4363 EA Arch Mod Strategy DesignSpt - PWS v4- RFI Draft.pdf

Performance Work Statement IRS – ES – Enterprise Architecture

EA Fiscal Year 2025 Acquisition Strategy EA Architecture Modernization Strategy and Design Support

DRAFT Performance Work Statement EA Architecture Modernization Strategy and Design Support

1. Introduction and Background

2. Scope

3. Key Personnel

4. Program Management

5. Orientation Briefing

5.1 Briefing Contents

6. Transition

6.1 Transition In

6.2 Transition Out

7. Transition to Support (T2S)

8. EA Program Planning and Management

9. Enterprise Architectural Guidance (EAG) and Design Patterns

10. Solution Architecture Reviews

11. Modernization - IT Architecture Support

11.1 Modernization - Enterprise & Domain Architecture Support

11.2 Strategic Guidance

11.3 Architecture Roadmap Support

11.4 Solution Architecture Support

11.5 Common Services, Emerging Technology, and Enterprise Data Support

12. Customer Account Data Engine (CADE 2) Architecture and Analysis Support

12.1 Common Individual Master File Modernization (IMFMod) Tasks

12.2 Self Service Reporting Analytics-Individual (SSRA-I) Architecture and Integration

12.3 Tax Account Management Services (TAMS) Architecture

12.4 Individual Tax Processing Engine (ITPE) Architecture

12.5 Tax Account Management – Individual (TAM-I) Architecture Support and Integration

12.6 Risk Management Analysis and Mitigation Support

13. Performance Requirements Summary (PRS)

14. Deliverables

14.1 Shipping

14.2 Deliverable Format

14.3 Deliverable Quality

DRAFT Performance Work Statement

14.4 Review of Deliverables

14.5 Deliverable Schedule

15. Other Information and Special Conditions

15.1 Hours of Work

15.2 Place of Performance

15.3 Telework / Alternate Work Site

15.4 Period of Performance

Performance Work Statement (PWS) IRS – ES – Enterprise Architecture

EA Fiscal Year 2025 Acquisition Strategy EA Architecture Modernization Strategy and Design Support

1. Introduction and Background.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Enterprise Architecture (EA) Program serves a critical role in ensuring that IRS business strategies are guided by sound investments in Information Technology (IT). Enterprise Architecture (EA) is mandated by laws and Federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Directives. EA must be aligned with Capital Planning and Investment Control (CPIC) and the IRS Enterprise Lifecycle (ELC) processes. The Enterprise Architecture Office (EAO), as a strategic business partner, develops and delivers Solution Architecture and associated engineering services to projects and programs in direct support of their mission to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), US Department of the Treasury (USDT), OMB, and other Federal and state Government organizations. This includes enforcing standards and developing sound engineering guidelines. The EA Program is managed within the Information Technology (IT) organization and led by the Director of Enterprise Architecture.

The EA Program is a business-facing and mission-driven program, engaging in a highly collaborative relationship with both the Business Operating Divisions (BODs)/Functional Operating Divisions (FODs) and other IT organizations. We strive for excellence in customer service and quantifiable mission results. We intend for this procurement to continue the current support for EA Program Planning and Management, Enterprise Architecture Guidance (EAG), Solution Alignment Reviews, Modernization - IT Architecture Support, Customer Account Data Engine 2 (CADE 2) Architecture & Research Support, and further, will Support workstreams until the work is transitioned to applicable government program offices. Note: Due to the extent that acronyms are used throughout this document, a Table of Acronyms is provided on pages 36-39.

The mission of the IRS EA Program is to:

Drive Improved Mission Results: The EA Program activities will contribute to the improved delivery of IRS’ services to its customers through proactive identification of standards, new architecture facets and industry standard technologies for new capabilities, functionalities, and refined business processes. The EA Program will comply with Federal mandates and continue to evolve and improve architecture guidance and compliance.

Increase Efficiency and Reduce Cost: The EA Program will seek opportunities to minimize the cost of business and IT solutions, with an emphasis on sharing and reuse of assets and elimination of unnecessary duplication across IRS.

Improve IT Investment Decision Making: The EA Program will apply architectural discipline and rigor in supporting investment decision-making to ensure that IT investments are aligned to business needs, technically sound, compliant with standards, and in the best interest of the IRS.

Improve IRS-Treasury EA Coordination: The EA Program will work collaboratively with the Treasury EA program to improve alignment of objectives and plans and ensure compliance with OMB and Government Accountability Office (GAO) requirements.

Improve IRS-wide EA Awareness and Governance: The EA Program will continually strive to improve stakeholder awareness of EA products and services and enhance EA governance efforts by actively demonstrating EA results. This includes collaborating with other IT organizations and BODs/FODs, proactive customer outreach, on-going education, and an effective program to ensure EA information is available to all IRS customers and partners timely through a variety of communication channels.

