RFI_Attachment_4_-_Question_and_Answer_Sheet_A0001_9_10_2019.xlsx
XLSX spreadsheet 45 KB Posted
- Attached to
- Business Oriented Software Solutions (BOSS) Federal contract opportunity
- Solicitation number
- ACQ-19-1870
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RFI Attachment 4 - Question and Answer Sheet_A0001_9_10_2019
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Other files for this federal contract opportunity
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| RFI_Attachment_1_-_Response_Template_A0002_9_12_2019.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| RFI_Attachment_4_-_Question_and_Answer_Sheet_A0002_9_12_2019.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| Request_for_Information_A0002_9_12_2019.pdf | ||
| Request_for_Information_A0001_9_10_2019.pdf | ||
| RFI_Attachment_1_-_Response_Template_A0001_9_10_2019.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| RFI_Attachment_3_-_DRAFT_Performance_Work_Statement.pdf | ||
| RFI_Attachment_2_-_DRAFT_Request_for_Proposal.pdf | ||
| RFI_Attachment_4_-_Question_and_Answer_Sheet.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| Request_for_Information_8_19_2019.pdf | ||
| RFI_Attachment_1_-_RFI_Response_Template.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet |
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RFI Contractual
| Question # | Reference | Question Category (Contract) | Question | Answer | RFI Revision (if applicable) |
| 1 | RFI - General | Contract | Within the context of this RFI, what is the difference between a Contractor Teaming Arrangement and a Prime Contractor Teaming Agreement? | Contractor teaming arrangement refers broadly to all traditional ‘prime-sub’ arrangement, Joint Ventures, and Mentor-Protégée Agreements. |
Prime Contractor Teaming Agreement refers specifically to Joint Ventures and Mentor-Protégée Agreements which are submitting an RFI response as a prime contractor team.
| 2 | RFI - General | Contract | Is there a limit to the number of responses a vendor may participate in? For example, may a vendor submit a response as a prospective prime contractor as well as part of a Joint Venture and/or a Mentor-Protégé Agreement? | Vendors may only submit one response to the RFI, whether independently or as part of a prime contractor teaming agreement (Joint Venture/Mentor-Protégé Agreement). | |
| 3 | RFI - General | Contract | The RFI does not provide the Evaluation Criteria the Government will use to evaluate vendors' RFI responses. | ||
| Q: Because the RFI response will determine whether a vendor is eligible to continue to pursue this very important opportunity, will the Government provide clear criteria for how it will differentiate between vendor responses? | The Government will not utilize formal evaluation criteria for market research associated with PTAG 6.1.1. The Government will review RFI responses to determine which vendors are most likely to successfully meet the agency’s requirements for BOSS. | ||||
| 4 | RFI - General | Contract | Will USPTO provide answers to questions related to RFI Attachments 2 and 3 during later evaluation phases of BOSS? Will prospective vendors have opportunities to submit additional questions during Evaluation Phase 1 and Evaluation Phase 2? | Vendors that are deemed eligible to compete for the BOSS contract award will have an opportunity to submit questions during the solicitation phase. The Government may respond to questions related to RFI Attachments 2 and 3 during the solicitation phase. In the meantime, the Government may use the questions received to revise the RFP prior to final release. | |
| 5 | RFI - General | Contract | In describing the notional milestones, PTO writes: "The final solicitation will be released to the vendor(s) deemed most likely to successfully meet the agency’s requirements." This insinuates that there may be only a single vendor that is provided the final solicitation. Will there be at least two offerors invited to bid? | The USPTO has not pre-determined a number of vendors that will be deemed most likely to successfully meet the agency’s requirements for BOSS. The USPTO has also not pre-determined a number of contract awards for BOSS. | |
| 6 | RFI - General | Contract | What is the relationship, if any, between BOSS and any IDEAI-2/3 or similar contract vehicle? Are any conflicts of interest between vehicles anticipated? Please provide this information in advance of final RFP release so that appropriate decisions may be made regarding teaming. | Per RFI Attachment 2, section 7.2.1: |
"(a) There is a potential organizational conflict of interest (see FAR Subpart 9.5, Organizational and Consultant Conflicts of Interest) due to [ scope relationships between BOSS and the following USPTO contract vehicles: Infrastructure Design Engineering Architecture and Integration (IDEAI-2), Information Technology Support Services (ITSS), and Software Quality Assurance Division (SQAD) Testing ]..."
Additionally, page 45 of RFI Attachment 2 states:
"Any work performed by a prime or sub under BOSS would preclude the company from working as a prime or sub under any of the listed contracts above for the same project. Conversely, any work as a prime or sub under any of the listed contracts above for the same project would preclude that company from working on the same project under BOSS."
