Here's what I love about LPTA. When it's
done right, it's clean. It's objective.
And it's defensible. You define what
technically acceptable means upfront.
Evaluate proposals against those
criteria. And select the lowest price
among acceptable offers. No drama, no
second-guing, no lengthy evaluation
reports trying to justify subjective
trade-offs. But, and this is a big butt,
that simplicity is also LPTA's biggest
challenge. Your acceptability criteria
have to be absolutely bulletproof
because you won't have the flexibility
to make trade-offs later. Precision is
paramount. One ambiguous standard can
invalidate the entire procurement. So,
if in doubt, default to trade-off
methodology. Let me tell you about an
acquisition that got this exactly right.
In 2021, the Department of Veterans
Affairs needed grounds maintenance
services for multiple medical
facilities. Their technical requirements
were specific and measurable. Maintain
grass height between 2 to 4 in. Edge
walkways weekly. Remove debris within 24
hours of storm. Maintain equipment to
manufacturer specifications. Provide
certified pesticide applicators. Each
requirement had clear pass fail criteria
that any evaluator could apply consistently.
consistently.
The result was a smooth evaluation
process, no protests, and a contractor
knew exactly what was expected. When the
incumbent protested the award because
they lost, the GAO dismissed it quickly
because the evaluation was so clearly
documented and objective. Now, let's
contrast that with what can go wrong.
Agencies trying to smuggle subjective
judgments into LPTA by writing criteria
like demonstrate superior understanding
of requirements or show innovative
approach to problem solving. That's not
LPTA. That's trade-off evaluation in
disguise. and it'll get you in trouble
faster than you can update your LinkedIn
profile. The key lesson, spend the extra
time upfront developing your
requirements. It's critical to this
methodology success. Every acceptability
standard must be clear, objective, and
truly binary. Ask yourself, can you
measure it? Can another evaluator reach
the same conclusion? If not, keep
refining until you can. When LPTA is
done well, it looks almost boring. And