Improve and Innovate: The EA Program seeks to continually improve and innovate EA products and services. The EA program expects all team members to continually strive towards improving all aspects of the EAO program. The EA Program will improve stakeholder awareness and support and enhance governance efforts, through demonstration of EA results and impact, collaboration, outreach, education, and communication.

PERFORMANCE WORK OBJECTIVES

EA is responsible for strengthening technology infrastructure across the enterprise. The EA team accomplishes this by defining the current and target Enterprise Architectures and developing a transition strategy to move the agency towards the target environment. EA defines how an enterprise-wide data environment will organize, identify, share, reuse, and correlate data. EA provides systems engineering services that promote standards-based, enterprise solutions and serves as the enterprise testing authority partnering with customers to improve the quality of information systems, products, and services. EA also provides meaningful metrics of IT performance and business impact. This contract agreement will support the needs of the Enterprise Architecture organization.

EA requires Contractor support to develop define, update, and communicate EA strategic plans and initiatives that meet objectives in support of internal and external stakeholders. The Contractor shall provide support and services in the following general areas:

• EA Program Planning and Management

• Enterprise Architecture Guidance (EAG)

• Solution Alignment Reviews

• Modernization - IT Architecture Support

• CADE 2 Architecture & Research Support

The Contractor shall produce Work Products/Deliverables that conform to, and integrate with, existing IRS standards and guidelines. The Contractor shall conform to all IRS Security and Disclosure policies.

DESCRIPTION OF TASKS

This Performance Work Statement (PWS) is for a Fixed Price Performance-Based Acquisition with mission-oriented, event-driven performance measures. Travel to IRS, Treasury and other Government facilities and offsites may be required. Travel will be cost reimbursable, in accordance with federal travel regulations, and added as a separate CLIN.

2. Scope

The IRS is continually striving to better meet management challenges inherent in the growing variety of interfaces, increasing Information Technologies (IT) capabilities, demanding security needs and rising expectations from internal customers. Faced with shrinking budgets and growing demands for its services, the IRS is seeking innovative, creative, and cost-effective solutions that address the rising cost of IT consulting services.

EA requires contractor support to assess and analyze IT initiatives driven by IRS delivery partners or stakeholders to identify, connect, and recommend areas for collaboration, connection, and input to our core products and services proactively and expediently. Contractor support will assist ES in architecting and designing enterprise solutions, balancing efficiency and connect the tax ecosystem in a seamless and leading-edge manner. Accomplishing this will require Executive level engagement from the Contractor and frequent and direct collaboration with ES leadership.

This document provides requirements needed to support the establishment of a contract to obtain Solution Engineering and Enterprise Architecture support services including impact of system and product retirements on the IRS architecture, support for development and reporting of IT performance metrics, project and program management for EA led initiatives in direct support of their mission to the IRS, USDT, OMB and other Federal and state Government organizations.

3. Key Personnel

The offeror shall identify, in their proposal based on information provided in the table below, certain positions or roles and associated labor categories considered to be Key Positions. The Contractor shall submit the name and resume of the Contractor employee (certified by their respective manager) for each Key Position shown in the table below. Key personnel may also be identified at the time individual task orders are awarded. Task Order key personnel will be identified when the PWS for the task order is issued.

Contractor employees identified as Key Personnel shall be dedicated to this project. If any changes in proposed key personnel become necessary during actual performance, the contractor shall provide written notification 60 days in advance. In the event of a sudden change in key personnel (death, incapacitation, immediate termination, etc.), the contractor shall provide written notice to the CO within 3 calendar days of the event. For any substitution, the contractor shall submit justification with a proposed substitute whose qualifications are equal to or greater than the person being replaced, along with a resume in sufficient detail to permit evaluation within 10 calendar days of notification of a substitution.

Position or Role Additional Experience/Job Requirements

Principal EA Advisor/ SME - Computer and Information Research Scientist

The Principal EA Advisor (SME - Computer and Information Research Scientist) should have 15+ years, or comparable, of demonstrated:

• Experience across various, successful government and private sector architecture enterprise systems, technology strategies, enterprise system developments and deployments, Cloud implementations, and business process re-engineering to support and execute against the EA’s core mission and IRS future state vision.

• Experience providing executive management consulting on corporate strategy focusing on enabling technology implementations and business process reengineering in support of legacy modernization and digital transformation.

• The Principal EA Advisor should have the knowledge and expertise to advise EA leadership and/or key members of the EA organization on best practices, industry trends, and innovation taking place in the public and private sectors.

Task Order Program Manager (PM)

The Program Manager will be responsible for overall management, performance and quality of the Team’s work and full authority to act on behalf of the contractor on all award matters relating to daily operations, contracts, and staffing. The Program Manager should have 15+ recent years, or comparable, of demonstrated experience.

• Experience across various successful government and industry architecture enterprise systems, technology strategies, enterprise system developments and deployments, Cloud implementations and business process re-engineering.