| 7 | RFI - General | Contract | Given the RFI responses will be used to assess vendor viability for competing for the final solicitation, what evaluation criteria will be used for each of the 11 questions? In addition, that are the overall selection criteria for this downselect? | Please see response to question #3. |
| 8 | RFI - General | Contract | Will a Small Business Prime contractor also be allowed to be a subcontractor on a large business lead Team? | If invited to participate in the solicitation phase, a small business company may submit a proposal as a prime contractor. This small business company may also be included as a subcontractor under another proposal, as long as the prime contractor for that proposal was also invited to participate in the solicitation phase. |
| 9 | RFI - General | Contract | In order to maximize small business ability to provide the best possible response to questions, will the USPTO consider waiving the requirement for contract references and the 3 year timeframe on answers? | The USPTO will not waive the requirement for contract references at this time. |
| 10 | RFI - General | Contract | Will a Large Business Prime contractor also be allowed to be a subcontractor to a Small Business Prime contractor? | If invited to participate in the solicitation phase, a large business company may submit a proposal as a prime contractor. This large business company may also be included as a subcontractor under another proposal, as long as the prime contractor for that proposal was also invited to participate in the solicitation phase. Restrictions specified under FAR clause 52.219-14 apply. |
| 11 | RFI - General | Contract | Can a company be a Prime and also a sub to another firm within in the small business track? | If invited to participate in the solicitation phase, a company may submit a proposal as a prime contractor. This company may also be included as a subcontractor under another proposal, as long as the prime contractor for that proposal was also invited to participate in the solicitation phase. Restrictions specified under FAR clause 52.219-14 apply. |
| 12 | RFI - General | Contract | Can a company be prime on the small business portion and subcontractor on the large business side? | Please see response to question #8. |
| 13 | RFI - General | Contract | Will the offeror be able to join multiple teams as a subcontractor? | Yes, a company may participate as a subcontractor under multiple teams. |
| 14 | RFI - General | Contract | Will the Government allow large business primes to also participate as a subcontractor on a small business team? | Please see response to question #10. |
| 15 | RFI - General | Contract | If the Offeror submits the RFI response as a prime bidder, will they be able to form a contractor teaming arrangement (CTA) for the final solicitation if they are chosen to receive the final RFP? | If invited to participate in the solicitation phase, a company that submitted the RFI response independently may form a contractor teaming arrangement (i.e. traditional prime-sub arrangement, Joint Venture, Mentor-protégé Agreement) for its proposal submission. |
| 16 | RFI - General | Contract | If a prime contractor teaming arrangement submits an RFI response, will they be able to dissolve or change the CTA for the final solicitation if they are chosen to receive the final RFP? | If invited to participate in the solicitation phase, a prime contractor teaming agreement that submitted the RFI response as a prime contractor may not dissolve or change the prime contractor teaming agreement for its proposal submission. |
| 17 | RFI - General | Contract | Can the composition of the submitting team change from the time RFI response is submitted to the time RFP response? | Please see responses to questions #15 and 16. |
| 18 | RFI - General | Contract | Attachment 1 response template specifies maximum response length in characters. It appears that responses are limited to approximately 300 - 600 words depending on the question. We believe this would be insufficient to provide the USPTO with a meaningful response. Please increase the maximum responses to 2 pages per question. |
Additionally, would the USPTO consider allowing submissions via a Word document vs the current Excel spreadsheet? Please see response to question #87.
The USPTO will only consider RFI submissions using the provided response template.
| 19 | RFI - General | Contract | Given the character count constraints, would USPTO consider providing an additional/separate character count that allows for respondents to outline assumptions used to formulate our responses to the RFI questions? | The USPTO will not provide a separate character count for assumptions. |
| 20 | RFI - General | Contract | Is a vendor allowed to utilize graphics to better depict the response to some of the questions in the template? If so, should the graphics be embedded in the spreadsheet? | RFI responses shall not contain embedded graphics. |
| 21 | RFI - General | Contract | The RFI overview states that Grant Thornton LLP will be involved in review of the RFI. Will Grant Thornton LLP participate in or does the company have a business relationship with any existing USPTO vendors who may be involved in the RFI or RFP process for this IDIQ? In what capacity will Grant Thornton LLP assist in the review and acquisition process? |
Other than Grant Thronton LLC, can the government please identify additional entities, external to USPTO, that will assist in the review, evaluation and acquistion process?
Grant Thornton LLP FTE may assist USPTO in the review of the RFI responses and if applicable, any acquisition process.
At this time, the USPTO has not identified additional entities, external to USPTO, that will assist in the review, evaluation and acquisition process.
| 22 | RFI - General | Contract | Can a vendor who is competing as a prime contractor use past performance or qualification of a sub-contractor to meet requirements? | In responding to RFI questions, respondents may draw upon their own corporate experience in either directly performing or managing performance of past subcontractors. Prime RFI respondents may not draw upon experience of planned subcontractors for work that was not overseen or managed by the prime contractor. | RFI, Section 5, Frequently Asked Questions, question "b)" revised accordingly. |
| 23 | RFI - General | Contract | Does the government intend to use any existing Best-In-Class Contracts for this procurement? If yes which one? | The BOSS contract will be an independent USPTO Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract. The contract will not have a direct relationship with any other established contract vehicles. | |
| 24 | RFI - General | Contract | Does USPTO intend BOSS to be SDI-NG re-compete or is the government planning to bundle other existing OCIO contracts under BOSS? If yes - can you please list the contracts | BOSS will replace USPTO's SDI-NG contract. At this time, the USPTO does not intend to bundle other existing OCIO contracts under BOSS. | |
| 25 | RFI - General | Contract | Are small companies required to answer all of the questions in Response Template in order to continue in the vendor selection process? | All companies are encouraged to provide as complete a response as possible. Providing an incomplete response may reduce the likelihood that a company will be invited to participate in the solicitation phase. | |
| 26 | RFI - General | Contract | A) What is the evaluation criteria for review of RFI responses and corresponding selection of contractor(s) in order to determine which vendors are most likely to successfully meet the agency’s requirements and to be selected to compete for the BOSS contract award? B) Are the RFI evaluation criteria different for large businesses vs small businesses? | Please see response to question #3. | |
| 27 | RFI - General | Contract | Is there an incumbent contractor? If so, please provide the incumbent name, current contract number, period of performance and value of the contract. | The BOSS contract will replace USPTO's current SDI-NG contract and address the agency’s evolving business oriented software solution needs. For the SDI-NG contract, the following companies are prime contractors: |
-CGI Federal Inc. (Contract #DOC50PAPT1600026) -CSRA LLC (Contract #DOC50PAPT1600023) -Maximus Federal Services, Inc. (Contract #DOC50PAPT1600028) -Phacil, Inc. (Contract #DOC50PAPT1600025) -Pragmatics, Inc. (Contract #DOC50PAPT1600022) -Science Applications International Corp. (Contract #DOC50PAPT1600021) -Salient CRGT, Inc. (Contract #DOC50PAPT1600027) -Unisys Corporation (Contract #DOC50PAPT1600019)
The period of performance end date for the current contracts is 9/29/2020. The total ceiling for all contracts is $480,000,000.00.
