Clear Century Software Systems
Capability Statement PDF Request a Quote Menu

How We Deliver Federal Software.

A delivery model, a release pipeline and playbooks built for federal programs, from a single application to an enterprise modernization.

Request a Quote Book a capability briefing

Delivery model

One accountable team. Pods that scale.

Every engagement runs under a Clear Century core team that owns delivery, architecture, security, quality and accessibility. The work ships through pods: small, cross-functional teams that deliver independently.

Capacity grows by adding pods from our team and specialist partners we vet for each requirement, without adding layers between you and the people doing the work.

Governance you can see

  • Sprint reviews every two weeks, with working software rather than slides
  • One delivery lead and named key personnel, substituted only with government approval
  • Monthly status reports covering progress, risks, issues and next steps
  • A shared roadmap and backlog your team can see at any time
  • Transition and knowledge transfer planned from day one, so you are never locked in

Core team

Owns architecture, security, quality and delivery

  • Delivery lead
  • Solutions architect
  • Security lead
  • Quality and accessibility lead

  • Pod 1

    • Technical lead
    • Software engineers
    • QA and Section 508 tester
    • DevSecOps engineer

  • Pod 2

    • Technical lead
    • Software engineers
    • QA and Section 508 tester
    • DevSecOps engineer

  • Pod 3

    • Technical lead
    • Software engineers
    • QA and Section 508 tester
    • DevSecOps engineer

  • Next pod

    Added as scope grows, from our team and specialist partners we vet for each requirement.

Illustrative: the number of pods and their roles are set in the staffing plan for each requirement. Pods add a UX designer, or a data or AI engineer, when the work calls for it.

Roles we propose

Each staffing plan draws on these roles, sized to the requirement. Labor category mapping and rates come with every proposal.

Delivery and program

  • Program manager
  • Delivery lead
  • Scrum master
  • Business analyst

Architecture and engineering

  • Solutions architect
  • Software engineer (front end, back end, full stack)
  • DevSecOps engineer
  • Test automation engineer

Data and AI

  • Data engineer
  • Data scientist
  • Machine learning engineer

Cloud and operations

  • Cloud engineer
  • Systems administrator
  • Database administrator
  • Service desk analyst

Security and compliance

  • Security engineer
  • RMF and compliance analyst
  • Accessibility specialist (Section 508)

Design and content

  • UX researcher
  • Product designer
  • Technical writer

Release pipeline

A release pipeline built for government.

Every change is reviewed, tested and scanned before it reaches staging. Nothing reaches production without government approval.

  • Peer review on every change
  • Automated unit, integration and end-to-end tests
  • Static analysis, dependency and container scanning
  • A software bill of materials with every release
  • Infrastructure as code, versioned and reviewed like application code
  • Automated accessibility checks on every build
  • A staging environment that mirrors production for your acceptance testing
How every release ships Delivery pipeline
  1. plan Backlog refined, acceptance criteria agreed
  2. build Unit and integration tests pass
  3. secure Static analysis, dependency scan, SBOM
  4. verify Section 508 automated and manual checks
  5. stage Deployed to staging for your review
  6. release Ships after government approval

Security and ATO

Security and ATO support from the first sprint.

We support each step of the NIST Risk Management Framework (SP 800-37 Rev. 2), so security is designed in, documented as we go and ready when your assessors are.

  1. Prepare and categorize

    Define the system boundary, data types and impact level with your security team (FIPS 199).

  2. Select and implement

    Tailor NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 controls, build them into the architecture and code, and inherit what FedRAMP-authorized cloud services provide.

  3. Assess

    Deliver the implementation evidence, scan results, diagrams and SBOMs your assessors need.

  4. Authorize

    Support the package your authorizing official reviews, including the plan of action and milestones.

  5. Monitor

    When we operate a system for you, we patch, scan and remediate continuously, with reporting on your schedule.

Zero Trust by design

OMB M-22-09

  • Phishing-resistant multi-factor authentication
  • Least-privilege, role-based access
  • Encryption in transit and at rest
  • Centralized logging aligned with OMB M-21-31
  • Application-level access instead of network trust

AI governance

Governed AI, by design.

We follow the NIST AI Risk Management Framework and current OMB guidance on federal use of AI, so every AI capability we deliver is documented, measured and owned by a named person.

  • Govern

    Roles, policies and accountability agreed with your program office, with a person responsible for every AI-assisted decision.

  • Map

    Each use case documented: its purpose, data and users, and whether it is high-impact AI under current OMB guidance.

  • Measure

    Accuracy, bias and robustness tested against representative data before release, and monitored after.

  • Manage

    Confidence thresholds, human review, fallbacks and a clear way to switch a model off.

Agency data stays inside the system’s authorized boundary and is never used to train or fine-tune any model, ours or a vendor’s, unless your contract expressly authorizes it. AI and intelligent automation

Accessibility

Section 508 conformance, tested every release.

Accessibility is part of the definition of done. Interfaces are designed and built to WCAG 2.1 AA, which includes every WCAG 2.0 AA success criterion the Section 508 Standards require.

  • Accessible design reviews before anything is built
  • Automated accessibility checks in the pipeline on every build
  • Manual testing with keyboards and screen readers such as JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver
  • Plain language that supports your agency’s Plain Writing Act obligations
  • Accessibility conformance reports on the current ITI VPAT® (Section 508 edition), on request

Playbooks

Playbooks for the hardest requirements.

