RIVA was built to work differently. Through RIVAFlex, our team operates across states, time zones, and disciplines proving every day that great work doesn’t depend on a shared office. But even the most effective remote cultures benefit from something you can’t replicate on a screen: being in the same room.
That’s the thinking behind our bi-annual event, IRL (In Real Life) at RIVA.
This spring marked the introduction of a new format for those in-person moments: Outcome Labs. Designed as more than a gathering, Outcome Labs is a structured, hands-on experience focused on solving real problems, together.
RIVA’s Vice President of Marketing and Communications, Alex Love, welcomes IRL participants at headquarters in Reston, VA.
Bringing roughly 50 team members to our headquarters in Reston, VA (a.k.a. “The Ranch”), the goal was simple: create an environment where collaboration happens faster, perspectives broaden, and ideas turn into something tangible.
And it worked.
Participants were grouped into four interdisciplinary teams, intentionally mixing roles and expertise. Each team was challenged to tackle a real customer problem and develop an executive-level presentation. It wasn’t hypothetical or abstract. It was the kind of work that directly reflects the complexity and impact of what we do every day.
What changed in person was the speed and depth of collaboration.
(From Left) Jaime Hernandez, Jacob Mann, Ravi Ledwani, Ghina Abokayass, Vice President of Application Services Bernie Pineau (standing), Michael Rosenthal, Brian DeRue, Michael Sorracco, Vice President of Growth Rachel De Geyndt
Conversations that might take days over Slack happened in minutes. Whiteboards filled up quickly. Ideas were tested, refined, and challenged in real time. People stepped outside their usual lanes, contributing in new ways and seeing problems through a wider lens.
The presentations explored practical ways RIVA can support federal agencies and focused on some of RIVA’s current customers including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the U.S. Army Installation Management Command (IMCOM). Teams examined how AI, analytics, and rapid prototyping can help solve real customer challenges—from modernizing large public websites and improving software license management to reducing manual data entry in high-volume background check processes that support child safety.
Together, the ideas showed how RIVA can move quickly from problem identification to testable solutions while building approaches that are repeatable, scalable, and aligned with each agency’s mission.
Just as important, RIVA’s Outcome Labs created space to strengthen the human side of our work. Remote work gives us flexibility. IRL gives us connection.
That connection showed up everywhere—whether in focused working sessions, casual conversations between teams, or the shared sense of ownership that built as ideas took shape. It’s the kind of alignment that doesn’t just improve a single project; it carries forward into how we collaborate long after the event ends.
And when the work wrapped for the day, the team shifted gears.
Outcome Labs participants were joined by local employees and friends of RIVA for a Spring Fling event centered on celebrating progress, building relationships, and simply enjoying time together. The tone was light, bright, and well-earned after days of focused work.
Outcome Labs represents an evolution of how we think about IRL at RIVA. Not as a break from work, but as an accelerator for it.
By combining the flexibility of RIVAFlex with intentional, outcome-driven in-person experiences, we’re building a rhythm that supports both independence and connection—giving our teams the best of both worlds.
When you bring the right people together, with the right challenge, in the right environment, good ideas turn into meaningful outcomes.
And this is just the beginning.