• Experience leading Enterprise Architecture teams in conducting multiple workstreams including, but not limited to current-state analyses, target-state visioning, IT Transition Management including transition state road mapping, prototyping, analysis of alternatives, architecture, and design artifact generation.

• Experience managing projects with complex technical and organizational landscapes and demonstrated ability to facilitate close integration between business and technical aspects of projects; planning project stages and providing recommendations on business implications for each stage that are tied to enterprise strategy/objectives.

SME - Computer Systems Engineer/Architect

The SME - Computer Systems Engineer/Architect should possess specialized engineering and architecture experience gained across government and private sector clients in analyzing and developing implementation strategies for new technologies, application strategies, data strategies, security considerations, establishing engineering design patterns and guidance to build a common, forward-looking approach for IT modernization.

The Technical System Architect should have 15+ recent years, or comparable, of demonstrated experience.

• Experience redefining technical processes and architecture to build a common, forward-looking approach for a target state business architecture.

• Experience creating and supporting forums for industry leading technology adoptions opportunities and aligning new technology to immediate and future architecture priorities.

• Experience with Computer Systems Engineers/Architects to define, develop and integrate an architectural strategy and design initiatives to support a diverse Business and IT Portfolio.

• Deep understanding and experience in executing Enterprise Architecture frameworks and solution design patterns.

The Business System Architect should have hands-on technical experience providing enterprise architecture services, strategic planning and business IT alignment, program and

Position or Role Additional Experience/Job Requirements

EA SME – System Architect – Business project support to government and private sector clients. The Business System Architecture should have 15+ recent years, or comparable, of demonstrated experience:

• Experience redefining technical business processes and architecture to build a common, forward-looking approach for a target state business architecture and other architecture and engineering artifacts.

• Experience with Technical architects to define, develop and integrate an architectural strategy and design initiatives to support a diverse Business and IT Portfolio.

• Experience with eliciting requirements and creating business architecture analyses and visualizations.

4. Program Management

The Vendor shall provide program management support to develop, track, and maintain all work under the task order. This shall include developing and baselining project schedules or project roadmaps with milestones for deliverables; monitoring and tracking progress toward project milestones and providing updates for work efforts; implementing Agile workload management practices by leveraging Kanban boards and Agile ceremonies and managing Vendor resources based on workload and priority. The Vendor shall ensure that change management and strategic communications are integral capabilities of the Vendor’s program/project management activities.

The Vendor shall perform standard contract management activities, including managing the Vendor support staff assigned to this task order and ensuring all Vendor employees comply with the security and training requirements of the IRS.

The Vendor shall submit a biweekly status report of all significant accomplishments from the prior two weeks and work planned for the next two weeks. The status report will be discussed with the IRS at bi-weekly status meetings. Vendor team leads are expected to attend the bi-weekly meetings.

The Vendor shall maintain a team roster and submit when changes are made. The roster shall include the following for each resource:

Name Status of MBI and date MBI letter was issued (interim and final) If final, expiration date of memo.

Assigned workstream GFE Assignment (Laptop Barcode and SmartID number) Date Training Completed (SAT and SITS)

The Vendor shall participate in periodic meetings with Government personnel (both on-site and via telecon) to discuss status and new and developing issues that may affect task order performance.

The Vendor shall prepare and deliver in electronic format a Monthly Status Report (MSR) identifying the deliverables and services (if no formal deliverable was provided) for the prior month. The work performed and reported on the MSR must be consistent with the services invoiced for the reporting period. If requested, the Vendor shall participate in monthly Project Status Review meetings, and other meetings relating to each Work Product/Deliverable. The MSR must be submitted within 10 days of the end of the month. The invoice can be submitted 5 business days after submission of the MSR.

The following supplemental information is required for each Work Product/Deliverable that is ordered:

a. Vendor Employee(s) responsible for the Work Product/Deliverable.

b. A high-level integrated master schedule that outlines the tasks, milestones, and timelines for task area or work product.

c. Status of Work Product/Deliverable (indicate whether it is on-hold and why, whether it was completed during the period, or is still in-progress).

d. Percentage of Completion for each individual CLIN ordered, for each month, and cumulatively for the year; and

e. Any problems or issues encountered during the performance of a Subtask or Work

Product/Deliverable which have not yet been resolved, along with a suggested solution for each.

At the end of each reporting period, the Vendor shall provide a summary of work performed, including a list of deliverables, date delivered and/or SharePoint site where the deliverable is posted. The Vendor shall also include a self-assessment of the work performed during the prior period consistent with the format of the CPAR.

The Government reserves the right to request this report at any point during the performance of the order at the discretion of the Contracting Officer Representative. This ad hoc report, if desired, will only be requested once during the life of the task order and is in addition to the regularly scheduled Period of Performance Summary report.

Deliverables:

• Bi-weekly Status Report due Monday (Noon) for prior two weeks starting 2-weeks after award.

