Questions 2-10-22 Final.docx

Note: The answers provided below are for informational purposes, to assist potential offerors in preparing proposals, and such answers do not themselves constitute an amendment to the Solicitation. Where questions and answers necessitated such an amendment, such changes have been or will be incorporated into a formal amendment to the Solicitation. To the extent that any answers provided below conflict in any way with the Solicitation and any Amendments, the final Solicitation takes precedence.

Questions: 2/10/2022

1. Could you inform me if this is a new requirement or a follow-on to an existing contract? If the latter, could you please provide me with the Contractor Name and Contract #?

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: This is a follow-on to an existing contract. The current Contract number is 36C10B18C2746. The contractor for that contract is Deque Systems, Inc.

2. In Section 3.0, Scope of Work (Page 34), the government specifies testing of approximately 5,600 websites. Can the government please clarify is this "5,600" is the number of unique URLs or Pages.

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: Yes, 5,600 is the approximate number of unique URLs.

3. Can the government please specify the number of documents by type? (PDF, Word and others)

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE:

Unfortunately, the numbers have not previously been tracked. PDF documents are audited via two “entry points” in the 508 Office: PDFs on web sites, and PDFs submitted individually to the 508 Office. The PDFs on web sites are by far the larger number, numbering in the thousands. PDF documents submitted individually are very few in number. The primary document format used in VA is PDF; other types used are very few in number. Since the government has not previously tracked the specific numbers of PDFs audited, this contract has raised the importance of tracking numbers as well as more detail for PDFs, as reflected in Requirements #49 and #52.

4. Can the government please share the list of the TRM Approved Solutions?

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: Sharing a list is not possible. The TRM has thousands of tool listings, and there is not a category for Section 508 solutions; Section 508 Office does not keep a listing since tools change often. Vendors can check for any tool by name. If their specific tool is not listed, it can be added after contract award, as outlined in the PWS. You may check for particular solutions here: https://www.oit.va.gov/services/trm/

5. What is the solution that the government currently uses for Section 508 Compliance Check?

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: Section 508 Office currently has no solution on contract. Section 508 Subject Matter Experts and development teams currently use primarily screen readers and the axe-core browser extension. We have no automated tool currently on contract.

6. Can the government please clarify what exactly it refers to when it mentions "non-web content"?

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: Non-web content would include stand-alone applications or other software not included as part of the web/HTML environment.

7. Optional Task Three eLearning Courses, can the government clarify what platform are these eLearning Courses are on? What different file types are included in this (Videos, PDFs, Power Point, Mobile Apps)?

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: VA eLearning courses may be comprised of: Web-Based Training (WBT), Pre-recorded video, and documents (e.g. Word, PowerPoint, Excel and PDF).

8. How many Videos content are to be scanned under this requirement?

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: Government only conducts manual audits on videos. Scans aren't intuitive enough to identify all accessibility components needed.

9. What is the estimated project start date?

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: The estimated project start date is March 23, 2022.

10. We are interested in responding to following RFP but are curios if this is indeed set aside 100% for small business:

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: This acquisition is a 100% small business set-aside.

11. If the correct response date and time is February 17, 2022, at 2:00pm EST, would the government please extend the response date to at least February 24, 2022, and, preferably to March 3, 2022, as two weeks is insufficient to prepare a response to this comprehensive Statement of Work and to both Request and have Past Performance Questionnaires returned from references who are beyond the vendors’ control?

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: There will not be an extension at this time.

12. In requirement # 34 - does the term "mobile apps" mean automated testing of native iOS and Android apps? Or is this requirement referring to testing apps that use a mobile device's browser?

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: The term “mobile apps” refers to a mobile application that is tested by automation, in either native iOS or Android, for accessibility using a mobile device or emulator.

13. In the Scope of Work section, it says "Contractor shall deploy the tool on servers within the VA". Does this mean the tool must be able to be deployed on VA premises?

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: Yes, tool must be deployed on internal servers.

14. Under Place of Performance - What portion of the work will be performed at VA HQ?

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: No contractors are located at VACO for daily work. The work performed at VA Central Office (VACO) consists of meetings that are held by the government-contractor team. However, due to the length of COVID’s impact on government operations, these meetings will now likely be held virtually. Auditing and testing can be performed at any location, including contractor’s corporate location, that has access to the ICT covered under this contract and thus may not be performed at VACO. When COVID restrictions are removed from VA operations, meetings may resume at VACO.

