Lop Blog | 2027 |

Under FAR 15.304(c)(3)(iii), past performance must be more important than price when performance risk is significant. LPTA evaluations, by design, relegate past performance to a threshold — you’re either acceptable or not. That works for janitorial supplies. It doesn’t work for IT modernization, medical support, or aircraft maintenance.

Take the recent COFC decision in Optimum Services, Inc. v. United States (No. 24‑456C). The agency used LPTA to award a $50M logistics support task order. The awardee had a marginal past performance rating for a similar scope, while the protester had outstanding ratings. The court found that the agency failed to justify why performance risk was ‘low’ despite clear past performance differences. lop blog

In the past year, GAO has sustained multiple protests where agencies applied LPTA to task orders under multiple‑award contracts for professional services. The protesters’ argument? Past performance matters, and LPTA doesn’t let it matter enough. Under FAR 15