| 28 | RFI - General | Contract | If we list a subcontractor during the RFI stage and they decide they no longer want to be part of the team Post RFI, can we remove them from the team when we submit final RFP? | The information completed in the Corporate Profile need not include planned subcontractor information. The Corporate Profile only needs to contain planned prime contractor. | |
| 29 | RFI - General | Contract | Are traditional teaming arrangements (prime and sub) are allowed under BOSS? Only Joint Ventures and Mentor-protégé are mentioned in the draft RFP. | Traditional teaming arrangements (prime and sub) are permitted under BOSS. Draft RFP Section 7.3.3 speaks to prime contractor teaming. This will be clarified prior to RFP finalization. | RFI, Section 5, Frequently Asked Questions, question "l)" revised accordingly. |
| 30 | RFI - General | Contract | If the teaming is allowed only by JV and Mentor-protégé, how do you expect a vendor to meet your small business goals? | Please see response to question #29. | |
| 31 | RFI - General | Contract | Can a company be a subcontractor on multiple teams? For example, can a company be a subcontractor to a Large Business Prime, as well as a subcontractor to a Small Business Prime? | Yes, companies may be subcontractors for multiple prime contractors. | |
| 32 | RFI - General | Contract | Can a Small Business submit an offer as a Prime, and also be a subcontractor to a Large Business Prime? | Please see response to question #8. | |
| 33 | RFI - General | Contract | Can RFI responses be submitted using MS Word, rather than the provided template? | No, respondents shall utilize RFI Attachment 1 for submission of responses. | |
| 34 | RFI - General | Contract | What evaluation factors will the Government use when evaluating the RFI responses? | Please see response to question #3. | |
| 35 | RFI - General | Contract | Can a small buisness partner with two different primes - one for full/open and the other for small business? | Companies may only be a prime contractor once. However, companies may be subcontractors to multiple prime contractors. | |
| 36 | RFI: Page 1 Instructions: | Contract | "Proprietary information submitted in response to this RFI will be protected from unauthorized disclosure as required by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). In their RFI submission email, vendors shall clearly identify any Attachment 1 tabs that contain proprietary information." |
| It is possible the Attachment 1 response template is reviewed by evaluators who do not have a copy of the email indicating which tabs include proprietary information. Will USPTO please allow offerors to include the Proprietary Information disclosure as a note in each applicable tab? | Yes, respondents may include the appropriate markings for proprietary information in the header/footer of each tab. | ||||
| 37 | RFI: Page 2 Instructions: "Note: Respondents may submit questions and comments regarding RFI Attachments 2 and 3 during the RFI phase. However, the USPTO only intends to provide answers relevant to RFI Attachment 1 during the RFI phase." | Contract | When will the questions regarding Attachments 2 and 3 be answered? | The Government may respond to questions related to RFI Attachments 2 and 3 during the solicitation phase. In the meantime, the Government may use the questions received to revise the RFP prior to final release. | |
| 38 | RFI: Section 5: Frequently Asked Questions, Question a: |
Question: Does the PTAG 6.1.1 Alternative Competition approach allow for a down-select of vendors before receipt of proposals?
Answer: Yes. The PTAG 6.1.1 Alternative Competition Method permits the agency to use market research results to determine which vendors are most likely to successfully meet the agency’s requirements, and solicit directly to those vendors. The Government will review vendors’ RFI responses, and if applicable, additional market research findings to determine which vendors most likely to successfully meet the agency’s requirements. The selected pool of vendors will be invited to compete for the final solicitation. Contract What are the evaluation criteria that the Government will use for the RFI down select of bidders invited to compete in the final solicitation?
What types of market research will the Government use to determine which vendors are most likely to successfully meet the agency's requirements? Please response to question #3.
The USPTO may use any of the market research techniques listed under FAR 10.002(b)(2).
