RFI 36C10B26Q0830 - QandA.xlsx
XLSX spreadsheet 17 KB Posted
- Attached to
- 7A21--(New Action): VA Procurement Policy Documentation Control Software (VA-27-00008195)
- Solicitation number
- 36C10B26Q0830
About this file
This file is a Questions and Answers document (Q&A) in Excel format accompanying RFI 36C10B26Q0830 for VA Procurement Policy Documentation Control Software. The document itself does not contain specific required products or services details, pricing terms, or substantive technical requirements. Rather, it serves as a repository for clarifying questions submitted by interested vendors and corresponding government responses regarding the RFI requirements.
The RFI seeks qualified vendors to provide an enterprise-ready document control management solution designed to streamline the lifecycle of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), forms, and related reference materials for the Department of Veterans Affairs Technology Acquisition Center Austin. The original response deadline has been extended to October 13, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Responses should be submitted via email to both Ana Subashi (Ana.Subashi@va.gov) and Kendra Casebolt (Kendra.Casebolt@va.gov). This is a pre-solicitation RFI issued for information and planning purposes only; participation is voluntary and non-responsive vendors may still participate in any subsequent RFP. All submission costs are the vendor's responsibility, and all proprietary information must be clearly marked.
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Other files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| RFI 36C10B26Q0830 - QandA - Part 2.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| 36C10B26Q0830 0002.docx | DOCX document | |
| 36C10B26Q0830 0001.docx | DOCX document | |
| 36C10B26Q0830.docx | DOCX document | |
| DRAFT - Product Description - SharePoint Online Integration.docx | DOCX document |
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Sheet1
| Vendor Questions | Customer Answers |
| For market research, are you mainly looking for vendors with an existing FedRAMP Moderate SaaS document-control product, or is a small business prime teamed with an M365/SharePoint-native partner also useful? | We would be interested in the M365/SharePoint solution. Please note that any vendor will need to understand VA’s versioning of M365/SharePoint which is not necessarily a COTS product with the same capabilities and connections one would find in the private sector. |
| Would VA consider a custom solution built natively in the existing VA Microsoft 365 tenant, using SharePoint Online and Power Platform, rather than a pre-built SaaS product? The draft PD seems to allow this in place of FedRAMP Moderate authorization, and we want to confirm that reading. | The customer would definitely be open to a custom native solution. |
| With ~400,000 users, we'd expect to need a database backend, Dataverse or SQL Server, rather than SharePoint lists alone. Can you clarify what licensing is already available for either under the existing tenant, and share an expected concurrent user count, separate from total users? | Dataverse is available to them but is not currently deployed for this instance; however, it could be implemented if needed. Their estimated concurrent volume would be approximately 3,000 per day initially, tapering to fewer than 1,000 per day within roughly a year. |
| Will VA consider an application built inside the existing VA Microsoft 365 tenant and delivered with source code under Product Description 5.8, or does the CLIN's Part Number and Quantity line mean VA is looking only for a commercially licensed product? | Yes, we will consider such a solution. |
| The SAM.gov notice states responses are due 1:00 PM EST, September 29, 2026 and says "Submit your responses directly on GSA"; the attached RFI states 1:00 PM EST, September 30, 2026 and "Submit your responses directly to Ana Subashi at Ana.Subashi@va.gov". Please confirm the due date, time zone and submission channel that govern (email attachment to the Contract Specialist, or GSA eBuy). | If you are a GSA contractor, please submit your response through GSA. If you are not a GSA contractor, please email your response to us. |
| The RFI limits the response to 6 pages but is silent on font type, font size, margins, page size, and whether a cover page, tables and figures count toward the page limit. Please state the page limit rules. Absent direction, Advent used 8.5 x 11 pages, 1 inch margins, 11 point body text and 10 point tables, with everything counted. | That is fine for the RFI |
| Is there a maximum email attachment size (for example 10 MB), a required file naming convention, and a required file format? Advent submitted a searchable PDF and can furnish the Word file on request. | I think email can only take up to 8mb. Otherwise, standard pdf, doc and xls files are fine. |
