coaching and facilitation. The acquisition team will need to reach back out to csaw@gsa.gov and request the additional support, and The Center will work to provide support within their capacity and the team’s timeline.
Most of the workshops to-date have been for re-competes, but these workshops are great for new requirements or even major task/call orders against existing contracts/blanket purchase agreements (BPAs).
Each workshop is tailored to the team. A standard CSAW/SAW agenda typically includes:
DAY 1:
DAY 2:
DAY 3 & 4:
For specialized facilitation engagements, or Facilitation as a Service (FaaS), we will work with your agency sponsor(s) to determine the purpose of the session, the specific outcomes you’d like the team to achieve, and the participants to be involved. Once our Center understands these factors, our facilitators will build a structured facilitation process and agenda.
Teammates should be familiar with the goals of the acquisition and familiar with its requirements. In general, the workshop is designed to maximize your time without requiring pre-work. It doesn’t hurt to check out our video playlist on YouTube though.
Yes. Participants attending at least 95% of the facilitated workshop receive 32 Continuing Learning Points (CLPs) for a four day workshop (or else 8 CLPs per day for shorter engagements).
Important: Participants must have an active DAU or FAI CSOD account in order to receive CLPs. CLPs are awarded automatically in FAI CSOD. Please allow 4-6 business weeks for processing. For questions, email pshctraining@gsa.gov.
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Rates for Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. territories and possessions are set by the Department of Defense.
Rates for foreign countries are set by the Department of State.
Rates are available between 10/1/2023 and 09/30/2026.
The End Date of your trip can not occur before the Start Date.
Traveler reimbursement is based on the location of the work activities and not the accommodations, unless lodging is not available at the work activity, then the agency may authorize the rate where lodging is obtained.
Unless otherwise specified, the per diem locality is defined as "all locations within, or entirely surrounded by, the corporate limits of the key city, including independent entities located within those boundaries."
Per diem localities with county definitions shall include"all locations within, or entirely surrounded by, the corporate limits of the key city as well as the boundaries of the listed counties, including independent entities located within the boundaries of the key city and the listed counties (unless otherwise listed separately)."
When a military installation or Government - related facility(whether or not specifically named) is located partially within more than one city or county boundary, the applicable per diem rate for the entire installation or facility is the higher of the rates which apply to the cities and / or counties, even though part(s) of such activities may be located outside the defined per diem locality.
U.S. General Services Administration