39 RFI: Section 5: Frequently Asked Questions, Question b:
Question: In responding to the RFI questions, may vendors draw on experience of individual employees, or planned sub-contractors?
| Answer: RFI responses shall speak to corporate experience of the prime and/or sub-contractor(s). | Contract | Are there any teaming restrictions between the UNR and SB tracks? | Please see responses to questions #8, 10, 11, 31, and 35. | ||
| 40 | RFI: Section 5: Frequently Asked Questions, Question b | Contract | Would the government consider requiring the majority of information of work performed, for the RFI response and the subsequent RFP, to come from the Offeror, or more heavily weighting the Offeror's experience rather than the subcontractor's experience? This would allow the Government to evaluate the actual capability of the Offeror versus just the subcontractors. | For purposes of the RFI, please see response to questions #3 and 22. |
For purposes of the RFP, past performance evaluation criteria will be finalized prior to solicitation issuance.
| 41 | RFI: Section 5: Frequently Asked Questions, Question b | Contract | Please clarify under approved teaming arrangements section (b) SBA Mentor-Protégé Agreements. Is the governments intent to allow Joint Ventures formed under the SBA Mentor-Program to be classified as small under this solicitation? | Yes, Joint Ventures formed under the SBA Mentor-Protégé program shall be classified as small under the solicitation. |
| 42 | RFI: Section 5: Frequently Asked Questions, Question e: |
Question: Will prime contracts be awarded to both small and large businesses under NAICS Code 541512?
| Answer:The USPTO is targeting a 3:2 ratio (small:large) for prime contract awards. This represents a 60% small business set-aside for prime contract awards. | Contract | If a business receives an award under the small business track, will that small business be able to compete in any task order released and not set aside for small businesses? | Task order requirements with a total value estimated to be at or below $1M will be automatically set-aside for small businesses. Requirements >$1M may be competed amongst all BOSS awardees. | ||
| 43 | RFI: Section 5: Frequently Asked Questions, Question e | Contract | Is USPTO agnostic to the type of company (such as prime/sub, joint venture, Mentor/Protégé, etc.) when considering the 3:2 (small:large) ratio for award? | The USPTO will not give preference to any particular teaming arrangement when considering the 3:2 (small:large) ratio for award. | |
| 44 | RFI: Section 5: Frequently Asked Questions, Question e | Contract | Would the Government please clarify that an other than small business may both prime an unrestricted offer and serve as a sub to a restricted team? | Please see response to question #10. | |
| 45 | RFI: Section 5: Frequently Asked Questions, Question i: |
Question: Will task order competitions be set aside for small businesses?
| Answer: Task order requirements with a total value estimated to be at or below $1M will be automatically set-aside for small businesses. Requirements >$1M may be competed amongst all BOSS awardees. However, the task order Contracting Officer may choose to set requirements >$1M aside, on a case-by-case basis. Historically, task orders <$1M have accounted for approximately 70% of all BOSS task order awards. The USPTO reserves the right to increase the small business set-aside threshold at any time during the life of the contract, to increase small business participation. | Contract | If a business receives an award under the small business track, will that small business be able to compete in any task order released and not set aside for small businesses? | Please see response to question #42. | ||
| 46 | RFI: Section 5: Frequently Asked Questions, Question i | Contract | In the subsequent RFP, will small business participation be evaluated for unrestricted teams? Also, will this small business participation be evaluated consistently across the social economic statuses? | Please see draft RFP sections 8.4.1 and 9.4.1. | |
| 47 | RFI: Section 5: Frequently Asked Questions, Question i | Contract | Request USPTO provide the historical data on the duration, scope areas, and spend of task orders to catergorized by SB set-aside awards and unrestricted awards. | Historically, task orders <$1M have accounted for approximately 70% of task orders under the current vehicle. | |
| 48 | RFI: Section 5: Frequently Asked Questions, Question i | Contract | Will the USPTO set-aside task orders for a specific socio-economic competition (e.g., SDVOSB, Hub Zone, etc.) under the restricted track? | USPTO does not intend to set-aside task order competitions for a specific socio-economic category. | |
| 49 | RFI: Section 5: Frequently Asked Questions, Question l: |
Question: What kind of teaming arrangements will be permitted for prime contract awards?
Answer: Teaming will not be required for an offeror to submit a proposal, and/or be awarded a contract under BOSS. However, offerors may choose to consider teaming arrangements. If a teaming arrangement is utilized, the proposed arrangement shall be identified, and vendor relationships fully disclosed in the vendor’s RFI response, and in their subsequent proposal. Contract The Government's answer included the following "If a teaming arrangement is utilized, the proposed arrangement shall be identified, and vendor relationships fully disclosed in the vendor’s RFI response, and in their subsequent proposal."
In which section of Attachment 1 should an offeror present a summary of the Teaming Arrangements?
