GSA Office of the Procurement Ombudsman

On September 17, 2018, GSA hosted the PACS Reverse Industry Training. This all day event included five panel sessions featuring industry representatives offering their perspectives on government PACS challenges and solutions.  The goal for this event was to empower agencies with useful industry feedback to improve their processes for the acquisition, planning, implementation, and testing processes of PACS.

The event was hosted by the Offices of the Procurement Ombudsman (OPO) and Federal Identity, Credential, and Access Management (FICAM), and included remarks from Jim Sheire, GSA, Director of ICAM, a keynote by Jessica Salmoiraghi, GSA, Office of Government-wide Policy (OGP) Associate Administrator, and closing remarks from GSA Senior Procurement Executive Jeff Koses.

Session 1: Basic Planning prior to PACS Procurement

This session explored the basic project planning steps, stakeholder roles, and considerations for determining the PACS that is “just right” for a federal agency.  

(Link: https://youtu.be/IyODOckn2Gs)

Session 2:  PACS Challenges with PIV and Pro Tips

Our industry partners shared their tips for removing the main barriers to doing business with government.

(Link: http://youtu.be/3zaYVlHeBYQ)

Session 3:  PACS Procurement Planning

This session started with a skit highlighting the various tools and resources available for making PACS procurement. A panel discussion focusing on federal best practices for policy compliant PACS procurement planning and implementation followed.

(Link:https://youtu.be/TZO5BIM0MrQ)

Session 4: Project Planning: What to Know

This non-moderated interactive discussion focused on identifying the essential elements of a PACS deployment and the different stakeholders involved - and how to ensure they are addressed in the PACS or ePACS procurement.

(Link: https://youtu.be/ii5SisuSV5I)

Session 5: PACS Implementation and Acceptance Testing

Even though a PACS may be listed on the Approved Products List doesn’t mean the configuration implemented in the field is compliant - this session offered guidance on avoiding non-compliant on-site configurations of approved PACS equipment.

(Link:https://youtu.be/cG6g_XwPRlM)