Our team of technical experts recently delivered another win by completing the first consensus standard for National Park Service (NPS) Swamp Buggies. Swamp Buggies are off-road utility vehicles designed to operate in swamp terrain to support critical missions such as wildland firefighting, wildlife management, law enforcement, and Park maintenance. "It was a real pleasure working with the NPS team out of Big Cypress National Preserve , " said Roper CEO Maeve Garigan. "With only one site visit and a handful of online meetings, we developed a comprehensive requirements document to refresh and sustain the NPS Swamp Buggy Fleet. The team in Big Cypress do important work to preserve the land, protect endangered wildlife like the Florida panther, and protect local communities from wildfires. It is an honor to support the team and their mission set." Big Cypress National Preserve has one of the most active fire management programs in the NPS, involving controlled prescribed fires and response to brush fires started by frequent lighting strikes. Fire is an essential component of the Big Cypress ecosystem that renews habitat and promotes ecological diversity, however it also can endanger local communities. Swamp Buggies are an essential tool for firefighting, and carry personnel, water tanks, and firefighting gear to remote locations that are inaccessible by other means. "The Roper team has a real depth of expertise in both requirements development and government contracting. This made the project go smoothly and set us up for success," explained Chris Richards, Fire Operations Specialist and primary point-of-contact for the NPS team at Big Cypress National Preserve. "They are true professionals: thoughtful, efficient, well-informed, and easy to work with. We are very happy with the result." Requirements development is a crucial phase in the system lifecycle. It involves identifying, documenting, and analyzing the needs and expectations of stakeholders to define what a system should do, which requires continuous communication and collaboration to ensure that desired goals and objectives are met. This is particularly important for complex systems like Swamp Buggies that provide mission critical support in high stakes situations. In this project, Roper developed and delivered a Systems Requirements Document (SRD) for Swamp Buggies to provide a basis for future contracting actions. This SRD will enable NPS to procure and sustain a Swamp Buggy Fleet that meets mission needs and current standards for quality, safety, and performance. All system requirements conformed to the following criteria: Traceable to NPS mission requirements. Individually quantifiable, verifiable, and testable. Consistent with current technology and standards. Acceptable to NPS technical team and key stakeholders. Compliant with applicable local, state, and federal laws and regulations. Our team is ready to support your needs for requirements development and documentation. From weapons and mobility systems, to sensors and software, our deep technical and process expertise serves private sector and Government clients alike. Our tailored support will deliver the results you want. Call or email us today to learn how our targeted and precise approach will set you up for success.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." – Margaret Mead Teamwork is fundamental to achieving and excelling, whether on the gridiron, in the lab, or on the battlefield. All human progress and success is rooted in collaboration. "There is no such thing as a self-made person," explained Roper CEO Maeve Garigan . "No matter how smart or capable you are, you will never realize your full potential without the help of others. Harnessing the power of elite teams has been foundational to our success as a company. We share that knowledge with our clients so they can achieve and excel, no matter the endeavor or challenge." Developing and maintaining elite teams is in Roper's DNA, with both founders, CEO Maeve Garigan and COO Dana De Coster having spent their prior careers leading diverse, multi-disciplinary teams to solve tough problems. While Maeve focused on technology development and engineering, Dana's focus was on military operations, starting in combat as a junior Navy SEAL officer and working his way to running Naval Special Warfare training as a Navy SEAL Commander. "Building and leading teams was core to my work as a Navy SEAL. There was no daylight between us. Our very survival depended on how good our team was," recalled Dana. "Creating high-performing teams isn't easy, so we've broken down the fundamentals into our Five Pillars of Elite Teams," he continued. "We work with our clients to apply the Pillars to their unique situation and goals. Change can be stressful, but a healthy level of stress is necessary for strength and growth. Helping our clients implement change and achieve lasting success is both deeply rewarding and inspirational." Read on to learn more about the Five Pillars – our proven approach to building teams that delivers real results. 1. Selection. Selecting the right people is key. We work with our clients to develop a skills and attributes profile for each spot on their team. One important trait is a "winner's mentality" – deriving satisfaction from the team's success. 2. Mission Mindset. Developing and promulgating a clear and compelling vision is critical to team leadership. This shared vision ensures that everyone is engaged, understands their role on the team, and understands that everyone on the team is essential to the mission – otherwise they would not be there. 3. Mutual Trust. Creating an environment of mutual respect and trust is necessary to the mission mindset. It creates a powerful connection to shared vision, which in turn reinforces each team member's commitment to the team. 4. 360 Feedback. Feedback shouldn't just come from the coach or team leader. Feedback from teammates is often the most powerful and gets at the root of problems. 5. Be Relentless. Elite teammates are resilient and relentless. They believe they can find a way and so they will. Being relentless creates stress, which pushes the team progress and achieve. Zero stress is a sign that mediocrity is creeping in, however too much stress creates burnout. Strong leadership and open communication is key to maintaining a healthy level of stress. Want to apply the Five Pillars to your organization? Call or email us today to learn how our targeted and precise approach will help you and your team succeed.

