Attachment 1 Performance Work Statement.pdf

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS)

BACKGROUND

The United States Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) established the John A. Volpe

National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center) in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1970 to serve as a Federal resource positioned to provide world- renowned, multidisciplinary, multimodal transportation expertise on behalf of the U.S. DOT’s operating administrations and the Office of the

Secretary. The Volpe Center’s extensive cross-modal partnerships have led to innovative solutions that have advanced national and global/international transportation systems for the public good. As a leader in transportation systems, analysis, and innovation, the Volpe Center is flexible and responsive to the needs and strategic goals of the U.S. DOT and the priorities of the Secretary of

Transportation.

The Volpe Center’s wide scope of capabilities include:

Safety and Security Assessments: Conducting assessments of safety programs across all modes and developing methods and models to measure the effectiveness of safety initiatives.

Applied Data Science: Using advanced data analysis and visualization tools and methods to help solve transportation challenges.

Human Factors Research and Design: Pioneering new relationships between humans and policies, processes, automation, and technologies, to improve transportation safety, security, and productivity with due concern for unintended consequences.

Economic and Policy Analysis: Leveraging multimodal policy, economic expertise, and understanding of U.S. DOT and the transportation industry to support policies that achieve U.S. DOT and sponsor goals.

Systems and Infrastructure Modernization and Optimization: Improving the safety and efficiency of vehicles, systems, and infrastructure on national and global transportation networks.

Engineering and Technology Deployment to Enhance Transportation: Performing engineering and safety analyses of transportation systems and infrastructure to help prepare the nation for future transportation systems, such as advanced air mobility (AAM), uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) and

UAS traffic management (UTM), experimental aircraft, experimental pilot training, and space travel.

Impartial Investigations and Program Evaluations: Providing an objective federal perspective in assessing crashes, data, and research and program effectiveness to inform decision making.

Knowledge Transfer and Capacity Building to Maximize Impact: Scaling best practices to quickly address new topics and strengthen the capacity of the transportation workforce through education and training.

The Volpe Center supplements its world-class Federal team with contractors and subject matter experts, forming a collaborative and vibrant culture of thought leadership and meaningful engagement in professional and technical expertise to anticipate and address emerging and future challenges.

CONTRACT TYPE

The Government is considering a Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) with the ability to issue Firm

Fixed Price (FFP), Labor Hour (LH), Time & Materials (T&M), or hybrid type call orders.

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

Services for this BPA may be provided off-site, on-site at Volpe Center facilities or a combination of both on-site and off-site, depending on program requirements. The day-to-day supervision and direct control over the work performed by all Contractor personnel shall be the sole responsibility of the

Contractor.

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The anticipated period of performance (POP) is five years for this BPA.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this BPA is to provide Transportation Technology and Engineering Mission

Solutions (TTEMS) to a variety of Volpe Center projects that cut across all modes of transportation for DOT and non-DOT organizations, including other federal agencies, foreign, state, and local governments, and private organizations authorized by the Transportation Systems Center working capital fund (49 U.S.C. §328). TTEMS will support the Volpe Center in fulfilling its mission as a federal partner by the Volpe Center quickly responding to sponsor needs and emerging transportation challenges as well as efficiently utilizing available high demand skills across the project portfolio.

A.1 SCOPE OF WORK

The Contractor shall provide resources, including skilled personnel, with capabilities and experience relating to existing technologies and methodologies that address current transportation systems issues as well as cutting edge technologies and methodologies that show promise in transforming the future of the transportation systems enterprise, including systems/analytics and cloud computing systems technology. The Contractor will bring a knowledge of and experience in transportation systems and functions to the work requirement in the functional areas outlined below.

A.1.1 TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENTS AND MODERNIZATION

Contractor support in this functional area includes the application of theoretical and practical analysis techniques to the assessment of transportation and logistics-related technology and associated technology policy and/or institutional innovations. Contractor support shall be required in the assessment of new information system development methodologies and tools, new technologies, Information Technology (IT) standards, and software and hardware for use in future system designs for a particular mode of transportation. Contractor provided skills may include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following:

A.1.1.A Information System Development Methodology Assessment

Contractor-provided skills may be required for the identification, assessment, development, and implementation of new and improved approaches to information systems strategic planning, return-on- investment (ROI) analysis, and systems development and integration. Novel approaches such as Agile, DevOps/DevSecOps, and rapid application development (RAD) are emerging and being refined as a result of research and the availability of more powerful equipment, software, and group facilitation methods. The Contractor shall provide support in assessment and evaluation of these new approaches and industry best practices.