| Can the prime add rows or columns to the Corporate Profile tab to accommodate team member vendor relationships? | If a prime contractor teaming agreement is utilized, the proposed agreement shall be identified, and vendor relationships disclosed in the vendor's RFI response (RFI Attachment 1, Corporate Profile Tab). Respondents may tailor the Corporate Profile tab to accommodate team member vendor relationships. | Attachment 1 – RFI Response Template, Corporate profile tab updated accordingly. | ||
| 50 | RFI: Section 5: Frequently Asked Questions, Question l | Contract | Part of the answer in RFI FAQ "l" states: "If a teaming arrangement is utilized, the proposed arrangement shall be identified, and vendor relationships fully disclosed in the vendor’s RFI response, and in their subsequent proposal." |
| Please indicate exactly what information is required to meet the criterion of "fully disclosed." | Respondents shall complete RFI Attachment 1, Corporate Profile. If a company intends to submit their response as a prime contractor teaming agreement, the applicable company information shall be included. | Attachment 1 – RFI Response Template, Corporate profile tab updated accordingly. | |||
| 51 | RFI: Section 5: Frequently Asked Questions, Question l | Contract | In the instance of a SBA Mentor-Protégé Agreement, will it be possible for both the Mentor company (Other Than Small) and Mentor-Protégé team (Small Business) to each be awarded a prime contract on BOSS? | A company may only participate in one prime contractor teaming agreement (e.g. Joint Venture, Mentor-protégé). | |
| 52 | RFI: Section 5: Frequently Asked Questions, Question l | Contract | Will a Joint Venture, comprised of two entities that are also a part of a SBA Mentor-Protégé Agreement, be considered a Small Business? | A submission by a Mentor-Protégé team will be treated as a small business prime. A submission by another Joint Venture may be considered small so long as each concern is small under the size standard corresponding to the assigned NAICS code. | |
| 53 | RFI: Section 5: Frequently Asked Questions, Question l | Contract | Where in the RFI response should we fully disclose this relationship? How does the Government define "fully disclose"? For example, should we include fully executed teaming agreements that cover the expected period of performance? | Please see response to question #50. | |
| 54 | RFI: Section 5: Frequently Asked Questions, Question l | Contract | The Answer to Question I states that "Offerers may choose to consider teaming arrangements to meet the array of requirements and resources that may be required under the contract. If a teaming arrangement is utilized, the proposed arrangement shall be identified, and vendor relationships fully disclosed in the vendor's RFI Response..." | ||
| This implies that offerors will be evaluated on all potential task areas. The relatively quick turnaround for submitting the RFI may preclude many Small Businesses from forming the best possible teams to present the full array of capabilities. Will the USPTO focus on evaluating reponses with consideration that small businesses can form ideal teams with other awardees on task order responses? | Please see responses to questions #3, 15, and 16. | ||||
| 55 | RFI: Section 5: Frequently Asked Questions, Question l | Contract | Question L States “SB Mentor Protege language: (b) SBA Mentor-Protégé Agreements: Offerors proposing under the auspices of the Small Business Administration (SBA) Mentor-Protégé Programs shall submit with their offer a copy of their welcome/acceptance letter from the SBA. A Mentor-Protégé team shall qualify as a small business for small business set-aside task order competitions until which time a size recertification is required (5 years post award, or as required by the Contracting Officer).” |
| Can a Mentor-Protégé as prime, team with additional companies (large and/or small) and still be eligible small business track? | A Mentor-Protégé as a prime, may subcontract with additional companies. Restrictions specified under FAR clause 52.219-14 apply. For any contract set aside or reserved for small business that is to be performed by a joint venture between a small business protégé and its SBA-approved mentor authorized by §125.9, the joint venture must perform the applicable percentage of work required by §125.6, and the small business partner to the joint venture must perform at least 40% of the work performed by the joint venture. | |||
| 56 | RFI: Section 5: Frequently Asked Questions, Question l | Contract | The RFI references approximately 70% of task order awards at a value <$1M. |
A. What is the estimated number of task orders to be issued annually?
| B. What is the estimated total dollar value of the approximately 70% of awards <$1M? | The 70% is based on historical information. At this time, there is no estimated number of task orders or projected total dollar value for those task orders. | |||||
| 57 | RFI: Section 5: Frequently Asked Questions, Question l | Contract | In response to Question 9, will the Government be willing to the remove "point of contact information from corresponding customer organizations" from the 3,500 character response limit? | Attachment 1, RFI Response Template, now provides a separate field for point of contact information on questions #8, 9, and 10. | Attachment 1 – RFI Response Template, revised accordingly. | |
| 58 | RFI: Section 5: Frequently Asked Questions, Question l | Contract | May businesses serve as a subcontractor to more than one unrestricted prime? | Please see response to question #31. | ||
| 59 | RFI: Section 5: Frequently Asked Questions, Question l | Contract | May businesses serve as a subcontractor to more than one restricted prime? | Please see response to question #31. | ||
