In the last two weeks, GAO issued a series of bid protest decisions that—taken together—highlight how contractors can win (or lose) based on things like how strictly agencies apply stated thresholds, how persuasive the proposal record is against the solicitation’s evaluation criteria, and whether protests survive timeliness and “abandonment” rules. Below are the 10 most contractor-relevant takeaways, each tied to a specific GAO case, and distilled into practical guidance you can use to improve proposal strategy, reduce risk in submissions, and understand what GAO looks for when deciding whether an agency’s evaluation and award decision will stand.