A.1.1.B Technology Assessment

The Contractor shall provide the resources and skills to evaluate the emergence of new computer equipment and peripherals, enterprise communications systems, wireless data communications systems and services, new operating systems, applications software, and other technologies (e.g., electronic commerce; object technology; smart cards; wireless communications, including Bluetooth/Global Positioning System (GPS) and other Global

Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) or Regional Navigation Satellite Systems

(RNSS)/Tire Pressure Monitoring System(TPMS)/Universal Software Radio Peripheral

(USRP)/Software Defined Radio (SDR); access control and intrusion detection;

embedded systems technology; vehicle networks (e.g.

CAN/Local Interconnect Network (LIN)/Flexray/Autosar/Automotive Ethernet) ;), virtual computing and cloud technologies); plus technologies such as those highlighted in

Other Specialized Areas (below). These products are integral to the improvements in the transportation enterprise. As required, Contractor shall provide skills in the assessment and evaluation of new products and methods of technology application within a particular transportation context (e.g., freight movements, security of GPS signals, etc.)—such as analysis of suitability for application, cost/benefit/tradeoff analysis of leveraging new product and/or technology, and evaluation of viable methods of product/technology acquisition and deployment.

The Contractor shall provide the skills to support technology insertion and enabling technologies, including automatic identification technology (AIT); radio frequency identification devices (RFID); smart cards; card readers/terminals; and integration and customized services (i.e., cameras, signal transmission media, monitors, displays and peripherals, access control technologies, light detection and ranging [LIDAR], radar, and acoustic data sensors, video recognition and image processing technologies, biometrics, and other data carrier and associated acquisition devices). As required, Contractor shall provide skills relative to “big data analytics” tools and processing using dynamically scalable data server technology and/or services.

Other examples of Technology Assessment tasks that Contractor shall support include:

Information Distribution, Warehousing, and Distributed Databases

Projects at the Volpe Center increasingly deal with the storage and dissemination of large quantities of data at or across remote locations. Regardless of physical location of information, it is essential that organizations have full access to data. Database technology is approaching the capability of providing full database services over a dispersed heterogeneous network of computers. As this technology becomes available, its application to projects may be a high priority. Under this area, the Contractor shall provide technical support to determine the concepts, applications, and methodologies for collecting, storing, assimilating, and distributing information.

For information distribution and warehousing, the contractor shall provide data management support, including assisting in requirements analysis; and design, development, installation, operation, and maintenance of data warehousing systems;

decision support systems; and distributed databases. The Contractor shall also provide support for generating documentation to describe how the data is managed. Technical services and database management support may be required in support of data collection, preparation, coding, transcription, entry, and processing. Data may be collected from a variety of sources, including interviews, documentation review, sensor data of various formats, and electronic media.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)/Expert Systems

Projects at the Volpe Center increasingly utilize AI technology to aid in meeting project needs and requirements. Machine learning, natural language processing, neural networks, expert systems, voice recognition, semantic inference, virtual reality, and robotics capabilities are all in increasing demand. The contractor shall provide support with these technologies, which is likely to help evaluate the feasibility of using AI approaches and robotic system applications (e.g., distribution, fault detection, crash avoidance, advanced vehicle control, and asset management).

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Electronic Map Data

The Volpe Center currently uses GIS to conduct a wide variety of transportation-related analyses at the local, regional, national, and worldwide levels. An increasing number of

Volpe Center staff and projects are coming to rely on these technologies to support various aspects of the decision- making process. Contractor technical support may be needed to use commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) and/or government off-the-shelf (GOTS)

GIS software to work with existing geospatial datasets, develop new geospatial datasets, and conduct complex geospatial analyses, resulting in cartographic, tabular, and statistical products. Customization of COTS and/or GOTS GIS software may also be required for developing custom GIS desktop or web-based solutions. In addition, as required, the

Contractor may be required to perform customization to support electronic map data and systems. These systems are increasingly being used not only to assist in navigation and delivery of traffic information but also as a convenient interface mechanism for sharing or delivering spatial reference data used to enhance transportation system operations and management through shared situational awareness of prevailing and predicted conditions.

Real-time Data Capture, Management, and Analysis

Increasingly, IT support is being sought to enable dynamic transportation systems monitoring and management. If required, Contractor will provide support for the development of information systems and data environments for the collection, management, integration, and application of real-time transportation data or data sets to manage transportation operations under normal and adverse circumstances. The

Contractor shall provide support for integration or fusion of disparate data from multiple sources as required to provide insightful situational awareness and computer- aided reasoning (based on faster than real- time modeling and simulation) and networked information communications capabilities to convey unified control information to travelers, operators, and traffic management and control devices moving within or intending to engage the transportation system.