| 60 | RFI: Section 5: Frequently Asked Questions, Question l | Contract | Does USPTO foresee implementing restrictions that would keep a company from being both a prime and team member? | Please see response to question #11. | ||
| 61 | RFI: Section 5: Frequently Asked Questions, Question l | Contract | Can an offeror be both a Prime contractor awardee; as well as, a subcontractor to a Prime Contractor awardee? | Please see response to question #11. | ||
| 62 | RFI: Section 5: Frequently Asked Questions, Question l | Contract | Is it possible for large Primes to add sub-contractors or teaming partners after the RFI to complete their teams or are all partners expected to be names in the RFI submission? | Please see response to questions #15. | ||
| 63 | RFI: Section 5: Frequently Asked Questions, Question l | Contract | Are small businesses expected to respond to all aspects of the RFI response, in the affirmative, to be considered or is it expected that small business, with unique specialized services/capabilities will be selected for participation based on categories of the requirements? | Please see response to question #25. | ||
| 64 | RFI: Section 5: Frequently Asked Questions, Question l | Contract | Please clarify in response to question I in the RFI; Will task order competitions be set aside for small business? Is the $1M threshold simply a value threshold, regardless of POP? | Task order requirements with a total value estimated to be at or below $1M will be automatically set-aside for small businesses. Requirements >$1M may be competed amongst all BOSS awardees. The set-aside threshold is a value threshold and does not consider period of performance. | ||
| 65 | RFI: Section 5: Frequently Asked Questions, Question l | Contract | Are current planned subcontractor relationships required to be disclosed in the RFI response? If so, how should we disclose them? | Planned subcontractor relationships are not required to be disclosed in the RFI response; only prime contractor teaming agreements shall be disclosed, if applicable. | ||
| 66 | RFI: Section 5: Frequently Asked Questions, Question l | Contract | May vendors change their team composition during or after any evaluation phase by adding or removing vendors as part of either a CTA per FAR 9.601(1) or as subcontractors in a Prime/Sub teaming relationship per FAR 9.601(2)? | Please see responses to questions #15 and 16. | ||
| 67 | RFI: Section 5: Frequently Asked Questions, Question l | Contract | Can the government confirm that the only two (2) Teaming Arrangments required to be to be disclosed as part of this RFI response are Joint Ventures and SBA Mentor-Protégé Agreements as identified in 5(l)? | Correct; respondents need not identify planned subcontractors. | ||
| 68 | RFI: Section 5: Frequently Asked Questions, Question l | Contract | Can a large business be sub-contractor to a small business and the small business still qualify for small business set-aside? | Yes, a large business company may be included as a subcontractor under a proposal submitted by a small business prime contractor. Restrictions specified under FAR clause 52.219-14 apply. | ||
| 69 | RFI: Section 5: Frequently Asked Questions, Question l | Contract | Question C indicates that a company can perform as a sub-contractor even if they did not submit an RFI response, but Question L indicates that if a teaming arrangement is utilized the proposed arrangement shall be identified, and vendor relationships fully disclosed in the vendor's RFI response, and in their subsequent proposal. There seems to be a contradiction of whether offerors can change the makeup of their team after the RFI response. Is it acceptable for prime offerors to change their subcontracts/teaming arrangement after the RFI response to better address the final RFP? | Please see response to questions #65. | ||
| 70 | RFI: Section 5: Frequently Asked Questions, Question l | Contract | We assume that a vendor team which submits an RFI response, is down-selected by PTO and invited to submit a Proposal may add a team member between RFI response and proposal submission, as long as the extant team is identified within each submission. Is that correct? | Please see responses to questions #15 and 16. | ||
| 71 | RFI: Section 5: Frequently Asked Questions, Question n: | |||||
| (Due to length of question and answer, please see RFI for details) | Contract | Does the "Phased Evaluation" section refer to the evaluation of proposals in response to the RFP or evaluations of any aspect of the RFI? | The Phased Evaluation is in reference to the draft RFP (RFI Attachment 2). | |||
| 72 | RFI: Section 5: Frequently Asked Questions, Question n: | |||||
| (Due to length of question and answer, please see RFI for details) | Contract | Does the Government have a schedule and timeline for the draft and final solicitation release? Will the Government also provide the anticipated length of time between market research and the release of the final solicitation? | Tentatively, the USPTO intends to issue the final solicitation in February/March, 2020. | |||
| 73 | RFI Attachment 1, General | Contract | Each of these questions calls for vendors to describe their organization's experience or specific past performance. However, only questions 8, 9, and 10 ask for point of contact information from the corresponding customer organizations. |
Q: So that the Government can substantiate the responses provided to these questions, will the Government update the questions to require vendors to provide the name of the company performing the work (i.e., the Prime or a subcontractor) for citations in all question responses and add the requirement to provide points of contact for all cited experiences, not just those in questions 8, 9, and 10?
If the Government agrees to this change, will it permit us to submit the POC information separately so as not to count against the character limits for each response? USPTO is only requesting point of contact information for questions #8, 9, and 10.