• Integrated Master Schedule (IMS)

• Monthly Status Report Due 10 days after end of month

• Period of Performance Summary Report and Self-Assessment due last business day of the reporting period.

5. Orientation Briefing

Within two weeks of task order award, the Vendor shall conduct an orientation briefing for the Government. The Government does not desire an elaborate orientation briefing, nor does it expect the Vendor to expend significant resources in preparation for this briefing. Rather, the intent of the briefing is to initiate the communication process between the Government and Vendor by introducing key task order participants, explaining their roles, reviewing communication ground rules, and assuring a common understanding of task order requirements and objectives.

The orientation briefing shall be held at the Government's facility or at the Government’s sole discretion, virtually; both parties shall mutually agree upon the date and time.

The completion of this briefing shall result in the following:

5.1 Briefing Contents.

1. The Vendor and Government personnel who will perform work under this task order will be introduced.

2. The Vendor shall demonstrate confirmation of their understanding of the work to be accomplished under this PWS.

3. The Government will address any issues concerning the Vendor clearances and GFE requirements for Vendor personnel.

Deliverable:

• Orientation Briefing (conducted within 2 weeks of award) and Meeting Minutes from meeting due 3 business days after the meeting.

6. Transition

6.1 Transition In.

Transition-in is defined as the one-time “start-up” period at the initial award of the Task Order for on-boarding resources and transitioning support and knowledge from any incumbent Vendors and/or IRS personnel to the new awardee. The new awardee is tasked with acquiring and understanding the necessary documentation, information, and processes related to any work in progress. This effort includes meeting with the IRS Subject Matter Experts and/or outgoing Vendors frequently to gather any tacit knowledge related to the systems, projects, etc. in support of this task order. The Government estimates ramp-up may take up to 60 days. The Government may request additional support throughout the lifecycle of the task order as requirements are transitioned from existing agreements to this task order.

6.2 Transition Out.

To minimize any decreases in productivity and to prevent possible negative impacts on additional services at the beginning and conclusion of the Task Order’s performance, if appropriate, a transition phase will start no later than (90) days prior to its expiration date. The Vendor shall:

a. Have personnel on board during the phase in and out periods.

b. Remain responsible for the full performance of all efforts and cooperate fully with the staff and/or the new incumbent Vendor.

c. Fully cooperate in providing all documentation and data identified by the government as government owned information; and

d. Return any Government information provided to the Vendor during associated Task

Order performance.

All related work and products become the property of the Government, regardless of the ownership of the automation hardware or software used to create the products or services. All reports, charts, logs, and maps shall become the property of the government upon completion or termination of each Task Order and shall be available for inspection by the Government upon request at any time during the Task Order period of performance.

Deliverables:

All contract efforts are transferred timely and completely from the incumbent Vendor to the awardee Vendor. The Government is continuously informed of transition progress, there is no lapse in services provided, and there are no delays in scheduled performance. Key deliverables to be produced are:

• Transition Project Plan (tasks and timeline)

• Transition Presentation, Kickoff meeting and subsequent meetings with IRS Project

Manager, IRS SMES, and new vendor

• Final Work Summary Report (to include identification of any gaps)

• Document inventory and gap analysis

• All editable and published versions of work products/documents are uploaded to

IRS EA SharePoint.

• Transfer knowledge of technical skills and lessons learned to IRS staff upon completion of deliverables and work products.

• Transfer knowledge of operations and maintenance processes and procedures.

• Support transition efforts to assist the Government with the transition of work from the Vendor to the Government or to a successor Vendor.

• Develop a Transition Plan that includes training material, current status report, planned activities, issues encountered and identified risks.

7. Transition to Support (T2S)

The transition to support process is an on-going process throughout the life of the task and should be embedded in the work of each task order. This task includes the transition effort required to transition the task order at the end of the planned period of performance (Option Period 4). The work shall include, but not be limited, to the following:

• Knowledge transfer of technical skills and lessons learned to IRS staff and the incoming Vendor upon completion of deliverables and work products.

• Operations and maintenance processes and procedures.

• Transfer of complete documentation for all delivered functionalities. Deliverables shall be in softcopy and hardcopy format and shall be the sole property of the federal government. The format of deliverables will be provided in a format which will allow the government to modify and update when/if necessary.

• Transfer of configurable data including usernames and passwords and application settings.

Deliverables:

• Develop and implement transition plan.

• Deliver knowledge transfer sessions.

• Complete configuration items are delivered and baselined.

• Bi-weekly status updates during the transition period.