15. Microsoft no longer supports Internet Explorer 11 [IE 11]. Can VA provide a date when the VA will not require support for IE 11?

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: That date has not yet been determined by the Office of Information and Technology and is thus unknown by the 508 Office.

16. What versions of MS Office must be supported by the tool or tool suite?

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: Microsoft Office 365.

17. Is automated EPUB scanning & reporting required?

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: Presuming “EPUB” refers to electronic publications, there is not a category for “publications” included under this contract. . It is true however, that automated document scanning of documents will be included.

18. Are pages scanned through the API included in the "scan volumes" in the annual totals.

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: No. The API has been a tool used primarily by development teams, so the Section 508 Office has no way to know the scope of that usage. Also, since the API we have used most recently is designed to run in an Automated Test Framework, and since the Section 508 Office does not use such a tool, the API has not been used by the 508 Office, but rather is simply made available to project development teams.

19. Which content management solution is referred to in Requirements Sub paragraph 37? Please provide more specific details on what is meant by 'Post and Notify' capabilities. Are there any APIs available in the CMS used by VA which can be used for this?

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: Paragraph 37 under Automated Testing Requirement is a general statement of functionality VA may need under this contract, although the Section 508 Office is not using these functionalities currently. Among the CMS solutions currently being used across VA are TeamSite, Drupal, and WordPress. Due to these solutions having different functionalities and using terminology in multiple ways, “Post and Notify” is used by the solutions in different ways, as per their unique designs. Section 508 Office does not have information on APIs available in the CMS solutions, since those are selected and operated by the administrations (VHA, VBA, NCA, VACO).

20. Please provide more specific details on the Microsoft Office - automated testing requirement?

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: Without a reference to a specific Requirement in the solicitation or further description, we cannot clarify further.

21. Is VA using Microsoft Office 365?

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: Yes.

22. E.13 Proposal Submission Instructions, Volume III Past Performance Factor, Section 5 – Past Performance Assessment Questionnaire, page 133. If CPARS are available in PPIRS, is that a suitable replacement rather than an offeror needing to submit a Past Performance Assessment Questionnaire?

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: The Past Performance Assessment Questionnaire is still required even if there is a CPARS record.

23. E.13 Proposal Submission Instructions, Introduction, page 128 and Combined Synopsis Solicitation Posting, page 2. There is a discrepancy in the Combined Synopsis Solicitation Posting and the RFP as to what the email subject line should read when vendors submit their responses. Are vendors to follow the guidance in the RFP or the guidance in the Combined Synopsis Solicitation?

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: The Combined Synopsis Solicitation has been updated via an amendment to reflect the same guidance found in the RFP. The email subject line shall include RFP 36C10B22R0002 and Section 508 Scanning.

24. E.13 Proposal Submission Instructions, Introduction, page 128 and Combined Synopsis Solicitation Posting, page 2. There is a discrepancy in the Combined Synopsis Solicitation Posting and the RFP as to whom our proposal responses must be emailed. Are vendors to follow the guidance in the RFP or the guidance in the Combined Synopsis Solicitation?

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: The Combined Synopsis Solicitation has been updated via an amendment to reflect the same guidance found in the RFP. Vendors shall submit their proposal via email to Kevin Andujar, kevin.andujar@va.gov, and Peter Lewandowski, peter.lewandowski@va.gov.

25. Page 12 of RFP, Pricing Spreadsheet (Cell B1). Please confirm that the base year is 12 months.

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: Yes, the Base Period is 12 months. Pricing Spreadsheet has been updated to reflect the 12 month base period. Please see Attachment 0001 – Price Response Spreadsheet Section508 – 0001.

26. Page 128, a. Format and Volume II-Price Factor, page 131. There is a discrepancy in how offerors are supposed to submit our proposal files. The Format section states, “All files shall be submitted as a Portable Document Format (PDF) file and shall be legible when set at 100 percent zoom in Adobe Acrobat.”, while the price section states, “The Price Evaluation Spreadsheet shall be submitted in MS Excel Office 365, only.” Should all files be PDF’d or should all files, but the pricing spreadsheet be PDF’d? Please clarify.

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: Please be advised that ALL files shall be submitted in Portable Document Format (PDF). The language at E13 was changed to state that all files be submitted as PDF. This sentence will be highlighted in yellow.

27. Section E – Solicitation Provisions, page 101. Please confirm that only the prime contractor is to complete the Section E – Solicitation Provisions section.

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: Only the Offeror completes Section E, not the Prime Contractor.

