Juan Quinones
Where do you see yourself in the future as you use your FAC-C-DS?
I see myself as an advocate, resource and qualified business advisor as it relates to the execution of digital service procurements. With an increased expertise in digital services I will be able to better contribute to the Government procurement team and improve the way we procure digital services/products and quality of the digital services/products procured. The greater knowledge will also allow me to evangelize and influence contracting peers and the IT experts we support and across the Government. With a fundamental understanding of digital IT acquisitions, I will be able to work directly within digital services teams and acquisition innovation labs at VA or other Government Agencies to serve as a business advisor.
Where do you see your agency in the future as it works to realize the government’s digital transformation mission? W
I’ve just put on my “DigiTAC” sweatshirt, grabbed something healthy to eat from the pantry and sat in my leather swivel glider inside the TAC innovation Lab. The recently stood up, aquarium like, lab was created to enhance productivity and creativity and push the boundaries of the workplace. Thanks to the leadership of the Executive Director, the TAC innovation lab has become the premier digital service hub and incubator for innovation in digital service procurements. On the agenda for today: the daily stand up with the innovation team to quickly inform everyone of what’s going on across the team; a review of the teams Kanban board; a meeting with DHS to collaborate on innovative initiatives; a discussion of policy changes needed to facilitate change in federal procurements; a digital service training session; an acquisition strategy meeting with the integrated acquisition team comprised of the business owner (VHA), the IT experts at OIT and USDS and OGC; and a retrospective with industry partners on a recently awarded effort. Just another day in the TAC Innovation Lab. TAC recognizes that success depends on innovation and collaboration.
How will you, as a FAC-C-DS certified acquisition professional, use your talents and strengths to bring the agency’s preferred future to fruition?
Since the launch of the innovation lab I have been moved to another buying division which does not predominantly involve the acquisition of digital services. My role now is to spread the word, share my experiences and continue to look for ways to innovate, collaborate and improve processes. The innovation will be there as a great resource to facilitate achievement of those goals. In my role as an advocate, I have also started to collect my peers’ experiences in the form of case studies and documented them in a GitHub repo to act as a resource for the recently initiated and collaboration across agencies.
Digital IT Acquisition Professional (DITAP) Program Blog 