A.1.1.C Standards Assessment

The Contractor shall assess and adhere to a wide variety of standards, including, but not limited to, the analog or digital interchange of text, image, audio, video, voice, and traditional data; general purpose multi-user operating systems; and digital communications along with open data, open software, and open platform principles and technologies. This approach may require Contractor support to interpret and apply existing and emerging standards, including analysis and documentation to support standards development.

A.1.1.D Methodology Application and Software Process Improvement

The Volpe Center shall require Contractor support in its efforts to improve the government’s awareness of and capability to apply particular information system development methodologies or to apply the guidelines or industry-wide standards such as the ISO 9000 series, the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) or the

ISACA Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) solution. Contractor skills shall be required for the preparation of project management plans and documents that follow designated methodologies or standards; the preparation of such documents as tailored process guidelines, risk management plans, and process improvement plans; or working with Volpe Center software development projects toward achieving ISO, ITIL or CMMI compliance or compliance with internal Volpe Center process improvement and project management initiatives.

A.1.2 SYSTEM ANALYSIS, DEVELOPMENT, DEPLOYMENT, FIELD

SUPPORT, AND ANALYTICAL RESEARCH ANALYSIS

Contractor support shall be required for the planning, concept of operations development, systems engineering, integration, installation, and deployment of existing and proposed information systems. These concepts, systems, and/or applications will include executive information systems, decision support systems, safety management systems, analytical and logistics support systems, transaction processing systems, modeling and/or simulation systems, traffic and traveler information systems, or command and control systems, including motor vehicle safety and embedded electronic systems. The Contractor shall provide capabilities to develop, maintain, and upgrade system components, COTS products, non-developmental items, and/or custom-developed components throughout the sequence of life cycle phases of information systems and IT development.

The Contractor shall provide expertise in design and analysis capabilities that are focused on developing a system safety-based approach to the oversight of transportation systems. The

Contractor shall have the ability to develop automation capabilities that integrate system safety models into software that will be used by the government for safety oversight. The Contractor shall have the ability to test software and hardware capabilities related to transportation safety.

This support may be required for single stand-alone systems or multiple information systems in an integrated environment, including mobile data networks. This support may be applied within a large complex system development effort, or across many such systems, including mobile computing and information networks. Integration may evolve over time during the migration from the existing systems infrastructure to the proposed systems architecture.

Contractor support of systems analysis, development, deployment, field support and analytical research activities may include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following:

A.1.2.A System Analysis and Planning

Contractor support may be required to address sponsoring organizations’ specific business, economic, and/or institutional issues as these issues relate to the sponsors’ domain or specific transportation operations. Contractor skill sets shall be required to support transportation IT and information systems, application analysis, and planning activities.

These skill sets include the development of application architectures and analysis of system components and their inter-relationships. This support requires gathering, compiling, and analyzing data and applying an understanding of transportation operations and systems as well as stakeholder and end-user community needs and current operations. This support also requires expertise in transportation industry analysis as specifically applied to mission-related IT system design, development, implementation, deployment, and maintenance.

Typical activities in this area include, but are not limited to:

• Analyzing current systems and operations

• Assisting in requirements analyses

• Developing alternative system and software solutions (as well as existing commercially and/or Government available software/systems)

• Developing high-level conceptual designs, and human-centered user interfaces;

assisting in requirements analysis;

• Preparing project baseline analyses and advanced cyber- security protection

• Conducting business case analyses and/or organizational productivity analyses associated with the IT system at hand; and

• Performing feasibility studies and cost benefit analyses;

• Performing function point analysis

• Addressing economic and/or financial considerations

• Developing system implementation plans

• Preparing implementation risk/mitigation plans

• Identifying applicable Government standards, policies, and guidelines, and

• Measuring performance, effects, and results of IT systems.

A.1.2.B Proof of Concept (Design, Development, Test, and Evaluation)

Contractor skill sets shall be required for the planning, design, development, testing, and evaluation of innovative or prototype system concepts and/or Concepts of Operations

(CONOPS) for transportation systems and components. The proof-of-concept area requires skill sets for support in requirements analysis, planning, design, development, test planning, test execution, and test evaluation to assess compliance with the functional, data, technical, and security requirements established within the conceptual system baselines.

