3 JOFOC NRMAH000-21-00229.pdf

Version 3.0

Source Selection Information – see FAR 2.101 and 3.104

SOLE SOURCE

FOR AN ACTION EXCEEDING THE SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION THRESHOLD

USING SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL ITEMS

(AUTHORITY: FAR 13.501(a), 41 U.S.C. 1901)

NRMAH000-21-00229

1. Agency and contracting activity.

Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Acquisition and Grants Office (AGO), Western Acquisition Division (WAD) and Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL).

2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved.

This is a sole source justification for a follow-on to an existing contract 1305M318CNRMA0013.

The new contract will be firm fixed price. The government intends to solicit offers from WeatherTop, Inc. for scientific software development.

3. Description of supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs (including the total estimated value).

The requirement is to provide scientific software development expertise in support of the Science Data Integration Group (SDIG) data management mission, and will deliver enhancement, software patches, and new version of the Live Access Server (LAS), for the total amount of $605,225.00 for a one year base period and two one year option periods. This will allow the PMEL’s Data Integration Group to accomplish its mission to enable high quality publication-ready scientific visualizations and scientific analysis capability through a highly configurable and scalable web based platform.

4. Statutory authority permitting the sole source (including brand name) acquisition.

☒ 41 U.S.C. 1901, using SAP up to $7M as authorized by FAR 13.500(a) and implemented by FAR 13.501(a).

5. Demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited.

The contracting officer has determined the following circumstances justify the use of a sole source as supported below:

Compatibility to existing systems or equipment - Roland Scweitzer (WeatherTop Inc.) is uniquely qualified to provide these services to PMEL’s SDIG based upon the following:

WeatherTop, and it’s owner and sole employee, Roland Schweitzer, has extensive knowledge of the processes, technologies, and scientific drivers for the development that are required by the PMEL data integration group. Technologies used for software development in support of the Data Integration Group’s efforts are:

NRMAH000-18-00308

LAS User Interface Java and Google Web Toolkit code:

The LAS User Interface uses the Google Web Toolkit and custom Java code to implement asynchronous JavaScript connections between the user interface client and the Java LAS server.

More than 60,000 lines of Java source code support this framework. The contractor must have mastery of this body of code, understanding the rationale behind its design, its potentials for further development and its limitations in full detail. Mr. Schweitzer, the architect of this code, has a uniquely high level of familiarity with the code and is uniquely qualified to make the required software modifications to it.

The LAS Product server “Velocity Template” workflow control and Java Code:

The LAS Product server architecture embodies protocol translators, asynchronous (“batch”) responses, metadata management, access control, cache management, workflow orchestration, remote service invocation via the Simple Object Request Protocol (SOAP) and multiple server methodologies such as direct image streaming, asynchronous response to browser requests, and Google Web Toolkit remote procedure calls. Mastery of the complex interactions of the Velocity Template code elements and has detailed knowledge their use with a variety of Web browser technologies is required to fulfill the terms of this contract. Mr. Schweitzer has those unique skills.

LAS configuration framework:

The LAS configuration database contains the “intelligence” of the LAS system. The configuration framework is a collection of software specifications and tools:

1) The LAS XML schema;

2) Java software that interprets the XML;

3) Real-time process controls that update metadata content dynamically without interrupting the

LAS server; and

4) Custom utilities (primarily built upon the Java “addXML” utility) which convert the metadata contents of scientific datasets of several types into XML. Hierarchies of data sets as represented in THREDDS XML catalogs. Mastery of the LAS configuration framework is essential in order to make the modifications required for this contract. The LAS XML schema is of Mr. Schweitzer’s design. The companion utilities just described have been designed by Mr.

Schweitzer to work with his XML design. Mr. Schweitzer uniquely possesses the skills that are required for this contract.

Tools for PMEL Science Data Integration:

Adapting LAS to integrate with PMEL’s science data holdings will require knowledge of these holdings. This intimate knowledge of PMEL data is also helpful in the timely development of the data inventory tool.

Knowledge to develop software updates to address IT security concerns:

The software developed in support of the PMEL Data Integration Group scientific data management mission has established a unique knowledge base of the workings of this code with Mr. Schweitzer. This knowledge is critical for rapid development of software updates when issues of an IT security nature are identified, and have to be addressed in a time constrained environment.

Knowledge to drive major version update of LAS:

To ensure the Data Integration Group support to PMEL and its other collaborators remains relevant, the LAS software has to keep pace with the latest web, data access, analysis and visualization requirements. A major version update is required of LAS in 2021. Mr. Schweitzer’s unique and in-depth knowledge of this application and its supporting technologies will allow this development to be completed on time. The intimate knowledge and design experience with LAS will allow Mr. Schweitzer to develop an update that addresses the shortcomings of the existing software in a manner that does not replicate previous pitfalls.

6. Description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by FAR Subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under FAR 5.202 applies.

