Federal obligations in custom computer programming services (NAICS 541511)

Writing code versus designing or running systems

NAICS 541511 covers establishments that write, modify, test, and support software to meet a customer’s unique needs. On USAspending.gov the code tags contract awards classified as that custom development. It is not a count of applications in production, and it is not packaged software sold under a publisher NAICS. A modernization program can buy custom code under 541511 while buying integration under 541512 and licenses under 511210.

The $54.1 billion figure is only the custom-programming slice. Treating it as all federal software work will miss systems-design dollars, residual IT services, facilities-management contracts, and publisher licenses. Keep the five IT-related codes on separate pages.

Reading $54.1 billion in programming obligations

USAspending records obligations on contract awards tagged 541511. Agile task orders, development increments, and modifications all feed $54,073,414,891.62. This packet has no fiscal-year split and no outlay total. Labor-hour development contracts often increment obligations as work is added.

Outlays are the payments against those invoices. Quote $54.1 billion as USAspending contract obligations coded to custom computer programming services, not as an IT budget and not as cash already spent.

14,134 awards on a development code

The 14,134 award records are fewer than the residual other-computer-services line in this industry set, which fits a more specific development code: fewer catch-all orders, still plenty of task-order volume. The count is not 14,134 applications and not 14,134 programmers. One vehicle can generate many development orders. Use the industry page to see concentration among vendors.

Custom programming is the labor of writing software to specification. It is not a license shelf. USAspending awards tagged 541511 show $54,073,414,891.62 in obligations on 14,134 records. Those records increment when a backlog is funded or a task order is added. That increment is still an obligation, not an outlay. Packaged products tagged 511210 will not appear here. Systems design tagged 541512 will not appear here. Residual other computer services tagged 541519 will not appear here. A modernization office can buy all four. This guide reports 541511 only. Keep 14,134 with the dollars. Keep grants out when they lack NAICS. The industry table shows the vendor mix.

What 541511 excludes

Assistance awards often lack NAICS and are outside this total. Packaged software publishing (511210) is a product NAICS. Operating a data center (541513) is facilities management. Residual IT support (541519) is the catch-all. Grants to a state for an eligibility system, if they are assistance, will not appear here.

SpendingVault aggregates USAspending.gov contract data. The $54,073,414,891.62 total and the 14,134 award count can change after corrections. The live industry page is the table of record.

Using the custom-programming industry page

Open the CUSTOM COMPUTER PROGRAMMING SERVICES industry page for the award list under the headline. Place 541511 next to 541512, 541513, 541519, and 511210 on All industries. Cite obligations, not outlays, and keep the 14,134 award count with the dollar figure.

Citing custom code without licenses or integration

Cite $54,073,414,891.62 in USAspending obligations on 14,134 awards tagged NAICS 541511, custom computer programming services. Name the exclusions in the same breath: packaged software publishing, systems design, facilities management, and residual other computer services.

The 14,134 award count is development-order volume, not applications in production. Labor-hour contracts increment obligations as work is added; that is still not an outlay total. Assistance-funded software work often has no NAICS. The industry page holds the award list behind the $54.1 billion headline.

Custom programming is the code for writing software to a client specification. Packaged products belong on 511210. The $54,073,414,891.62 total is the tagged development slice on 14,134 awards. Agile increments, backlog task orders, and testing labor that stayed coded 541511 all feed the same sum. Labor-hour vehicles make obligations look jumpy as work is added; that jumpiness is still not outlays.

Modernization programs are famous for splitting labor and licenses. If you quote only 541511, you are quoting the custom-code tag, not the license tag. If you quote only 511210, you are quoting publishers. This packet has the 541511 facts only: $54.1 billion and 14,134 awards. Keep the other IT pages separate. Keep grants out when they lack NAICS.

Questions

How much is obligated on NAICS 541511 custom programming?

USAspending.gov contract awards coded NAICS 541511 show $54,073,414,891.62 in obligations across 14,134 awards. That total is obligations, not outlays, for custom computer programming services. USAspending.gov records the amount as contract obligations, not outlays, on awards tagged NAICS 541511.

Is custom programming the same as computer systems design?

No. Systems design is NAICS 541512. Custom programming is 541511. This table’s $54,073,414,891.62 does not include awards tagged only as 541512. The packet total is $54,073,414,891.62 across 14,134 awards; assistance awards often have no NAICS and stay outside the industry rollup.

Does 541511 include Microsoft or other packaged software buys?

Packaged software publishing is NAICS 511210. Custom programming is writing software to a client specification. License buys tagged 511210 are not inside the $54,073,414,891.62 total. Treat the 14,134 figure as an award-record count, including orders and modifications, not as a physical inventory of products or sites.

Are software-development grants included?

Assistance awards may not carry NAICS and are generally outside this industry total. The 14,134 awards are USAspending contract records tagged 541511. This guide does not add a fiscal-year split. Quote the live industry page if you need the current award list under CUSTOM COMPUTER PROGRAMMING SERVICES.