Activities in this area may include the definition of innovative IT and/or connected transportation requirements, technologies, and processes as well as building and testing innovative concept prototypes that explore the viability of implementing new tools, techniques, and processes. A concept development project may incorporate “cutting edge” technology insertions into new or existing IT, transportation system, and/or connected transportation functionality (e.g., new decision support tools, safety data analytics, vehicle data acquisition, and analysis tools) or it may evaluate significant technology changes or upgrades to sponsor legacy systems (e.g., introduction of mobile computing and communication technology platforms).

A.1.2.C Research and Requirements Analysis

Contractor skill sets shall be required for measuring the conformance of estimated system events and comparing them to actual events for purposes of determining how well systems are performing through research analysis. Support may involve detailed analysis of various data sets to measure conformance windows (e.g., time events or position events) in order to provide recommendations for improved decision making-related requirements or analysis reports.

Contractor skill sets shall be required for the definition of system and software functional requirements, data requirements, and other non-functional requirements (e.g., usability, performance, security, user interface, etc.) resulting from structured analysis, data modeling, entity relationships, functional decomposition, understanding information flows within the enterprise, business process analysis, organizational modeling, functional modeling and analysis, inventory of existing data stores, end user surveys, workshops, and other related concepts. Support may involve detailed analysis of complex and/or connected transportation systems. Requirements elaboration may be accomplished using traditional analysis methods or a rapid prototyping environment.

Requirements analysis activities may include functional, data, and technical integration activities. For functional integration, skill sets may be required to perform an analysis of and define the requirements for compatible functional interfaces between or among the functions performed on separate systems or within major modules. For data integration, skill sets may include the ability to perform reconciliation of semantically and structurally inconsistent information and data element definitions across multiple systems or system modules. For technical integration, skill sets may be required to develop requirements for compatible logical and physical interfaces between systems or subsystems, including requirements for local and wide area network (LAN and WAN) systems, wireless data networks, storage area networks (SAN), virtualization and cloud services, and other cutting edge technologies.

Contractor skill sets shall be required to perform an analysis of and define the requirements for logical and physical system security needs, including security requirements for compliance with system Security Assessment and Authorization

(SA&A), privacy protection, trustworthy system concepts, cooperative systems governance, disaster recovery, and continuity of operations plans.

A.1.2.D Design of Information Systems and Work Systems

Contractor skill sets shall be required for developing a description of the hardware, software, data, and systems configurations that satisfy functional and data requirements and other considerations, including cost constraints, available technologies, and associated price/performance realities.

Designs may address data structures, process modeling, process automation, user interfaces, security constraints, and compatible functional interfaces between or among the functions performed on separate systems or within major modules. Software, database, and hardware design specifications developed in accordance with applicable standards, Internet

Engineering Task Force, or other accepted international, industry, and/or open standards, along with general workflow specifications, are examples of primary products of this activity. As with assisting in requirements analysis (see A.2.2.C above), hardware/software/system design may be accomplished across a variety of development methodologies and fixed and mobile platforms and technologies, including embedded vehicle systems.

Contractor skill sets shall be required for technical integration, including the ability to design compatible logical and physical interfaces between systems or subsystems, including the Internet, LAN and WAN networks, and cloud-based and embedded systems.

A.1.2.E System Engineering, Development, and Integration

Contractor skill sets shall be required for the development of new systems or for the integration of existing systems/components. Skills in this area require knowledge of different data types, database systems, data modeling, various coding languages, and a variety of user interface techniques (e.g., character mode, client-server windows, web-based pages, and mobile wireless devices) for software development and system integration as well as skill in using machine- generated coding methods and technology.

System engineering and development activities may require the implementation of tools and techniques for component configuration management; error correction; special system diagnostic support; performance improvement; Extract, Transform, and Load (ETL) for data loading; and capacity management. System integration activities may include technical integration functions. Skill sets for this function may include the ability to perform development of compatible logical and physical interfaces between systems or subsystems, including LAN and WAN as well as embedded and machine-to-machine systems.

Contractor support for generating conceptual, logical, and physical data models may be required. Assistance may be needed with defining data/message elements, such as classes, fields, content, and format. The Contractor may be required to develop operational scenario narratives and operational data descriptions to define and contextualize use of message types and elements. Support for crafting and refining data dictionaries may be necessary. The Contractor may be required to develop schema definitions and to create, test, and validate message schemas and sample messages. The Contractor may also be required to develop tools for validating message schemas. Assistance with performing schema transformations may be required.