8. EA Program Planning and Management

For EA Transformation and Integration, the Vendor shall bring proven new ideas and best practices to the IRS team that will enhance EA's ability to successfully transform and deliver on EA’s core mission and the IRS’s future state; this includes driving organizational transformation through technical leadership, integration, stakeholder engagement and communication, and decision governance, as well as continuous process improvement of EA service offerings, including associated delivery processes and artifacts to align with industry EA best practices and agile / Iterative project management methodologies to improve service delivery to meet the needs of partner organizations. Specific tasks include, but are not limited to:

a. Respond to requests for strategy and advisory support from the Director of EA, Enterprise Services Associate Chief Information Officer (ES ACIO) and/or other IT Executives to maintain a forward looking strategic and innovative EA organization.

b. Establish ongoing stakeholder engagement model including with OneSDLC and Tech Insertion process areas for continuous improvement of architecture artifacts, processes, and practices.

c. Ensure results and/or outcomes of the deliverables and/or work products completed under this contract are communicated to stakeholders using a combination of tools such as newsletters, “Lunch and Learn” sessions and improvements to the EA Website.

d. Ensure that activities and/or tasks assigned to individual groups within EA are shared internally within groups.

e. Ensure that activities and/or tasks that affect external shareholders are shared timely with the shareholders.

f. Collaborate with Government personnel to participate in sharing information both internally and externally. If needed, develop a framework to ensure that information sharing, and collaboration is an ongoing activity.

g. Support the continued development and optimization of the organization operating models and service catalog (s) to align with industry standard EA practices, agile principles, and enhance adaptability and efficiency in program planning and execution. The operating model and service catalogs are currently stored in SharePoint and updated every 6-months.

h. Support the implementation of agile practices for the creation and management of EA artifacts, processes, and stakeholder engagement, leveraging agile methodologies and tools, increasing the adaptability and responsiveness of EA practices.

i. Develop EA competencies within the organization through comprehensive training programs.

j. Support communication and information sharing within the EA organization and among partner organizations to support collaboration on strategic goals to foster alignment, stakeholder buy-in, collaboration, change management, and governance to achieve strategic goals.

k. Identify and implement continuous improvement opportunities to gain operational efficiencies and increased impact of EAO to the IRS by improving EA practices, EA tools, EAO products and services. As needed, recommend innovative ideas, conduct research to identify best practices, develop model and benchmark to measure the success of the EA improvements. (Note: EA Tools include standard tools such as Alfabet. The IRS will consider other tools to improve EA practices, products, and services.)

l. Enhance existing decision-making framework for architectural decision making so that decisions are structured, traceable and within guardrails.

m. Enhance Demand Management Processes and Reporting Provide reporting and dashboards to track work requests.

Deliverables:

• Responses to requests for support should be submitted in the format requested, e.g. executive briefings, presentation decks (up to 2 requests per month)

• Status of communication activities should be reported in the bi-weekly status reports (no more than 4 communication activities per month)

• Updated EA Operating Model (semi-annually)

• Updated Service Catalog (semi-annually)

• Plan and deliver continuous improvement of EA practices, EA tools, EAO products and services and recommendations for model/benchmark to measure success (initially 60 days of the contract award, and then adjust as and when needed)

• Specialized EA On the Job Trainings developed and conducted by experienced vendor architects to ensure members of the EA organization are engaged in continuous learning and development to stay up to date. Training topics may include, but not be limited to:

o EA Internal Processes o Business Architect Skillsets o Technical Architecture Skillsets o IRS EA Overview and Functions o Emerging technologies, industry trends, and best practices in enterprise architecture

• Implementation of Kanban style workload management tool to enhance visualization of the work, improve transparency and accountability and to limit the work in progress.

• Implement continuous improvement plan, measure performance and improvements.

• Provide industry thought leadership, streamline and transform the architecture artifacts and their delivery processes, and implement process changes through automation.

• Establish a structured process for managing the demand for EA services, including prioritization and resource allocation. Capture metrics such as demand requests, fulfillment rates, etc. ensuring strategic alignment and optimal use of EA resources and customer satisfaction.

• Demand Management Tracker

• Facilitation of Stakeholder Information Sharing Sessions

• Decision-making framework

• Facilitation of Governance Board Meetings

9. Enterprise Architectural Guidance (EAG) and Design Patterns

The vendor shall define or enhance EAGs and design patterns which are standardized methodologies, practices, and frameworks to guide the design and implementation of IT solutions across the IRS. EAGs are official documents and the “bread-and-butter” of a successful architecture delivery. The vendor shall develop, maintain, communicate, and facilitate training and publication of EAGs and design patterns based on EA and IRS standards.

Purpose:

a. Serve as a set of predefined building blocks for IRS enterprise information systems and their integrations, promote common architecture designs, implementation constructs, consistency, and integration across IRS key systems.

b. Maximize reuse of common business and IT functional modules across the enterprise.

c. Enable IRS to organize multiple applications into a coherent whole to fulfill its mission, while minimizing the total cost of ownership.

d. Facilitate knowledge sharing and reduce the learning curve for new projects.

Deliverables:

• New or updated EAG or Design Patterns (8 per year total)

• Architecture Frameworks, Guidance and Playbooks outlining standards, principles, and practices for solution architecture reviewed and endorsed by the lead architects and EA management.

• Architecture Patterns defining reusable architectural building block, best practices and usage examples and created using successful past projects and industry best practices to address common challenges and requirements.