| Will VA publish the questions received and its answers to all interested parties as an update to the SAM.gov notice, and would VA extend the response date if answers are issued close to the deadline? | Yes. |
| The notice carries no set-aside and asks SDVOSB and VOSB firms about the 50 percent requirement. Does VA intend to apply the VA Rule of Two under 38 U.S.C. 8127 and set the acquisition aside for SDVOSB or VOSB firms, or will a small business set-aside or full and open competition be considered where fewer than two SDVOSB or VOSB sources with a conforming product respond? | Part of this RFI is to assist VA in determining the acquisition strategy. |
| The Introduction refers to "contractor support to modernize and optimize its warehouse operations" and to a "draft Performance Work Statement". Please confirm that the requirement is the document control management solution described in the draft Product Description and that no Performance Work Statement is attached. | Yes, it is the doc control solution - correct, no PWS attached. |
| PD 1.0 admits "a Software as a Service (SaaS) platform or a Microsoft 365/SharePoint Online-native application" and 1.1 requires "Native SharePoint Online integration OR SharePoint-embedded SaaS application". Would a standalone SaaS platform hosted outside the VA Microsoft 365 tenant, integrated with SharePoint Online and Entra ID through the Microsoft Graph API and SAML or OpenID Connect, satisfy the deployment model requirement? | This is an RFI, and I'm open to learning about all possibilities. |
| What SharePoint Online integration is required: surfacing the catalog and procedure pages within VA SharePoint intranet sites, storing source files in SharePoint Online, single sign-on only, or a SharePoint-native application? Which SharePoint sites or libraries, if any, are the current system of record for SOPs? | This is a new controlled document system, no formal controlled archives exist. Any and all of those proposed solutions should be explored. All existing controlled documents are within Sharpoint or internet systems. |
| 1.1 reads "Must support approximately 400,000 concurrent read-access users" and 1.0 reads "an enterprise user base of approximately 400,000 VA personnel". What peak number of simultaneous sessions should vendors size to, and how many content administrators and system administrators are expected? | The total volume of personnel who could possibly engage simultaneously would be 400k. More probable is several hundred simultaneously. |
| Tasks 1.1 Solution Implementation and 1.2 Ongoing Technical Support are named in 7.1 but not described. What implementation scope is expected: migration of the existing SOP, form and reference library (how many documents, versions, forms and job aids), template design, user and administrator training, and cutover? Will VA furnish the existing content and its metadata as Government-furnished information? | The scope as you've described should be expored. We expect a single solution that we own and manage going forward, the solution should be simple enough in its design, execution, and maintenance that ongoing routine maintenance is performed by VA personnel. We would like to explore templates for writing SOPs that are similar to the content we have in our SOPs already which use a home-grown document layout instead of a more preferable prescriptive one. |
| Are fillable forms to be hosted and downloaded as files, or executed within the solution with data capture, routing and storage of submissions? | Download as files. No data capture. |
| The CLIN reads "SharePoint Online-Native application, Part no., Qty" and the PSC is 7A21, perpetual license software. For a SaaS subscription, what pricing unit does VA intend (enterprise, per named content administrator, per reader), and will the solicitation be firm-fixed-price with separate CLINs for the subscription and for implementation? Which labor categories and level of effort, if any, does VA expect to be priced for implementation and support? | We are willing to entertain all information at this point and will form a PWS/product description once input is received. |
| What support hours, response and resolution times and uptime (service level) does VA require for Ongoing Technical Support, and does VA's Enterprise Service Desk provide Tier 1 support to end users? | Ongoing technical support is thought to be in the shape of addint table of contents if needed, expanding search capabilities, etc. User access iusses and browser rendering is anticipated to be handled through VA IRM support- the idea is that the solution is native enought to M365 that there is no coding required to interface with those systems. |