System engineering, development and integration skills also may require experience with internet, intranet, portal, and desktop-based information systems; mobile computing platforms; embedded system; vehicle controller area network (CAN) bus; and voluminous and/or streaming databases. In this area, skill sets may be required for developing visual interfaces and dashboards; publishing interactive web-based applications; developing stand-alone desktop applications; developing applications for collecting, displaying, and storing data; and developing database driven programs as well as the associated skills needed for programming, managing, administering, and maintaining such applications.

This may require support to develop user interfaces (UI), logos, overall site branding schemas, and style guides, along with connecting the UI to middleware and back-end system components. Skill sets related to the development of applications utilizing commonly used concepts, practices, and procedures related to mobile device and website usability and accessibility (Section 508) also may be needed.

A.1.2.F Software Development Methods and Technologies

The Contractor may be required to apply expertise in current, advanced, and emerging software development methodologies, tools, and technologies. The Contractor may be required to apply expertise in best practices of software DevOps/DevSecOps, continuous integration / continuous delivery (CI/CD), and automated testing. Assistance with identifying, implementing, configuring, and maintaining software code repositories and issue tracking systems may be necessary. The Contractor may be required to develop software containers which package application code and dependencies; support for containerizing as-built code may also be necessary. Support for developing software microservices and designing microservices architectures may be required. Assistance with creating, deploying, configuring, and refining software pipelines and playbooks may be needed.

A.1.2.G System Test and Evaluation

Contractor skills shall be required to perform unit-level, module-level, and system-level testing of functional software system components, system interfaces, and underlying database processes; logical and physical interface tests for technical component integration; user acceptance testing; functional safety assessments, including software safety assurance validation testing; and system security tests regarding IT, aviation support systems, embedded vehicle systems, vehicle CAN bus networks, vehicle wireless connectivity, supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), cyber-physical systems, and/or connected transportation systems. The test and evaluation area requires skill sets for test planning, test execution, and test evaluation to assess compliance with the functional, technical, usability, reliability, resilience, and security requirements established as baselines, process guidelines, and standards in the requirements and design phases (e.g., International Standards Organization (ISO), NIST, DOT, Department of Defense (DoD), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Object Management Group

(OMG), Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), Volpe Center, and Section 508 accessibility). Testing activities may require performance in laboratory, prototype, and field operational settings and conditions, including but not limited to, vehicle test tracks and geographically dispersed connected transportation test beds. Laboratory testing and evaluation may include technical device review using specialized chemical analysis firmware and instrumentation as well as standard review protocols established by the

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration (NHTSA), and other Government agencies.

A.1.2.H Documentation

Contractor skills shall be required to develop and maintain system documentation and/or models throughout all phases of the development process. Documentation requirements

(e.g., paper, multimedia and/or interactive methods) may include, but are not limited to, CONOPS, requirements analysis, feasibility study/cost-benefit analysis, system/subsystem design specifications, system test and acceptance procedures, lab test procedures, user manuals, malfunction and warning indicators, system administrator-level or operator-level operations and maintenance manuals, configuration control procedures, training manuals, disaster recovery plans, Continuity of Operations Plans (COOP), help desk policies and procedures, and system operation policies and procedures.

A.1.2.I Software and Database Maintenance

Contractor skills shall be required to provide maintenance support for various software applications and databases, including large-scale, naturalistic driving and other traffic-and vehicle-related databases. Typical activities in this area may include, but are not limited to, systems analysis and programming in response to production/execution failures; management of change requests, testing authorized changes, and implementing changes made to the software; design and implementation of modifications made in response to hardware/software technology upgrades, new operating procedures, operating system changes, or DOT/Volpe Center guidelines and/or directives; design and implementation of modifications and/or enhancements made in response to approved functional requirements; performance evaluations to determine potential areas of improvement; and maintenance and upgrades to system and user documentation.

A.1.2.J Configuration Management and Quality Assurance

Contractor skills shall be required to perform system and software configuration management and software product evaluation for quality assurance. The system/software configuration control support may need to provide accounting, audits, and tracking of all the products throughout the life cycle.

Typical activities in this area require Contractor skill sets that include, but are not limited to, providing a configuration identity scheme for each unique hardware/software project;

tracking project-unique hardware/software configurations (e.g., computer files, electronic media, documents, software code); establishing and implementing configuration control procedures for access and tracking of change requests, implemented changes, and version control; preparing and maintaining records of the configuration status of items under configuration control; providing support for configuration audits; establishing and implementing procedures for packaging, storage, handling, and delivery of software products; establishing quality objectives in evaluating hardware/software configurations based on the context of the quality objectives established for each project; and preparing, maintaining, and providing quality assurance records for the life of the project where no standards have been prescribed.