Moving people and equipment to the right place at the right time is critical to mission effectiveness. Whether for law enforcement, wildland firefighting, off-grid workers, or military operations, reliable and innovative off-road vehicles that can traverse varied terrain and survive extreme driving are a must-have. Our team of technical experts and engineers possess years of experience in establishing design requirements and performance standards for vehicles. After conducting mission analysis and developing technical documentation, our team then works closely with clients to ensure they procure the vehicle that best fits their unique needs. This is achieved by applying our expertise in contracting strategy, modification of Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) equipment, testing, evaluation, operator training, production, vehicle maintenance, and life cycle sustainment. "Taking a tailored and comprehensive approach is key. Our team is expert at navigating trade-offs between cost, performance and schedule while ensuring that the end-user gets a mobility capability that fits their mission and gets the job done right," explained Roper CEO Maeve Garigan . "The importance of ground mobility can be overlooked in today's high-tech era," she continued. "But getting the right people and equipment to the right place at the right time is critical. It may seem basic, but mastering the basics is key to success." Below is a selection of projects that showcase our team’s exceptional qualifications and expertise related to ground vehicles. Each of these projects were rapid acquisition efforts that maximized COTS equipment to speed up the procurement process while reducing cost and technical risk.

An organization’s success comes from its people and building a high-achieving workforce is a challenging and complex task. The right people have to be identified and selected, and then organized, developed, and motivated. “There is an art to organizational leadership,” explained Roper COO, Dana De Coster , “and there is a process. If you can’t attract, select, and organize the right people then it doesn’t matter how inspirational or visionary a leader might be.” Few people understand the importance and process of building a high-achieving workforce as well as Dana. A recently retired Navy SEAL Commander, Dana grew up in the SEAL Teams, with the complexity and challenges of leadership increasing as he rose in rank and responsibility. “On the battlefield, you constantly innovate because the adversary is always evolving,” continued Dana. “We quickly built strong, cohesive teams that operated with maximum efficiency and precision. This was something we could do in a straightforward manner since we all had the shared experience and common bond of being SEALs and because there are only 16 of us in a platoon.” As his career progressed, Dana rose to overseeing operations at three separate major commands. “At each command I spearheaded critical modernization efforts, from a complete overhaul of SEAL Officer assessment and selection, to functionally realigning my own 76-person operations department, to preparing two separate commands for the integration of women Special Operators. Each of these transformational changes required leading, motivating, and organizing a diverse workforce of military, government civilian, and contractor personnel with different skill sets, backgrounds, and affiliations.” These transformational changes were necessary for mission success yet also threatened to be extremely disruptive. “Most people do not like change,” explained Dana, “so they have to be confident that their leadership team will make necessary changes while remaining steady, thoughtful, and people-focused. We ensured that managers earned their people's trust, that each person knew they would be seen, heard, and respected as a team member.” These mission-critical efforts also required careful assessment, analysis, and process improvements to build, organize, and develop a diverse workforce prepared to overcome emergent challenges. “The key was right-sizing the workforce and creating a sense of individual purpose to the shared mission,” continued Dana. “We take a step-wise approach to execute our strategy for human capital management. First, we assess how we manage our workforce—our human capital. This is an assessment of our current workforce capacity and capability mix, and our processes for how we recruit, screen, select, onboard, develop, and backfill. The second step is to assess our workforce requirements as determined by our current and future mission. We crosswalk our workforce capacity and capability assessment with our mission requirements to show traceability and identify any gaps. The third step is to roadmap an executable plan of action to overcome identified gaps and thoughtfully address any inefficiencies in our workforce.” Each of these transformations resulted in an organization that was optimized, right-sized, and motivated. “Not only did our process ensure that we had the right people in the right roles to get the job done, it communicated to every single person in this large organization that they were there for an important reason,” said Dana. “This is critical for effective leadership and management. Each person knows they are a necessary part of mission success. They understand how they fit in, and they appreciate the contributions of other team members.” “This makes organizational transformation a source of inspiration and motivation, instead of being a source of fear and uncertainty. We made change a positive thing despite very challenging circumstances. I am incredibly proud of that.” This powerful approach to human capital management is also how Roper successfully manages organizational growth and change. “We are guided by core values of integrity, teamwork, and the constant pursuit of excellence,” explained Dana. “The work we do is very difficult. Everyone at Roper knows that they are on the team because they are essential to accomplishing our mission and goals. This strong culture is foundational to our success and is a direct result of our human capital strategy.”

Startup investing is a risky business, particularly for family offices and angel investors who may lack the resources of institutional investors. For every Theranos in the headlines, there are thousands of smaller deals that also go terribly wrong. The valuations might be less, but the impact is just as severe to the investors involved.