A sources sought notice was posted March 8, 2021, and closed on March 18, 2021, and no responses were received. The JOFOC will be posted on Governmentwide Point of Entry as required by FAR Subpart 5.2.

7. Determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

The costs are expected to be close to previous contract pricing. Previous contract pricing and the Independent Government Estimate will be used to determine the price is fair and reasonable.

8. Description of the market research conducted (see Part 10) and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted.

To address the market research related to this requirement, it’s best to see what the considerations are to acquire the skills and knowledge to perform the tasks described. Three key considerations are; a) are the skills available in the marketplace to perform these tasks, b) the overhead related to ingrate new development resources to perform these tasks, and lastly c) cost.

a. Is the skillset available in the marketplace?

To answer this question, we consider three requirements, which in combination; make a potential contractor compatible with the performance of the tasks outlined in the Statement of Work: programming skills, scientific qualifications, and organizational knowledge.

Programming skills The software development languages and frameworks the contractor has to have knowledge of are mostly off-the-shelf software development frameworks and industry-widely used programming languages. Knowledge of the Ferret and PyFerret languages, both developed by the PMEL Science Data Integration Group, is, however, specialized knowledge that will have to be acquired by the contractor. Our assessment is that someone in possession with most of the knowledge described in the category can be sourced from the software developer marketplace.

Scientific qualifications A background in an earth science, such as oceanography, meteorology or geology, as well as professional qualification in mathematics are required in the performance of the tasks outlined in the SOW. The work cannot be performed without knowledge of the terminology and the data analysis methods commonly used in the environmental sciences. The software development described in the contract renewal depends heavily on this scientific knowledge to enable the contractor to not only design and write the software required for scientific analysis and modeling, but also the ability to define, specify, and describe the software required. This software requirement is often based on scientific literature, and the failure to understand such literature will manifest as a critical skills gap in the contractor requirement. A candidate with these skillsets can be sourced from the marketplace.

Organizational knowledge Knowledge of NOAA and the organizational framework this software is used in is essential to understand the data constructs and data organization that should be used. Familiarity of the various research efforts that are related to the development allows problem resolution paths for the contractors, and quicker problem resolution saves time and money on development effort. This skillset is difficult to source in the marketplace.

The combination of these three skill sets make a contractor a viable option. Although these skills are by themselves possible to resolve in the marketplace, it is the combination of these skills in one contracting entity that are much more difficult to source.

b. Overhead related to a new candidate

The development tasks described in the SOW are for development of a highly specialized suite of scientifically focused software. This software was developed by WeatherTop over the last 10 years. We estimate that it will take the Data Integration Group a minimum of six, and as much as eighteen months to work with a new contractor to allow them to start work on deliverables. Considering the deliverables we have this and the next fiscal year, we do not have the flexibility to train a new contractor to perform these tasks. Failure to deliver on the commitments made in funded proposals will erode confidence with our funding agencies and can cause financial ruin through loss of funding.

c. Cost estimate

With our experience in the software development field, and with other costs involved with other government IT contracts, we are cognizant of the high costs that IT development labor costs amount to. The past contract for this highly specialized skill-set for software development has set a track record for the existing contractor cost-wise that we have used as a projected cost in already funded proposals. We also used the Independent Government Cost Estimator tool to determine the annual cost for such a contract which indicated a cost about 10% higher than our estimate.

Conclusion All these factors described above makes sourcing such a contractor in the marketplace extremely difficult, and, even if successful, potentially devastating to a group that has many deliverables to meet based upon project funding requirements. The IT marketplace’s ability to fulfill the contracting requirements that meet the combination of skills, knowledge and scientific background required for the software development work outlined in this contract is doubtful, although not impossible. Furthermore, the integration of a new contractor will put the PMEL Science Data Integration Group at risk of not meeting funded proposal obligations, and Strategic Goals and as a result, the ability of this research group to seek further funding with these entities.

Attempts to seek other viable sources through internet searching results all lead back to NOAA.

No viable vendors were found in this search.

9. Any other facts supporting the use of a sole source (including brand name), such as:

This contract is necessary to avoid a break in service for this critical mission requirement.

Mr. Schweitzer (WeatherTop, Inc.) possesses the highly specialized technical, institutional, and system architecture knowledge required to perform this requirement The requirement cannot be modified in any manner for competition, because of the specialized nature of the software development in support of scientific data management.

10. List of the sources that expressed a written interest in the acquisition.

No responses were received to the sources sought.

11. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required.

The Government will continue to conduct thorough market research to gauge the marketplace capabilities for future requirements. The Government will seek competition of future acquisitions for these services if and when it is deemed a viable option.

12. Technical/Requirements Representative Certification.

I certify that this requirement constitutes the Government’s minimum needs and the supporting data provided herein is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Benjamin Carlson Date Acquisition Management Specialist/COR

13. Contracting Officer’s Certification and Approval.

I certify this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Mark E. Caban Date Contracting Officer

14. Office of General Counsel Concur.

Rebecca Bailey Jacobsen - Attorney Date Office of General Counsel