A.1.2.K Site Installation

The physical installation of software, database, hardware, and communication infrastructure is critical to the success of information systems and networks. Skill sets may be required to support the installation of network capabilities (from installing network cables and equipment to network software configuration); installation of physical security components and site customization; and set up of hardware, software, and security components such as access control lists, networked cameras, and integrated intrusion detection systems.

Contractor skills shall be required to support the IT infrastructure of sponsoring organizations by specifying, configuring, installing, integrating, and testing all required components, computers, facilities, equipment, embedded control processing units (CPU), and systems; providing training; and furnishing integrated logistics support, both for fixed locations and mobile platforms.

A.1.2.L System Deployment and Field Support

This area encompasses several activities that are needed to support system deployment and the orderly transfer of organizational responsibility once system operational capability has been established and accepted. Field measurement activities in the areas of transportation noise, aviation weather, air quality, dose response, and user statistics are also covered under this area. Activities in this area are targeted to establishing, maintaining, and operating new systems on behalf of sponsors, as well as transferring operations and information about the system to a variety of stakeholders to establish the operational status of the new system.

Contractor skill sets in this area shall be required to support end- user, operator, and administrator training (e.g., paper or multimedia); data collection, security, and storage;

data conversion process development and implementation; communication of the operational status of the new system to personnel responsible for interfacing applications and systems; support for system SA&A; and support for the development of system disaster recovery plans and continuity of operations plans.

Contractor skill sets shall be required for the short-term management and operation of system facilities and users during start-up operations, initial system integration, and/or transitional periods. Configuration management, error correction, special system diagnostic support, performance improvement, and capacity management are examples of activities included in this area for which skill sets may be required. Specialized deployment plans, field support plans, field measurement plans, and safety and risk mitigation strategies are developed as part of the overall project plan. As part of various field measurement projects and/or system operations and maintenance, contractor staff may be required to travel extensively to measurement sites in the continental U.S.

(including but not limited to the Aviation Weather Research Facility at Joint Base Cape

Cod), Hawaii, Alaska, and international locations including Europe and Asia.

A.1.2.M Cloud Computing

The Contractor may be required to apply expertise in foundational aspects of Cloud technologies, services, offerings, and environments. The Contractor may assist the Volpe

Center in crafting requirements for hosting systems, system components, and/or applications in a Cloud environment – such as for computing power, storage, memory, databases, virtual machines (VMs), and networking. Generating design alternatives that can be partially (hybrid) or fully leveraged Cloud services and offerings may be necessary. The Contractor may be required to deploy and configure systems, system components, software containers, application clusters, virtual machines, and software pipelines, among others. The Contractor may assist in migrating systems and system components deployed on-premises to a Cloud environment and may be required to propose alternative approaches to migration (e.g., “lift and shift” vs. phased). Support for trade-off analyses of distinct Cloud platforms and offerings may be required (e.g., AWS

Cloud vs. Microsoft Azure). Support for identifying, evaluating, and recommending emerging Cloud-native technologies and solutions may also be needed – including but not limited to software as a service (SaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), and infrastructure as a service (IaaS).

A.1.3 SYSTEM AND ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURES AND FRAMEWORKS

The Contractor shall provide support for the formulation, execution, and management of strategic and tactical plans supporting the definition of clear business goals and objectives, identifying risk factors and mitigation strategies, identifying and selecting appropriate IT architectures, developing operational concepts, and aligning the use of IT with departmental and/or agency strategic goals and architectures.

Such projects may require extensive, technology-supported collaboration among geographically dispersed participants. Typically, this work includes performing infrastructure scans, supporting outreach activities to sponsors and stakeholders, and developing an assessment of the market and other institutional forces that drive the organization’s mission and functions. Work also may require identification of information flows, systems, and business processes within an organization through specialized studies, reviews, and analyses. In addition, efforts may require assessment of effectiveness and suitability of systems (particularly of new and emerging systems) and knowledge and application of best practices and metrics for measuring system and process effectiveness. System framework activities may include, but are not necessarily limited to, support in the following areas.