| 5.2 states POA&Ms will not be accepted for the VA Critical Security Controls on new systems. Will VA furnish the current VA Critical Security Controls list to vendors before the solicitation, and are POA&M items acceptable for other controls within the VA ATO? | The specific VA Critical Security Controls are listed in the linked memorandum, and compliance with these minimum VA Critical Security Controls is not negotiable for obtaining an ATO. |
| The solution would hold workforce identity from Entra ID and SOP content, with no Veteran records. Please confirm that the Master Person Index and ICN integration in 5.3 does not apply. | Assuming this is speaking to authenticating and authorizing VA staff for use. In which case veteran records would not be required. |
| Is a dual-stack (IPv6/IPv4) external service endpoint acceptable at go-live, with IPv6-only clients supported, or must the service endpoint itself be IPv6-only? | They must be able to support communication from IPv6 Only devices as well as IPv4 Only, and even IPv4/IPv6 “Dual Stacked” devices. |
| Are AI features required, optional or excluded for this requirement? If a vendor delivers the solution with AI features disabled, is the 5.7.1 documentation package still required? Are AI-assisted development tools (for example GitHub Copilot or Claude Code) permitted in the contractor's own development of configurations and code delivered to VA, subject to the Statement of Attestation? | Provide some narrative on the pros and cons of using AI within this requirement. Since VA hasn't yet decided whether they'll be using GitHub, Claude, etc. going forward it is difficult to say at this point what development tools could be considered from a contractor- it may be that VA decides to implement our own AI tools in the future within any doc control system. |
| 2.1 cites WCAG 2.0 Level A and AA (E205) and 1.1 cites WCAG 2.1 AA. Which baseline governs, will VA require an Accessibility Conformance Report with quotes, and will VA conduct its own Section 508 testing before acceptance? | 508 compliance should be attested to by the vendor. |
| Does the SHARE IT Act delivery requirement apply to configurations and workflow definitions built on a commercial platform, or only to custom source code first produced for VA? | (Question for requiring activity: are they designing on top of a commercial platform or are these configurations and workflow definitions part of the platform’s use?) If part of platform configuration or use, then not applicable. |
| Both tasks are Tier 1 / Low Risk. Will the solicitation require key personnel, resumes or citizenship statements, and may the work be performed remotely from contractor facilities within the United States with no on-site presence? | We do not anticipate any on-site presence. |
| Is there an incumbent tool or contract for SOP management today (if so, the incumbent, contract number and annual value), and will the incumbent or VA provide knowledge transfer of the current library structure and metadata at transition? | There is such a tool/contract within multiple VA offices, however, none exist for this particular office. |
| Is any travel expected (for example on-site kickoff or training at Eatontown, NJ or Washington, DC), and who bears the cost of third-party components on the VA side, such as Microsoft 365 licenses or connectors? | Travel is not anticipated |
| Will the solicitation require past performance references or questionnaires, and may CPARS records substitute for a past performance questionnaire? | We do not know at this current time. |
| When does VA expect to schedule demonstrations, in what format (live virtual or recorded) and of what duration? Will VA furnish sample SOPs for the demonstration? | We won't at this time. |
| The progress report cadence reads "<Weekly or Monthly> Progress Reports", and the ship-to and point-of-contact blocks are unfilled. Please state the reporting cadence expected and the program office point of contact for the demonstration. | This will be determined prior to posting the PWS/prodcut description, this particular posting is for research to hel pdevelop those requirements. |
| What are the expected volumes of active SOPs, historical versions, attachments, scheduled publications and daily changes, and what migration/retention rules apply? | Volume is several thousand actions with publication changes usually twice monthly but lately, it can be every day. All prior versions must always be available with retention of at least ten years. |
| Please define the desired approval workflow, delegated ownership, legal holds, rollback behavior and audit/export format; identify any records-management or accessibility test artifacts that must be delivered at acceptance. | Not known at this time. |
| Which generative-AI functions, if any, are actually in scope? If none, please distinguish optional AI from the mandatory document-control baseline. Dhisana would keep human publication decisions and would not use VA-sensitive data to train commercial models without VA permission. | Not known at this time. |
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