28. Section 5, Past Performance Assessment Questionnaire, page 133. As a subcontractor on a project, we do not have privity of contract with the Government customer, and as such, it would be inappropriate to engage the Government POC directly for a questionnaire. Prevailing best practice for past performance questionnaires is to have the prime contractor complete the PPQ. Please confirm you are requesting input from our prime contractor POC only.

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: If the Offeror or a proposed subcontractor was a subcontractor on a prior contract, the prime on that contract is the POC for filling out the past performance questionnaire in addition to the Government or commercial contracting activity POC also completing such a past performance questionnaire.

29. Section 5.2, Paragraph 2, page 38-39. The deployment model for the RFP assumes that “Contractor shall deploy the tool on internal servers within VA; TRM approval of the tool is required for this approach.” Is the VA open to FedRAMP authorized solutions with cloud deployments?

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: No. Section 3.0 Scope of Work, paragraph 1 indicates, “Contractor shall deploy the tool on internal servers within VA; TRM approval of the tool is required for this approach.” Section 5.2, paragraph 2 indicates, “…All tools shall be deployed inside the VA firewall….”

30. Section 5.4, page 49. What is the approximate monthly count of “Manual Audits” in Section 5.4? A number is provided for “Tool Audits” – none is provided for Manual Audits.

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: Manual Audits are not broken out separately in 5.4. The last line of that Section 5.4 says that 60 audits per month is the estimate for the scope of work. The Manual Audits section below is included in the overall estimate of 60 per month since it is a part of Section 5.4.

31. Section 3.0, Paragraph 3, page 34. The RFP includes the following statement “Scope of this testing includes annual totals of approximately 5,600 web sites (simple sites or sites with basic downloadable content); 100 varied contents (e.g., PDFs, video content, non-web content, MS Word, PowerPoint, and Excel documents); 50 mobile applications; and 600 eLearning courses. Optional testing may include up to approximately 360 SharePoint sites annually.” Should we interpret this as the total number of items that would be scanned and tested by automated tools? Does this differ from what would be tested with Tools Audits and Manual Audits?

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: These numbers are an approximation of the work to be done; they are approximations since there is flexibility in the types of and numbers of assessments requested by the administrations (VHA, VBA, NCA, VACO) and VA leadership. Web sites are almost always scanned by the automated tool, eLearning courses are assessed largely manually but with automation as appropriate, and the other categories are largely performed manually.

32. Section 5.7.1, page 51. Item 5.7.1, INTERNET WEB SITES AUDIT REPORTS (OPTIONAL TASK 1), notes that “Each time the Optional Task is exercised by VA, the Contractor shall provide audit reports as described in PWS Section 5.4 for an additional 900 sites.” The pricing spreadsheet, however, has a quantity of 9,000 (the not to exceed number) for total. . Is the way to interpret this that the VA would like a price per audit in the pricing sheet but will only ever order optional audits in groups of 900?

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: Yes. If the number of audits ordered/purchased initially is less than 900 (for Optional Task 1), government may order additional audits up to the number paid for. Also, note that Optional Tasks 1, 2, and 3 are similar and would be executed in the same way.

33. Section 5.5, page 50. Tool Training: While this section seems to be calling for written training plans, will live training (via a recorded Microsoft Teams call) with an Implementation Manager be an acceptable alternative?

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: No. this training is intended to be stand-alone and available to the learner at any time. The approved training plans shall be available in VA’s Talent Management System (TMS).

34. Section B, page 8. Can you please provide a definition for LO in the Unit column for Section B? CLIN 0001AB is listed with a quantity of “1” but is delivered weekly over a year – should this be 52? CLIN 0001AC and 0001AD are listed as monthly with a quantity of one - should this be 12?

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: CLIN 0001AB – 0001AD are Not Separately Priced CLIN’s and each line item describes the frequency. The CLIN’s shall remain as one Lot (LO).

35. SF 1449. Will the Government please provide an editable SF 1449 form that offerors can complete to be compliant? The current form has restrictions and does not allow us to edit.

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: At this moment, the SF1449 does not need to be filled out. An editable SF1449 may be provided upon contract award.

36. Please provide more details about whether Tools are automated, guided or manual testing for MS Office Properties.

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: Vendors should tell the government how their tools can test MS Office-produced content, either by automation or manual testing.

37. Should the tool be able to import Excel or CSV files?

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: There is no Requirement for importing information.

38. What are the comprehensive set of formats eLearning courses are made of?

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: Please see the answer to question 7 above.