Is SAM.gov Confusing?

To your question: I think a reasonably knowledgeable person could and would figure out that "1202SA22R9201 - HSS - Type 1.pdf" is the solicitation. There are a number of amendments (aren't there always?) that a reasonable person should be able to navigate. The pricing workbooks? Not so much. I hope the Solicitation instructions provide clarity whether one, or all, of the pricing workbooks must be completed and submitted for evaluation. The distinction (if any) between "T1" and "T1Modern" is not apparent. I would guess that, as questions were answered, the pricing workbooks evolved to address offerors' concerns. Maybe. If so, then I guess only the most recent workbook (one for "T1" and one for "T1Modern"?) would need to be submitted. But who knows unless the instructions provide the answer.

@here_2_help On a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being best, how clear would you say that opportunity post would be to a small business that is not an experienced government contractor? Maybe they've had one or two contracts valued at more than the SAT.

SAM.Gov Sucks! Here's How We Fix It (Together)

I give it a 2.  I went through many of the documents going back to the original solicitation.  What a mess!

My take this was conducted by government people that didn’t know what they were doing.  Most likely the contracting people (saw multiple names over the course of the procurement) don’t understand what they were buying.  On the other side, the program staff don’t understand contracting.  That’s usually the case when we see that many revisions and amendments.

Market research would go a long way to improving this.  Talk with a few industry leaders to find out what works and what doesn’t.  Ask them what information they need to respond and the best way for the government to make that available.  Check with other government agencies and get them to share experiences and lessons learned.

Overall SAM.gov needs a major revision.  The original system was designed many years before development even started.  Then as technology evolved and practices to make documents available occurred beyond what was even envisioned, SAM.gov was changed to awkwardly accommodate.  It is operationally outdated.

@formerfed Thanks!

Vern Edwards said:

@here_2_help On a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being best, how clear would you say that opportunity post would be to a small business that is not an experienced government contractor? Maybe they've had one or two contracts valued at more than the SAT.

Two. With some thought, you can follow what's going on. But you need to look at what's there and THINK about what the CO is trying to do. For most small businesses, they won't have the time and/or will be overwhelmed. Either they'll submit an offer without being certain what they are bidding on, or else they will pass.

Vern Edwards said:

On a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being best, how clear would you say that opportunity post would be to a small business that is not an experienced government contractor?

Answering out of turn but all the same here you go.

The solicitation and its parts I give a 1. 

I think the full file for the solicitation demonstrates a systemic problem with agency (any agency) practice of naming of documents, use of consistent electronic formats and documents not filed with consistent protocol.  The age of creating electronic documents now leaves it to the creator's imagination to practice what they believe is "proper" much like if you were visit my house and my computer you would probably be confused because I do not create, name and file documents like you do on yours.  With a little concentration you would figure mine out.  Maybe much the same with SAM?   If I do a lot of business with HHS then maybe what is posted is not confusing but if I do not do business with HHS then maybe I skip it even though it is soliciting the type of work that I do and I just keep with the agency in my comfort zone and experience with how they do it.

I know I am old school but I liken the Contract Opportunities to something like self checkout.  Back in the old Commerce Business Daily days you would get the solicitation in full hard copy.  Now you are left to downloading yourself hoping you get it all and the only way you know if you get it right is when you submit bid/proposal (like checking your receipt at the door to make sure you got all the items in your basket).   I get the whole idea of the benefits of an electronic system but, as you have questioned and as the video you also posted implies, SAM.gov is in my view an impediment and is part why the market share of Federal contracts to small businesses has been reduced over the years (see reference below).  And again I liken it to every day experience where  the general store in my small town is now replaced by the Big Box in a town 20 miles away or the option of internet shopping/home delivery.   Limitations do exist to creating a virtual business world.

The Contract Opportunities sub-site of SAM.gov I give a 2/3 for the very same reasons noted by others and by my comments that amount to - Lack of consistency!

Back to the posted video and the registration element of SAM.gov I tend to disagree.  If one pays attention and reads, registration for a small business is not that complicated or time consuming. Once registered one also must be diligent in updating annually.  Just noting as my comments above are directed at the "Contract Opportunities" element of SAM.gov and not all of SAM.gov.  I am sure you can provide a much more detailed historical view but SAM.gov registration was created as a direct result of The Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 and then the snowball started rolling downhill from there to make SAM.gov a consolidated data point for all kinds of Federal stuff.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/beyond-dollars-true-cost-excluding-small-businesses-from-government-gtbse/

@C Culham Thank you, Carl, for a very thorough, thoughtful, and helpful  response!