_posts/2016-01-07-announcing-the-18f-micro-purchase-platform.md
---
title: "Announcing the 18F Micro-purchase Platform"
date: 2016-01-07
authors:
- vdavez
- alla
tags:
- micro-purchase platforms
- procurement
- acquisition services
- product launch
hero: false
excerpt: "In October 2015, 18F launched an experiment in micro-purchasing. Given both vendor and government interest in continuing this task, 18F is happy to announce the launch of a new platform for posting and bidding on micro-purchase tasks."
description: "In October 2015, 18F launched an experiment in micro-purchasing. Given both vendor and government interest in continuing this task, 18F is happy to announce the launch of a new platform for posting and bidding on micro-purchase tasks."
image: /assets/blog/micro-purchase/micro-purchase-homepage.jpg
---
In October 2015, 18F launched an experiment in micro-purchasing. We
posted an opportunity to contribute code to our [CALC
projec](https://github.com/18F/calc/issues/255)t, and a number of
bidders took us up on the challenge. It was a [learning opportunity and
a successful first
run](https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/11/06/micro-purchase-lessons/). Given
both vendor and government interest in continuing this task, 18F is
happy to announce the launch of a new
[platform](http://micropurchase.18f.gov) for posting and bidding on
micro-purchase tasks.
We’ll be posting batches of new tasks onto the micro-purchase platform
in the coming weeks, and bidders will once again have an opportunity to
contribute open source code to our projects for $3,500 or less.
[
](http://micropurchase.18f.gov)
## Developing a posting and bidding platform
In keeping with lean methodologies, the first micro-purchase
registration and bidding process was done through a minimum viable
product (MVP). This was a combination of Google Forms and GitHub Issues
that, though functional, left much to be desired. For the alpha
iteration, we developed a platform that we hope will be intuitive for
both bidders and government customers to use.
The [new platform](https://micropurchase.18f.gov/) features API
integration from both GitHub and SAM.gov. We’re aiming to improve the
bidding experience for potential vendors and provide an easy-to-navigate
interface for viewing and bidding on auctions.
## Auction types: Iterating on reverse auctions (for now!)
Our first attempt at the micropurchase experiment featured a reverse
auction that was ultimately won [for one
dollar.](https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/11/06/micro-purchase-lessons/) We
intend to continue iterating on the auction process, and plan on
experimenting with different auction formats in the future.
The first batch of new auctions, though, will follow the previous
format: a reverse auction starting at $3,500 and ending at $1. We
learned a great deal from the first auction, and have numerous
hypotheses around how future auctions could play out, but we want to
first test the validity of our platform with the next batch of auctions.
That said, we intend to experiment with auction styles, and we welcome
your suggestions.
## Next steps
We’ll be releasing new opportunities soon, so we encourage all potential
bidders to register for our platform on
[micropurchase.18f.gov](https://micropurchase.18f.gov/) ahead of
auction postings. We’ll be alerting the community when new opportunities
are posted via the platform, on
[GitHub](https://github.com/18F/micropurchase), our [18F Acquisition
email list](http://eepurl.com/bJQHFr),
[Twitter](https://twitter.com/18f), and (where appropriate) this blog.
The first batch of opportunities will center on improving our in-house
time-tracking software, [Tock](https://github.com/18F/tock). This is a
simple, open source app that 18F employees use to report their time on a
weekly basis. We’ll be posting a batch of auctions to purchase various
fixes and new features for this platform.
Want to stay up to date on micro-purchase and other 18F acquisition
news? [Join our email list ](http://eepurl.com/bJQHFr)to receive
updates throughout the coming months.