| Attachment 1, RFI Response Template, now provides a separate field for point of contact information on questions #8, 9, and 10. | Attachment 1 – RFI Response Template, revised accordingly. | ||||
| 74 | RFI Attachment 1, General | Contract | Is it acceptable to embed images, graphics, logos, headers, footers, or tables within the Response cells? In the alternative, will the Government accept them as supplemental attachments? | ||
| Respondents shall not embed images, graphics, logos, headers, footers, or tables within the Response cells. The Government will not accept this information as supplemental attachments. | |||||
| 75 | RFI Attachment 1, General | Contract | Will the government accept an “N/A” as an acceptable response for questions that the contractor may not have experience supporting? | Please see response to question #25. | |
| 76 | RFI Attachment 1, General | Contract | Can a prime bidder also be part of one or more small business teams? | Please see response to questions #8, 10, and 31. | |
| 77 | RFI Attachment 1, General | Contract | To efficiently use the character counts for question responses, will the Government allow an additional tab/worksheet in the RFI_Response_Template Excel file for an Acronym List with no spellout of the acronym within the response? | No, the Government will not include an additional tab/worksheet for an acronym list. | |
| 78 | RFI Attachment 1, General | Contract | Regarding maximum response length character counts for questions in Attachment 1, do the maximum lengths include non-printing characters, such as spaces, returns, tabs, etc.? If the character count does include spaces, would the government consider increasing the number of characters to allow contractors to submit more complete responses to the questions? | Yes, the character count includes non-printing characters. | |
| 79 | RFI Attachment 1, Corporate Profile Tab | Contract | The table states that "The current Small Business dollar threshold for NAICS Code 541512 is $27.5M in average annual receipts." This is incorrect. Per Federal Register notice 84 FR 34261 published 7/18/19, SBA has adjusted size standards in line with inflation. Table 1 of the notice shows that size standards of $27.5m are adjusted to $30.0m, effective 19 August 2019. In addition, the Small Business Runway Extension Act of 2019 changed the calculation of annual average receipts for all receipts-based size standards for service-industry firms from a 3-year averaging period to a 5-year averaging period. Consequently, please confirm that the size standard for NAICS 541512 stated in Table 8.1 of the Draft RFP should be $30m, calculated based on a 5-year averaging period. | The USPTO concurs with the assertion that the $27.5M threshold should be increased to $30.0M due to recent size standard adjustments. |
| Regarding the calculation of annual average receipts, the USPTO defers to the Small Business Administration's interpretation of the Small Business Act, particularly with regard to its role in the establishment, amendment, and interpretation of small business size standards. | Attachment 1 – RFI Response Template, Corporate profile tab updated accordingly. | ||||
| 80 | RFI Attachment 1 - Corporate Profile Tab | Contract | If we are a team of multiple small companies that satisfy the requirements of this RFI and need the collective past performance to answer all the questions in the RFI, how should we indicate that arrangement in the Corporate Profile (In the Response Template)? Should we simply list the company that will act as the Prime in the Corporate Profile? | Please see responses to questions #22 and 50. | |
| 81 | RFI Attachment 1 - Corporate Profile Tab | Contract | Could the Government provide any clarification regarding Subcontractor/teaming partner information in Attachment 1 - RFI Response Template? Are subcontractors and Prime contractors required to fill out the "Corporate Profile" tab, and if so, do we create a separate entry for each company answering the following for each corporation?: Company Name & Address | DUNS Number | Current Business Size Status Under NAICS 541512 ($27.5M) | Anticipated Business Size Status on 2/15/2020 | Company Point of Contact. | Please see responses to questions #22 and 50. |
| The information completed in the Corporate Profile need not include planned subcontractor information. The Corporate Profile only needs to contain information regarding the planned prime company or planned prime contractor teaming agreement. | Attachment 1 – RFI Response Template, Corporate profile tab updated accordingly. | |||||
| 82 | RFI Attachment 1 - Corporate Profile Tab | Contract | If allowed to include information from Teaming Partners in Attachment 1 – RFI Response Template, would the Government allow Contractors to eliminate a Teaming Partner listed in the RFI Response Template once the Government transitions from the RFI to the RFP stage should the Contractor identify a superior Teaming Partner in the later RFP stage? | Please see response to question #16. | ||
| 83 | RFI Attachment 1 - Corporate Profile Tab | Contract | Could the Government clarify if a Contractor can submit a proposal as a Prime under the small business pool and also join as a Subcontractor to a Large Prime under the Large Business pool? | Please see response to question #8. | ||
| 84 | RFI Attachment 1, Corporate Profile Tab | Contract | If a company is submitting as a Mentor-Protégé, should both Mentor-Protégé team members provide company information (e.g., name, address, DUNS, POC, etc.). | If a prime contractor teaming agreement is utilized, the Corporate Profile tab shall include company information (e.g., name, address, DUNS, POC, etc.) for all team members. | Attachment 1 – RFI Response Template, Corporate profile tab updated accordingly. | |
| 85 | RFI Attachment 1, Corporate Profile Tab | Contract | There is no section to provide the company profile, relevant experiences of teaming partners can this be added to the Corporate profile section? | Please see response to question #22. | ||
| 86 | RFI Attachment 1, Corporate Profile Tab | Contract | Please clarify in which section of the excel response should the vendor be identifying JV partner companies as well their teaming partners. | Please see responses to questions #49 and 50. | ||
| 87 | RFI Attachment 1, Question 3 | Contract | For Question 3: Please confirm the limit is 1400 characters for each of the three challenges (4200 total). |
For Question 4: Please Confirm the limit is 1750 characters for each of the 2 examples (3500 total) For Question 5: Please confirm the limit is 1400 characters for each of the 2 examples (2800 total) For Question 6: Please confirm the limit is 1400 characters for each of the three challenges (4200 total) For Question 7: Please confirm the limit is 1400 characters for each of the three challenges (4200 total) For Question 10: Please confirm the limit is 1750 for each of the two examples (3500 total) For Question #1: The limit is increasing from 1,750 to 3,500 characters.
For Question #2: The limit is increasing from 1,750 to 3,500 characters.
For Question #3: The limit is increasing from 1,400 to 2,100 characters for each of the 3 challenges.
For Question #4: The limit is increasing from 1,750 to 2,100 characters for each of the 2 challenges.
For Question #5: The limit is increasing from 1,400 to 2,100 characters for each of the 2 examples.
For Question #6: The limit is increasing from 1,400 to 2,100 characters for each of the three challenges.
For Question #7: The limit is increasing from 1,400 to 2,100 characters for each of the three challenges.
For Question #9: The limit is increasing from 3,500 to 5,000 characters.
For Question #10: The limit is increasing from 1,750 2,100 for each of the two examples.