A.1.3.A Strategic Planning for Information System Architectures

Strategic planning is an organization’s process of defining its strategy or direction and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy, including its capital and people. In the life cycle evolution of IT tasks, skills may be required to help organizations develop near- term (i.e., 1-5 years) and long-range (i.e., 5-10 years) business and technical architecture plans for IT investments that conform to business goals, transform the organization, and meet client acceptable risk levels. The plans are used for the analysis of existing systems and the implementation of future systems. These architectures provide a basis to develop and maintain systems, subsystems, and modules in a predictable manner. Such plans may address enterprise models, data architectures, application software architectures, hardware and network architectures, and systems technology architectures such as the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) reference models for guiding long-term system planning, development, technology insertion, and technology refresh as well the U.S. National Intelligent Transportation

Systems Architecture and Standards, inclusive of the Connected Vehicle Reference

Implementation Architecture.

A.1.3.B Organizational Integration

Contractor skill sets for this area shall include the ability to perform analysis, design, development, and implementation of organizational structural changes that encourage coordination and cooperation among multiple units to gain from technical or functional integration. Contractor skills shall be required to help organizations obtain maximum benefits from technologies and systems promoting information sharing. Skills also may include experience with workflow automation, Internet and intranet content management, and multimedia interactive training.

A.1.4 LAB FACILITY AND OPERATIONS SUPPORT

The Contractor shall provide support for the realignment, operation and management of Volpe and/or sponsor IT assets, including, but not limited to, hardware support, computer operations support, and help desk support. Varying levels of coverage may be required, ranging from support during “traditional” work hours (7 a.m. to 5 p.m. five days per week) to continuous 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week (24x7) support. Support may be required to staff and manage help desk services for facility operations, systems, and individual software applications. Sub-areas may include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following functions:

A.1.4.A System Operations and Administration

Contractor skill sets shall be required to support, operate, and maintain a sponsor’s IT assets. Assets vary by sponsor organization and may include enterprise class and server-based systems in a clustered or distributed network, special purpose computer systems

(e.g., vehicle data acquisition and system monitoring equipment; software assessment systems; embedded control systems; and/or position, navigation and timing systems), application development hardware/software platforms, and web/application servers.

Typical activities in this area may require skill sets that include, but are not limited to:

• Providing up to 24x7 operations support of the IT assets

• Providing support for operations during “operator-unattended” mode for operations that are not 24x7

• Installing and configuring new system platform acquisitions with the required operating system and application software and databases

• Coordinating networking, security, and application system issues with the respective technical staff contacts prior to connection to the sponsor’s network

• Training and cross-training technical support staff in the essentials of the various system configurations as well as their associated subsystems

• Testing and implementing new versions of host operating systems, system software, data patches, and security patches

• Monitoring system performance through the use of tools such as dashboards

• Identifying system bottlenecks or abnormalities and offering suggestions for improving system performance

• Initiating both remedial hardware/software maintenance actions and failure recovery procedures when failures occur or there are indications of impending failure

• Ensuring file integrity through the performance of daily/weekly/monthly back-up, fail-safe, and file recovery procedures based on Standard Operating

Procedures

• Implementing physical and information security and safety procedures and revising the procedures when new policies are issued

• Making recommendations to enhance reliability and availability to end users and reduce operating costs, operating and maintaining peripheral subsystem equipment

• Maintaining logs and records

• Maintaining, managing, and controlling a data media library for the storage of essential file back-ups both at on-/off-site locations in accordance with the sponsor’s/the DOT’s policies

• Administering procedures for establishing and terminating institutional system user accounts and associated privileges

• Establishing system/user authenticators and allocating systems resources

• Performing daily monitoring of systems activity to ensure that the integrity of system's use is maintained in accordance with the sponsor’s/the DOT’s IT security policies and procedures, and

• Establishing preventive maintenance schedules and ensuring that preventive maintenance schedules are met.

A.1.4.B Help Desk Support

Contractor skill sets shall be required to support, maintain, manage, and/or administer help desk facilities for local and remote end-users of facilities and/or systems managed for a sponsor. Typical activities in this area may require skill sets that include, but are not limited to:

• Operating and managing the performance of a full-featured help desk to handle calls about problems with computing resources, software applications, databases, and/or systems that require up to continual 24x7 support

• Establishing, using, or maintaining an automated database system for recording, tracking, and reporting problems and subsequent resolutions

• Providing status reports on help desk activities

• Integrating and coordinating help desk activities with the sponsor’s network, desktop, or email functions, as appropriate, to ensure timely and effective accomplishment of required services

• Developing, updating, and maintaining policies and procedures for help desk operations in conformance with sponsor documentation standards

• Providing end-user follow-up on problems to confirm and document problem resolution, and

• Providing guidance and recommendations on new help desk processes, procedures, and technologies.