10. Solution Architecture Reviews

The vendor shall conduct architecture reviews and ensure IT solutions are in line with business goals, IT strategies, and processes, and compliant with directions and standards set forth by the Enterprise Architecture. This involves providing review analysis and EA signature recommendation to address requests from the Enterprise Service Front Door (ESFD), Work Request Process, or EA management. This also includes continuous assessment and realignment of solutions throughout their lifecycle. The Vendor shall improve EA’s ability to respond to our customers accurately and consistently.

a. Maintain coherence between IT solutions and business objectives.

b. Optimize the use of resources by increasing reuse and avoiding redundant or misaligned solutions.

c. Enhance agility to adapt to changing business environments.

Deliverables:

• OneSDLC or Tech Insertion reviews of architecture and design captured in the respective artifacts such as Project Charters, Vision, Scope, and Architecture (VSA), Business Systems Report (BSR), Solution Architecture, Simplified Design Specification Reports (SDSR), or equivalent.

• Reports and Document Review Forms (DRF) assessing the alignment of IT solutions with business goals and EA requirements, evaluating the architecture and designs against best practices and organizational standards, addressing critical areas for improvement or risk mitigations, based on thorough analysis and expert review, and stakeholder inputs.

• Detailed plans for addressing identified alignment gaps or risks with proposed actions that can be tracked for progress.

11. Modernization - IT Architecture Support

Provide architecture, integration support, and subject matter expertise for all key areas based on priorities (e.g., Cyber, Cloud, Data, Platforms and Apps, Taxpayer Experience, Intake, Account Management, Employee Experience, Compliance, and Business of IT). Vendor will also provide integration support within the domain pillars at both the Enterprise level and solution level, working with high-priority program/initiative teams (e.g., Legislation, Online Accounts, Information Returns Modernization, Taxpayer 360, EAD/ECS, and HI/HW).

To effectively guide and align domain and solution architectures to the target-state Enterprise Architecture, and future plans, the Vendor will collaborate with stakeholders across EA and program teams to deliver and evaluate solution designs and resolve conflicts aligned to architectural visions, translate technical documentation for non-IT stakeholders as applicable, and support diverse strategic communications documentation. Vendor will also help maintain key artifacts aligned to the domain areas, capture and maintain critical inputs/outputs around the development of architectures, provide inputs to the Enterprise Architecture Roadmap (EAR) team who will manage the EAR, and ensure consistency with delivery plans as implementation activities evolve in scope. Support examples include:

a. Architecture Support will focus on the establishment of non-technical business terms, frameworks and models, guardrails, and vocabulary that provide conceptual, logical, physical, and business architecture views using descriptive text and diagrams that include information for system and solution designs. This support will ensure that the correct level of architecture transpires from conception to deployment.

b. Technical Design Support will focus on guardrails related to logical architecture models and requirements, definitions, technology limitations, technology standards, configuration paradigms, and sufficient level of specifications for solution components. This support will ensure that overall solutions include physical project architectures, adhering to EA-defined standards while driving end-to-end solution architecture integrity and functional relationships across projects and applications.

c. Program Architecture Review will capture comments and findings from key reviewers along with architectural guidance to ensure consistency in business information, critical connection points, and linkages to functional areas aligned to the Enterprise Architecture.

d. Risk and Issue Tracking will be maintained to track architectural risks and issues as well as the identification of mitigation strategies to continuously inform IRA/ES program leadership as efforts evolve in scope. Risks will be classified by factors such as solution scope, time/schedule, processes, infrastructure, contracts and agreements, technical debt, and associated mitigation strategies.

e. The Corrective Action Planning will contain information related to remediation activities (e.g., based on input from vendor solution architects, EA, and other impacted stakeholders), driving end-to-end solution architecture integrity and functional relationships across projects and applications.

11.1 Modernization - Enterprise & Domain Architecture Support

The Vendor will provide architecture and engineering expertise to provide domain architecture support and advisory services. The Vendor will support individual domain leads in planning, scoping, and delivering architectures. The Vendor will support Domain Leads in sustaining the baseline domain artifacts and integrated architecture views. Based on the prioritized domain backlog and 30/60/90-day plan, the Vendor will support domain leads in developing architecture views to articulate program solutions and resolve emerging enterprise, program/initiative design, integration (e.g., EDA and multi-cloud adoption), and engineering issues. The Vendor will evaluate program plans and alignment to the enterprise Architectures and provide guidance using the overlays of programs as applicable, including but not limited to cloud, cyber, network, data, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) overlays. Furthermore, the Vendor will review program architecture and design views and guide program teams around the development of common services as well as identifying data needs and design patterns.

Deliverables:

• Prioritized domain backlog

• High level work plan of tasks required (based on 30/60/90 increments)

• Facilitation of Architecture Alignment Sessions and Workshops

• Architecture Solution Concepts that include vision, goals, design principles and high-level design including current, transition, target state architecture aligned with use cases, benefits, decisions, key components, their relationships, roadmap, guiding principles, and assumptions.