How we approach five common federal requirements. Every engagement is tailored, and every one starts from a plan like these.

Playbook 01

Legacy modernization

Replace an aging system one capability at a time, without a risky big-bang cutover.

When it fits A mission system that is expensive to maintain, hard to change or running on unsupported technology.

  1. Assess

    Inventory the system, its data, integrations and users, and rank capabilities by risk and value.

  2. Wrap

    Put an API layer in front of the legacy system so new services can take over one capability at a time.

  3. Replace

    Ship modern services in short increments, with data migrated and reconciled at every step.

  4. Retire

    Decommission legacy components only after their replacements are proven in production.

Target outcome Modern capability in production early, and legacy retired on evidence rather than hope.

Playbook 02

AI document intelligence

Classify, extract and route paperwork with people reviewing what matters.

When it fits High volumes of forms, claims, applications or correspondence handled by hand.

  1. Map

    Document the forms, decisions and rules, and agree accuracy targets with the program office.

  2. Pilot

    Configure models on representative, de-identified samples and measure them against human baselines.

  3. Review

    Route low-confidence items to people, and log every recommendation and decision.

  4. Scale

    Add document types and workflows while monitoring accuracy, drift and bias in production.

Target outcome Faster processing with people accountable for every decision that matters.

Playbook 03

Cloud migration

Move applications to FedRAMP-authorized platforms in planned, reversible waves.

When it fits Data center consolidation, end-of-life infrastructure or a mandate to modernize hosting.

  1. Discover

    Assess the portfolio and choose a path for each application: rehost, replatform, refactor or retire.

  2. Land

    Build the landing zone with identity, network, logging and security baselines as code.

  3. Migrate

    Move applications in waves, with rehearsed cutovers and a rollback plan for each one.

  4. Optimize

    Tune cost, performance and security, with spending reported against the plan.

Target outcome Applications on authorized cloud services, with costs and controls you can see.

Playbook 04

Data platform

Turn scattered data into governed, decision-ready information.

When it fits Reporting that depends on spreadsheets, manual exports or systems that do not talk to each other.

  1. Inventory

    Catalog sources, owners, sensitivity and the decisions the data needs to support.

  2. Engineer

    Build pipelines into a governed platform with lineage, quality checks and access control.

  3. Deliver

    Publish dashboards and APIs for decision makers, analysts and other systems.

  4. Operate

    Monitor data quality and freshness, and expand the platform source by source.

Target outcome One trusted source for the numbers leadership relies on.

Playbook 05

Digital services

Public-facing services built to the requirements of the 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act.

When it fits A paper or PDF process the public struggles with, or a website that fails on mobile or assistive technology.

  1. Research

    Learn from the people who use the service, planned within Paperwork Reduction Act requirements.

  2. Design

    Prototype with U.S. Web Design System components and test with real users.

  3. Build

    Ship an accessible, mobile-first and secure service in short, reviewed increments.

  4. Improve

    Measure completion and satisfaction, and keep improving after launch.

Target outcome A service the public can finish, on any device, the first time.

Starter engagements

Four fixed-scope ways to start.

Short engagements, scoped in weeks rather than months, that end in deliverables your team keeps. Each one stands on its own or continues into delivery where your contract allows, and we flag any organizational conflict of interest (FAR subpart 9.5) before work starts.

  • Discovery sprint

    Best for A requirement that isn’t fully defined yet, or a system you need to understand before you commit to a build.

    You receive

    • Current-state map of users, systems, data and integrations
    • Prioritized backlog with acceptance criteria
    • Target architecture and security approach
    • Phased roadmap with a rough order of magnitude (ROM) cost estimate
    Request a discovery sprint

  • ATO readiness assessment

    Best for A system heading toward an authorization decision, or one due for reauthorization.

    You receive

    • Control gap analysis against your NIST SP 800-53 baseline
    • Review of the system security plan and boundary
    • Draft plan of action and milestones (POA&M)
    • Remediation plan ranked by risk
    Request an ATO assessment

  • Section 508 audit and conformance report

    Best for An application, website or document set that must conform to Section 508.

    You receive

    • Automated and manual testing, including screen readers
    • Accessibility Conformance Report on the current ITI VPAT®
    • Defects ranked by user impact, with recommended fixes
    • Retest of the issues your team fixes
    Request a 508 audit

  • AI use-case assessment

    Best for A program deciding where AI can help, and where it shouldn’t.

    You receive

    • Use cases ranked by value, feasibility and risk
    • Risk review against the NIST AI RMF and current OMB guidance
    • Data readiness and privacy review
    • Pilot plan with accuracy targets and human review points
    Request an AI assessment

Each engagement is sized to your system and priced in our proposal. Contract types we support

Ways to work with us

Contract the way your requirement needs.

We respond to open-market solicitations on SAM.gov and support the contract types agencies use most for software and IT.

  • Firm-fixed-price

    For well-defined scope, including a fixed price per sprint or release for agile work.

  • Time-and-materials and labor-hour

    When work can’t be estimated with confidence, with a ceiling and monthly burn reporting.

  • Through a prime contractor

    As a small business teammate on a prime contractor’s team.

    Teaming

  • Software licenses and subscriptions

    When a product fits the requirement better than a custom build.

    Software products

Bring us the hard requirement.

Send the SOW, RFQ or sources sought notice, or book a capability briefing for your program team.

Request a Quote Book a capability briefing
esc

Suggested

↑↓ to move ↵ to open