A.1.5 TTEMS MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT

The Contractor shall perform the necessary management and administration functions required for effective contract and call order performance. The Contractor shall provide effective leadership, planning, management, quality control, direction, and supervision of work activities and personnel needed for effective performance. Contractor required activities include, but are not limited to, technical leadership, project management, financial and administrative management, and rapid response to call order requests. The Contractor’s management team shall participate in meetings with the BPA Volpe Center CO and COR to monitor performance.

The design of the TTEMS PWS includes and utilizes non-IT requirements as a management component supporting the technical project lifecycle that will be supported through the TTEMS contract vehicle. Non-IT project requirements such as, technical oversight, resource utilization, and quality control are incorporated within the project scope with the goal of creating a cohesive technical and management approach. Separating these non-IT requirements creates risk to the project schedule and cost by imposing an arbitrary split between the project management and the performance of the technical work.

A.1.6 CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL

The Contractor shall provide contracting support to deliver a portfolio of call orders accordance with the requirements in this PWS, call order specific requirements, and applicable Federal and

Agency regulations.

Key personnel: The key personnel of this BPA are essential to the work the Contractor agrees to perform hereunder. Prior to diverting the key personnel to other programs, the Contractor shall notify the BPA Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) and the Contracting Officer no less than 15 days in advance and shall submit justification, including proposed substitutions or replacements, in sufficient detail to permit the Contracting Officer to evaluate the impact on the work the Contractor is obligated to perform hereunder. The Contractor shall not replace any of the key personnel without the written consent of the Contracting Officer.

1) BPA Program Manager - The Contractor shall provide a Program Manager who shall be responsible for all contractor work performed under this BPA.

Description of Work: The Program Manager shall be a single point of contact for the

Contracting Officer and the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR). It is anticipated that the Program Manager shall be one of the senior level employees provided by the Contractor for the work effort. The Program Manager shall be responsible for ensuring conformity to contractual obligations, establishing and maintaining master plans and schedules. The

Program Manager shall perform day-to-day management of overall contract support operations.

Labor categories anticipated at the call order level may include a mix of the below:

Project Manager

Subject Matter Expert

Senior General Engineer

Mid-Level General Engineer

Junior General Engineer

Systems Engineer

Systems/Solution Architect

Cloud Engineer

Senior IT Engineer

Mid-Level IT Engineer

Junior IT Engineer

Senior Application Developer

Mid-Level Application

Developer

Junior Application Developer

Senior Analyst

Mid-Level Analyst

Junior Analyst

Senior Technician

Mid-Level Technician

Junior Technician

A.2 PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY

The Government will assess contractor performance based on the Performance Requirements Summary (PRS) for performance areas (see below tables), as well as any specific call order level performance standards. The performance standards in the PRS establish the performance level required to meet the BPA or call order requirements, as provided below. The Performance Standard column of the PRS lists a summary of verifiable, measurable levels of service. The PRS includes the acceptable quality level and the method of surveillance.

The Government may change the BPA or a call order PRS to optimize efforts and ensure that we are measuring the correct objectives. All such changes would be bilateral modifications to the BPA agreement or the call order, as applicable.

Performance Area Performance Level

Program Management BPA

Technology Assessments and Modernization Call Order

System Analysis, Development, Deployment, Field Support, and Analytical Research Analysis Call Order

System Architectures and Framework Call Order

Lab Facility and Operations Support Call Order

Performance

Objective

Performance

Standard

Acceptable

Quality

Levels Method of Surveillance

Incentive

(Positive and/or

Negative)

Customer

Satisfaction

Compliance with agency and issued call orders

75% positive customer rating

Semi-annual evaluation of program management, cost, schedule, technical performance. Conducted through a sample survey of call order customers and evaluation of customer complaints

Positive:

Continued performance eligibility;

Annual CPARS will reflect positive performance

Negative:

Potential BPA cancellation

Contractor

Response to Call

Order

Opportunities

Submission of quotations for all call order opportunities

75% response rate

Quarterly review of status reports from the contractor and the contract files of awarded orders

Positive:

Continued performance eligibility;

Annual CPARS will reflect positive performance

Negative:

Potential BPA cancellation

Contractor shall produce complete, and accurate quality deliverables on time in support of the BPA

Provide on-time status reporting and accurate deliverables

Satisfactory/

Unsatisfactor y

Case by case…