• Architecture decisions socialized with EAR team for integration.

• Socialization of the Solution Concepts for alignment from stakeholders and executives

11.2 Strategic Guidance

The Vendor will foster a collaborative environment within ES and other ACIO organizations (e.g., Strategy and Planning [S&P], Applications Development, and Enterprise Operations [EOPs]) to help ES IRA leadership communicate the overall IRA vision, technology direction, and architecture/integration strategies that are needed to transform IT capabilities that are aligned with the IRS IRA Strategic Operating Plan and related Outcomes and Key Results (OKRs). The Vendor will continue supporting specific Enterprise and program-level architecture analyses based on leadership direction and program/business priorities. The Vendor’s analysis support will guide the mapping of program capabilities/needs to Enterprise Architecture services as well as applications and/or technology stack components, identify business impacts and related service/data gaps, and help remediate technical debt/refactoring issues.

In coordination with internal IRS and vendor partners, we focus on improving and elaborating existing Enterprise Architectures to ensure relevance, accuracy, and alignment to the EAR. Using knowledge obtained through Enterprise Architecture development support, the Vendor will help ES identify and prioritize program/initiative needs within each domain area; based on these needs, ES will help formulate the technology direction, solutions, and required integration approach. ES will also provide architecture thought leadership and technology expertise to develop strategic communications aligned to CIO and IRA goals (e.g., filing season views, service views, and executive leadership briefings). Furthermore, Vendor will help ES define roles and responsibilities across the organization (EA/SE) and provide change management expertise to implement activities that support concrete outcomes (e.g., the creation of an ES IRA operating model and supporting guidance across teams).

Deliverables:

• Architecture vision, technology direction, and architecture/integration strategies.

• Gap analyses of program/business priorities and technical capabilities in enterprise architectures

• Strategic communications aligned to CIO and Business goals and outcomes (ad hoc) Architecture decisions socialized with EAR team for integration.

11.3 Architecture Roadmap Support

Vendor will build upon current strategic architecture planning, IT Sequencing Plan development, and Enterprise Architectures to help ES leadership continue establishing the Enterprise IT direction. We will develop an end-to-end approach to implement architecture and technology strategies (e.g., technology approach for an EDA platform, microservices, and multi-cloud integration for common services), and help ES promote the adoption of these new technologies to address critical business needs (e.g., real-time tax processing and advanced analytics).

To support the implementation of a new technology stack, Vendor will analyze technology needs based on the Enterprise Architectures, EA technology standards, and industry trends, and develop a list of candidate technologies for IRS suitability (supported by additional research to identify impacts, challenges, and risks). Throughout this process, our architects will work closely together to provide support at both the Enterprise and program/team levels (e.g., supporting high-priority Business and IT initiatives). In addition, Vendor will provide administrative support and maintain meeting minutes to summarize evaluation results and technology adoption recommendations.

Deliverables

• End-to-end roadmap with milestones and sequencing activities required to implement and adopt architecture and technology strategies.

• Enterprise technology stack & standards

• Sequencing decisions socialized with EAR team for integration.

• Solution Concept, Exec Briefing deck and related work products

• Support the transition to adopt Alfabet/Aris for creating and maintaining

Enterprise Architecture & Roadmap (EAR) and Domain Architecture (DA) with canned views/reports and dashboard.

11.4 Solution Architecture Support

The Vendor shall provide Program solution architecture, engineering expertise, program and project management and advisory services in support of the various IRS modernization initiatives that align to legislative mandates, CIO priorities, Commissioner priorities, Transformation Strategy Office (TSO)/ OKRs, EA demands and other Enterprise-wide priorities, such as IRMOD, Digitalization, UITP, EAD/ECS, IDRS, etc. The vendor shall support each initiative with the delivery of architecture analysis and design documentation, including but not limited to: Solution Architecture (SA), Vision, Scope, and Architecture (VSA), Enterprise Architecture Guidance (EAG), and Technology Stack. The Contractor shall provide technical expertise to ensure that the Solution Architecture reflects the strategic directions of the IRS. Project support shall include but is not limited to, the following activities:

a. Provide system, technology, program, architecture, and engineering subject matter expertise.

b. Conduct comprehensive EA reviews of enterprise processes and tools including but not limited to As Built Architecture (ABA), Enterprise Standard Profile (ESP), ServiceNow and Alfabet, EA Roadmap (EAR), Outcome and Key Results (OKRs), EAGs, OneSDLC, Tech Insertion, ES Front Door for reference and conformity.

c. Conduct comprehensive reviews of each program processes and tools for accuracy and conformity with architecture standards. Participation in RRE sessions with the program and delivery partners to define the scope of the solutions.

d. Support development of Project-level Business and Technical Requirements that are captured for Solution architecture development.

