Attachment J4 - Question and Answers.pdf

Page # Section Number Reference Text Questions or Other Observations Library of Congress Response

NA NA NA

• Is there an incumbent on this contract? If so, please provide the incumbent name, current contract number, Period of performance , value of the contract.

• If new then please provide the estimated level of efforts ?

The prior contract holder, the incumbent, was Shinano Kenshi Corp., 6065 Bristol Parkway, Culver City, CA 90230. The contract was for an IDIQ with a period of performance for 5 years, LCNLS18D0077, and the min and max amounts stated in the IDIQ were $ 2,000 and $3,000,000, respectively. The scope of work was for BARD Mobile Application Development Services.

63 L

Offerors shall provide detailed references for a maximum of five (5) relevant current contracts and/or completed contracts (Government or commercial) performed within five (5) years from the solicitation release date that are relevant to the mandatory performance areas (iOS, Android, FireOS) in this procurement

Under section C, there are 6 performance areas but the instructions only identify 3 out of the 6 areas as mandatory. This is unreasonable to exclude Microsoft Windows Platform from the mandatory performance areas. The BARD Express Windows app is an essential and independent application for the Blind and Print Disabled. It is not auxiliary to the mobile apps.

We request that the NLS identify Microsoft Windows platform as mandatory and accept past performances of the prime offeror on this platform.

Section L pge 63 is incorrect and has been changed to read, "Offerors shall provide detailed references for a maximum of five (5) relevant current contracts and/or completed contracts (Government or commercial) performed within five (5) years from the solicitation release date that are relevant to the performance areas in this procurement that the Offeror is proposing."

61 L N/A Could you please confirm in which volume we should include the Standard Form (SF)? The SF form must be included within the price proposal.

63 L Key Personnel Are resumes included in the specified page limitation for the proposal?

Yes, resumes are included in the specified page limitation for the proposal volume.

64 L Subcontracting Regarding the Clause LC52.244-1, could you kindly specify in which volume(s) we should include this clause—whether it should be incorporated in the technical volume, pricing volume, or both?

The Clause LC52.244-1 must be included in both the technical volume and the price volume. The technical volume includes percentages and the price volume will contain the cost values.

all all Overall SOW What is the current technology stack for each application?

For IOS: Xcode, Objective-C , Swift, UIKit, SwiftUI For Android and FireOS: Android Studio, Java, Kotlin, JNI-C, Android UI For Windows: Visual Studio, C#, .NET framework For Linux: C and C++, Gtk3 all all Overall SOW Are there any preferences on the technology stacks we could use?

There is no preference for future apps. For current apps, the Library intends to maintain the current stack for continuity and seletively update/upgrade as required.

all all Overall SOW Are there restrictions on the technology stacks we could use?

For future apps, there are no restrictions on technology stacks being used to develop it. For current apps, the requirement is that the current technology stack be maintained and enhanced/replaced as needed to support maintainability and addition of new features.

6 C.2 involving the maintenance, enhancement, and development of existing and new NLS applications

Is the scope application dependent? Are some applications planned for rewrite vs adding features from the start?

The scope is application dependent. The Library does not intend to rewrite the current apps at this time. Features are to be added on top of current apps.

6 C.3 development of new features for BARD Mobile for iOS and iPadOS application

Will new features be developed in the current code base/current application or will the new features be planned only for the rewritten application? Features will be added on top of the current code base for existing application. For future applications or porting current apps to a new platform, it may require a rewrite of the codebase.

9 C.3.6 Maintenance and Prototype Development for Web Browser based platform

The browser mobile based platform – is that BARD 2.0 since that is a responsive site?

The browser based playback app will work with BARD 2.0 endpoints to retreive digital books and playback.

9 C.3.7 Maintenance and Prototype Development for Linux based platform What applications/systems are using or are planning to use a Linux based platform?

The Library does not currently have any Linux based platforms. The Library intents to develop playback apps on Linux and use over a variety of Linux platforms.

9 C.4

170 hours for 4-week sprints and 85 hours for 2-week sprints

Can you further explain these numbers for estimation? For example - is this for one person or a team of two people? In a team size of 3 engineers plus the Scrum Master and Project Manager how would this estimation of hours apply?

The estimation is based on the number of hours in a 4-week or a 2-week period. It is up to the offeror to allocate resources that utilize the hours best for accomplishing (completing) a sprint.

General Question

INCUMBENT Is there any incumbent for this opportunity?

Yes. The incumbent is Shinano Kenshi Corp., 6065 Bristol Parkway, Culver City, CA 90230.

General Question

INCUMBENT

If there is an incumbent then why you are looking for other companies? Are you not happy with them?

The Library adheres to (a) 41 U.S.C. 6101 which requires, with certain limited exceptions, that Library contracting officers obtain competition by advertising for proposals for a sufficient time (b) Contracting officers shall provide for full and open competition using the procedures of FAR 6.102 and this LCFARS.

Questions and Clarifications for Solicitation 030ADV24R0004, BARD Mobile IDIQ

General Question

INCUMBENT If there is an incumbent then are they bidding for this opportunity? The Library is not aware of interested parties intending to propose on this requirement. This procurement opportunity is open to anyone with an active Sam.gov account who can meet the criteria listed within the solicitation.

6 C2 Scope Could you provide additional details on the specific maintenance activities outlined in Section C.2? Are there any critical areas that require immediate attention?

The maintenance activities involve in bug fixing of current apps, updating the app to adopt to new versions of the underlaying OS (such as iOS, Android, FireOS, Windows), adapting apps to use new frameworks if current framework become obsolete or deprecated, and adding features to the current apps. The next most critical areas would be to migrate the apps to use BARD 2.0 API and migration to AAA/SSO.

8 C3

Requirements

In the requirement mentions 12 four-week sprints. Could you clarify if these sprints are consecutive, and is there flexibility in the schedule if needed?

Sprints are consecutive. A sprint plan is provided with each task order. The sprint plan is flexible, meaning tasks can be moved around if it makes sense to accomplish one task before another with the agreement from the Library.

However, sprint start and end dates are not flexible during the period of perfromance.

1 Attachment 5 BARD 2.0 Migration For the BARD 2.0 Migration, Part 2, are there any known challenges or dependencies that we should be aware of during this sprint?

This is continutation of the BARD 2.0 migration. There should not be any additional dependencies.

1 Attachment 7 Implement features and enhancements Regarding the features and enhancements in C.3.3, are there any priority levels assigned, or should we follow a specific order during development? The Library will assign priorities to features and enhancements and will add it to the sprint plan for the specific task order.

General Question

Budget Could you provide budget considerations for this project?

Offerors are to use their best business judgement when proposing pricing for the respective task order in which the Offeror interested. The IDIQ ceiling is provided in Section B.3.4.