Understanding the Bona Fide Needs Rule Through Gaming

What do mobile and PC games have to do with fiscal year budgeting and understanding the strategic allocation of bona fide needs? Well, it turns out that many strategy games, whether on mobile or PC, involve a significant amount of resource allocation. These resources are then judiciously allocated to achieve goals or objectives as the “game” plays out. The rules and objectives are not necessarily the same from game to game, but generally speaking, these games require various forms of strategic thinking to ensure that resources are allocated in the most efficient and effective manner possible -often with diminishing returns during gameplay.

So, how does this translate to the federal government’s application of the bona fide needs rule? Well, let’s take a few moments to explore the similarities. If you want to fully understand a new PC game (or from another app store): (1) Remember that the objective of the game is to achieve the most points. You get points by completing side quests and defeating bosses or other players. (2) If there is more than one way to achieve points, take a moment to invest time and resources in studying the new “Build” for your character and how you can allocate it to achieve the most points without wasting your resources or accruing penalties. (3) Take the time to promote inter-departmental collaboration to ensure that there are no duplication of efforts. Also, provide advance notice to your team members to ensure that they can coordinate their efforts to strategize and achieve the most points for their individual Builds’ achievements. (4) Use your research skills and fiscal planning/algorithm skills to figure out the most effective way to use your resources so that you can win excellently!

Now, this is true for many games. Simple and basic analogy to large scale PC games: You need the most points. You need to strategize so that your “Build” can achieve points without wasting time and resources. For example: A lot of PC games are played on multiple levels (e.g. worlds, zones, servers, realms, planes, etc.). As a general rule of thumb, it is probably better if you allocate your resources to one server or world as oppose to remaining invested across all of them. To state this in the parlance of the federal world – this is akin to staying focused on a DO/IF List and playing one game at a time as oppose to pursuing multiple contracts at the same time.

If we take a moment to analyze the bona fide needs rule, you will see that it is the same concept. Let’s think about it for a moment: The vast majority of games are limited by a fiscal year when it comes to “points” and “time” limits. Not only do you have a limited amount of in-game currency/resources per fiscal year, but you also have a deadline by which you must have structured your character/build to achieve the most points. Otherwise, you risk running out of your compact disc memory/exceeding the manufacturing run or DVD run or CD key licensing, etc. Prioritize your most important purchases first, then allocate accordingly to reach the full potential of your resources.

This analogy works for some PC games, especially those played on the fly with a mobile device and others which have daily or weekly resets as part of gameplay and just gaming in general. The most successful PC and mobile players develop foresight. They fulfill the bona fide needs of their character/build in order to ensure that they are in a position to maximize the efficiency of the fiscal year’s limited resources. Likewise, they assess the risks of their decision to pursue a new character/build class and whether to invest the time and resources into that character/build name. In other words, they analyze the cost and benefits of pursuing a new character/build and whether the new character/build will allow them to compete and grow overtime or whether it is not worth the time and effort or does not play the way that they want.

Does this sound familiar? Well, all of the above considerations also apply to the bona fide needs rule. Some of the more successful players also know when to acknowledge that certain resources need to be carried over into the next fiscal year because they have a Strategic Economic Purchase Plan. Others successfully allocate their resource budget between Level II and Level III contract strategies. Similarly, they are aware of their deadlines for each of these strategies and use that knowledge to ensure that they do not miss out on a point advancement.

Successful players (i.e. federal contractors) will also acknowledge that acquisitions over the course of the entire federal fiscal year should be planned to meet periodic buying schedules or buying cycles, if applicable. Just as a successful gamer would create a specific plan to achieve goals and objectives, so too should federal contractors have an acquisition planning strategy to ensure that they are proficient in meeting the various requirements of the relevant agencies and governing statutes (i.e. FAR, DoD, agency supplements, etc.).

Let’s be clear, PC and mobile games choose to use a variety of methods to accomplish goals and objectives. This means that there are many ways to strategically allocate your resources to achieve maximum yield. Utilizing the bona fide needs rule and the federal government’s acquisition planning requirements, strategy games are a lesson into the “how to” of achieving maximum results for the federal government – look at Candy Crush, Final Fantasy XIV, iOS games, XBOX games, Xbox Game Pass including Halo, Console games including Nintendo Switch, PC Steam, etc.

We have already seen that federal government contractors plan to meet the needs of the relevant Department and are constantly adjusting their efforts to ensure that resources are allocated to meet their most pressing needs. The art of it is learning how to do so in a way that meets your strategic goals. You can achieve many different goals from buying one Build and to another. Just as there is an entire world of ways to strategically play a game, so too is there an entire world of ways to strategically understand the bona fide needs rule.

Consider the various ways in which the particular game is played. Consider what happens if you ignore the fine print of the game in the quest to ensure that your resources achieve the greatest potential – penalties, brackets, reiterated attempts, etc. Wrap your head around what it takes to transition from Build to Build, or from contract to contract, or from program to program – sometimes you will fail. However, other times, you will be able to use the knowledge gained from one Build to be successful at the next. This is the same for the acquisition planning process.

Further, while all games have distinct gameplay, there are often similarities between PC and mobile games, right? With this in mind, it is also important to note that the same strategic skills to play and win multiple PC and mobile games, can also be applied from one type of federal government contracting acquisition to the next. The keys are knowing when to exercise those skills and how to apply them to the distinct requirements of the acquisition and the role of the federal government and the agency’s long-term goals for its assets and program, etc.

Also, be sure to coordinate with your team to figure out when to execute the strategic skills to ensure that everyone is working in concert on the federal government’s behalf. In essence, if you like resource allocation games (which teach a variety of strategic skills), then you likely have the skills necessary to understand the federal government’s needs for bona fide assets and how the bona fide needs rule works.

Put simply, if you have rooting interest or a desire to play the game, then you have the knowledge and experience necessary to research how to achieve the best results and can read through the federal government’s acquisition planning requirement and bona fide needs rule with more ease than the average civilian who doesn’t play PC or mobile strategy games on a regular basis. So, put your skills to the test and try to win a new contract! What games do you play to ensure that you allocate your resources to achieve your maximum potential and win?