e. Conduct focused technical analyses in support of the program, releases, and projects, including architecture and engineering tasks.

f. Conduct platform, data, performance and software engineering analyses and feasibility studies.

g. Communicate results of analyses to appropriate IRS stakeholders.

h. Conduct workshops and review sessions with appropriate business and technical

SMEs to review current and target state architecture and gain buy-in.

i. Conduct technical forums, workshops, and discussions with appropriate business and technical SMEs to gain an understanding of other inflight modernization initiatives.

j. Support the assessment of, and next steps determination for, program prototypes, proofs-of-concept, and pilots.

k. Support the development, documentation, and evaluation of logical and physical designs.

l. Facilitate and participate in detailed logical and physical design reviews at the project and release levels ensure SDSR design compliance within the IRS EA standards.

m. Ensure that the IRS architecture repositories (Alfabet/Aris) adhere to Solution

Architecture specifications and descriptions and maintain data store management, relationships, and reporting (canned, dynamic, and AI driven request/response bots)

n. Facilitation of Architecture Alignment Sessions and Workshops with all business and IT partners.

o. Support the creation, coordination, and delivery of Solution Architecture (SAs) as needed.

p. Support the creation, coordination and delivery of Vision, Scope, and Architecture (VSAs) as needed.

q. Develop EA position paper: Technology Stack.

r. Establish Technology Stack to support implementation of solution in conformance with IRS Business Principles, IT Principles, Constraints, Assumptions, Technology Directions, and the proposed systems' requirements.

s. Draft, review, and update architecture documentation in accordance with IRS guidelines.

t. Support the transition to adopt Alfabet/Aris for creating and maintaining architecture artifacts.

u. Support the update of the Consolidated View Diagram for each program as needed.

Note: The LOE for this task area may recede or surge in relation to the IRS priorities. Priorities may include Information Returns Modernization, Digitalization, Unified Intake, Enterprise Case Management, Taxpayer 90, Business Masterfile Modernization, Online Account, etc.

Deliverables

For each program initiative, the following tasks/deliverables/outcomes apply, and the vendor shall be responsible for the delivery:

• Program management support for producing and maintaining the Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) leveraging the Agile methodologies.

• Develop, maintain a Prioritized product backlog, and sprint backlog.

• Bi-weekly reports targeted to different stakeholders and leadership.

• Identification and validation of current state and future business processes.

• Delivery of Current, Transition, and Target state Solution level architecture, technology decisions, requirement traceability, roadmaps in accordance with organizational standards, including Solution Architecture (SA), Vision, Scope, and Architecture (VSA), Business Systems Report (BSR), EAG, Technology Stack, and support for non-functional and reusable program-level requirements.

• Briefing decks, meeting minutes, and related work products such as Action Item list, Decision Tracker, tech analysis of alternatives, Document Review Forms (DRF), to support socialization.

11.5 Common Services, Emerging Technology, and Enterprise Data Support

The Vendor shall support developing and maintaining current, transition, and target state architectures related to Common Enterprise Services, Application Programming Interface (API) Management, and Event Driven Architectures (EDAs)- as well as guidelines, boundaries, and architectural considerations when addressing Common Services, API, and EDA orientation, which includes the application of AI and tenets of AI, and data operations support.

The Vendor shall update and support governance models for both internal (on-premises) and external architectures (cloud, cloud interoperation, security, etc.), and identifying entry-on-platform boundary conditions across IRS systems. Additionally, the Vendor shall contribute to the development and maintenance of modernization strategies and assess impacts on the Enterprise Architecture (EA) landscape as work progresses across IRA Domains.

A thorough understanding of the tenets of AI in the public sector is essential. The Vendor must be familiar with AI Executive Orders, National Institutes of Standards & Technology (NIST) guidelines, GAO reports, and OMB directives regarding security, privacy, generative and predictive AI, secure software, AI standards, and risk management frameworks.

The Vendor shall assist in the collection, documentation, and analysis of systems and architectures that best fit both existing and new environments. This will involve utilizing AI to make informed decisions about data processed and maintained by the IRS, encompassing both centralized and disparate data sources. The Vendor shall deliver architectures and frameworks for implementing AI principles that address privacy, transparency, accountability, safety, fairness, bias, robustness, and inclusiveness.

The Vendor shall create domain data architectures, outlining current, transition, and target states and establish standards and guidelines for data management and metadata. The Vendor shall manage stakeholder engagement to align with the Enterprise Data Strategy through EA priorities and provide EA Data Support

Deliverables:

• Provide updates to target audiences for the development and facilitation of briefings to support the socialization of Enterprise Common Service, API Management, and the EDA Platform, emerging technology, and data support activities as required.

• Develop and manage high-level work plan (IMS) of tasks required (based on 30/60/90 increments)

• Development and execution of service-based strategies and operational models, including the development and delivery of Enterprise Architecture Guidance

(EAG).

• Internal and external architectures (incl. SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS), with operational standards, management, coordination, and governance

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