On November 7th, the Department of Homeland Security held it’s 7th Annual Reverse Industry Day designed to promote collaboration to advance the mission. Seth Moore, CEO of T-Rex Solutions, participated in a panel titled “Value of Kickoff Meetings” which also included: Terry Bjornsen, Senior Director, ASRC Federal; Olin Green, Senior Vice President, VariQ; and Cristina Mossi, Chief Executive Officer, Devis. The panel was moderated by Sherry Frank, Director, Communications and Industry Liaison, Strategic Programs Division, Office of the Chief Procurement Officer, Department of Homeland Security.
The session was designed to help participants develop a deeper understanding of why contract kickoff meetings are critical to the success of a project and how they affect industry’s ability to execute on time and within budget. Participants also gained the industry’s perspective on how to best plan for and conduct a successful kickoff meeting, including important agenda items, necessary participants, and the lessons learned from experience.
The points raised during panel discussion stressed the importance of creating and clarifying the lines of communication between stakeholders, involving the customer at all stages, clearly defining the scope of the contract, and outlining plans for execution.
“We’ve learned over time that involving the customer early and often is a best practice that builds trust and transparency for a mutually beneficial project outcome”, says Seth Moore.
Other panels from this day spoke to the topics of Mitigating the Impact of a Lapse in Appropriations, and Multi-Step Evaluation Processes and Techniques.
