Experimentation in federal procurement: 30 days or less for an agile team
Learn how USCIS has experimented with the procurement process in order to shorten the time to contract award, and how the results have been applied to larger procurements.
USCIS and the path to Section 508 compliance in agile development
Agile teams at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) are weaving Section 508 compliance testing into the development process as early as possible while building a culture of training and teamwork to improve compliance processes.
LISTEN: How 2 agencies are modernizing IT with DevOps
Sarah Fahden, the chief of the Verification Program Portfolio at USCIS, said the journey to being a dev/ops or agile shop started quickly after DHS made the project a high priority modernization program almost six years ago.
Vendors give props to DHS for agile procurement attempt
In a July 26 letter to DHS Chief Procurement Officer Soraya Correa, several vendors who had been awarded spots to participate in FLASH offered encouragement and appreciation to the agency despite the disappointing outcome of the attempted contract.
NextGov: ‘Immigration agency wants to blend data science, agile, and security’
The Homeland Security Department is looking beyond the "DevOps" trend -- blending development teams with operations teams to encourage closer collaboration and quick deployments -- with the intention of adding security teams into the mix.
USCIS modernizes verification program using agile
Using agile methods to update multiple pieces of its verification system while still maintaining the legacy system for customer use, the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) is 'changing the tire while driving," according to Federal News Radio.
Former USDS official says there is hope for agile government procurement
While FLASH was flawed, it showed the tremendous potential of running a contracting process that rewards excellence at designing and building working software, rather than competence in writing proposals and navigating bureaucracy.
NextGov: ‘What went wrong with DHS’ agile contract?’
FLASH’s cancellation is likely a reflection of the challenges agencies have setting up new initiatives, and observers should not take it as a sign agencies don’t have an appetite for agile software development services.
Federal News Radio: ‘USCIS CIO Mark Schwartz to leave government’
Mark Schwartz, the groundbreaking chief information officer at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service in the Homeland Security Department, is leaving government.
Audio: DHS provides rigorous internal assessment of canceled $1.5B agile contract
The report DHS filed with the Government Accountability Office said pulling the contract "is the only viable option to address the many issues that DHS has identified as problems with the requirement and the record."