I have recently received several calls wanting help with protests. It is always surprising that CEOs understand little about this process and they never learn the process in advance. They usually wait until the eleventh hour and want it fast and cheap and they want it to be a winner.

In order to protest you must understand the ten-day rule. You can protest to the agency, to GAO to the district courts and to the court of federal claims. You only win about 10% of the time unless you can rifle shot your complaint. You can win if they award to the wrong guy, you protest and you were next in line. Otherwise the IBM rule gets you. You can win if they don't obey the FAR or if they don't obey their own RFP or if you can prove dastardly deeds like bribes.

You almost never win if it is the agency tech viewpoint versus yours. Protests are a fun and complex process and every firm should do one or two a year.