Protests of federal contract awards appear to be increasing but the statistics are confusing due to the increase in the number of contract transactions. What is certain is that protests are increasingly in the spotlight in the federal contracting community. To protest or not is a value judgment often clouded by corporate ego.

Why protest

1. You know the customer well enough that it won't ruin your relationship.
2. An experienced protest lawyer has agreed with you that there was a protest able flaw in the procurement, and you have a good chance the award will be overturned and given to you.
3. An experienced protest lawyer has agreed with you that there was a protest able flaw in the procurement, and that there will probably be a re-procurement. And you believe that you could win the re-procurement.
4. You are protesting a multiple award IDIQ contract where the task order customer is removed from the IDIQ decision makers.
5. You are the incumbent

Why not protest

1. You may taint the relationship you have with the customer.
2. You do not have the money to pay the legal fees.
3. You may create some positive impressions with the customer by showing your concerns in a positive way and then backing away from a formal protest.
4. You probably will only achieve a re-procurement, if that.
5. You may spend a lot of money.
6. You do not want to take the focus of your company away from winning new business.

In short, put the bruised corporate ego aside and make a quantitative judgment based on long and short term risks and rewards. Just like poker over optimism usually results in a lost pot.