For Question #11: The limit is increasing from 3,500 to 5,000 characters.
| For questions #3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 10, the character limit is not shared amongst each challenge/example. That is, using less characters in challenge 1 will not increase the available character limit in challenges 2 and 3. | Attachment 1 – RFI Response Template, revised accordingly. | |||||
| 88 | RFI Attachment 1, Questions 5 and 10 | Contract | The response template is locked and prevents the responder from scrolling down. USPTO is seeking multiple examples in some of the questions. For questions 5 and 10, can the USPTO change the worksheet lock setting so the responder can scroll down to the field for the second example (like response sheet for Question 6)? | Respondents can now scroll down for all questions in Attachment 1 – RFI Response Template. | Attachment 1 – RFI Response Template, revised accordingly. | |
| 89 | RFI Attachment 1, Questions 5 and 10 | Contract | Questions 8, 9 and 10 also ask for the Point of Contact information from corresponding customer organizations cited in the response. There is not a separate field for the POC information in the response form. Does this mean that the POC information counts toward the character count? | Please see response to question #57. | Attachment 1 – RFI Response Template, revised accordingly. | |
| 90 | RFI Attachment 1, Question 8 and 10 | Contract | How many references/points of contacts does the government require for human centric design. | Question #8 requires one point of contact. Question #10 requires one point of contact for each example. | ||
| 91 | RFI Attachment 1, Question 8 | Contract | Can all or some points of contact/references for human centric design come from USPTO? | Yes, all or some points of contact/references for human centric design may come from USPTO. | ||
| 92 | RFI Attachment 1, Question 8 and Question 10 | Contract | Can the word counts for points of contact/references also be included in the word for the question? | Please see response to question #57. | Attachment 1 – RFI Response Template, revised accordingly. | |
| 93 | Contract | In response to Question 9, will the Government be willing to the remove "point of contact information from corresponding customer organizations" from the 3,500 character response limit? | Please see response to question #57. |
&P
RFI Technical
| Question # | Reference | Question Category (Technical) | Question | Answer | RFI Revision (if applicable) |
| 1 | RFI - General | Technical | What tools is USPTO using to automate today? | Please see RFI Attachment 3, Draft Performance Work Statement, Section 5, page 14. Table at the bottom of the page lists USPTO's existing solutions and automation tools. | |
| 2 | RFI - General | Technical | Will the government require vendors to hold a CMMI or ISO certification in order to qualify for BOSS? | At this time, USPTO will not require vendors to hold a CMMI or ISO certification in order to qualify for BOSS. | |
| 3 | RFI - General | Technical | Can questions be answered hypothetically? If allowed, will the response receive a lower evaluation score? | Scenario-based questions (i.e. RFI questions #1 and 2) may be answered hypothetically. | |
| 4 | RFI - General | Technical | Are you anticipating BOSS projects to be developed and deployed in a Cloud Environment? | USPTO intends to develop and deploy BOSS solutions in a hybrid cloud environment; however, that determination will be made at the task order level. | |
| 5 | RFI - General | Technical | Is there a specific Agile methodology (Scrum, Kanban, XP, sAFE, etc.) that the Agile team is utilizing? | Per RFI Attachment 3, Section 1.5: |
"Methodologies: In recent years, USPTO and its Contractor support have leveraged multiple methodologies to deliver required support (e.g., DevOps, Agile, User Centered Design, Scrum, Kanban, Scrumban, etc.). USPTO anticipates the continued use of these methodologies as well as evolving best practices and Contractor recommended innovative solutions to best meet USPTO’s needs including individual Contractor code check-in source control, automated builds and test, and reporting metrics by individual Contractor as well as at a Contract and Task Order Level."
| 6 | RFI Attachment 1, Question 1 | Technical | Is there historical metrics/ data related to velocity available or that is referenced? | The lack of technical details in this question(s) is deliberate. USPTO will not provide additional details at this time. If necessary, respondents may include within their responses any assumptions upon which their responses are based. | |
| 7 | RFI Attachment 1, Question 1 | Technical | How is it determined that the team is not on track to complete work items in the product backlog? | The lack of technical details in this question(s) is deliberate. USPTO will not provide additional details at this time. If necessary, respondents may include within their responses any assumptions upon which their responses are based. | |
| 8 | RFI Attachment 1, Question 1 | Technical | Is velocity being measured at the product level or sprint level? | The lack of technical details in this question(s) is deliberate. USPTO will not provide additional details at this time. If necessary, respondents may include within their responses any assumptions upon which their responses are based. | |
| 9 | RFI Attachment 1, Question 1 | Technical | This scenario states "...not on track to complete all high priority work items in the product backlog." What amount of work and timeline is this scenario presenting. For example, are there 10 user stories that need to be completed for the next release that is not on track to complete? Please provide more specificity about the challenges the team is currently facing. | The lack of technical details in this question(s) is deliberate. USPTO will not provide additional details at this time. If necessary, respondents may include within their responses any assumptions upon which their responses are based. | |
| 10 | RFI Attachment 1, Question 1 | Technical | Please provide information on whether the team is running into issues completing user stories because lack of a necessary skill on the team? Did the team have a say in the deadlines set forth? | The lack of technical details in this question(s) is deliberate. USPTO will not provide additional details at this time. If necessary, respondents may include within their responses any assumptions upon which their responses are based. | |
| 11 | RFI Attachment 1, Question 1 | Technical | Regarding the orientation for answering question in Attachment 1, does USPTO currently use specific Scrum-extension techniques, such as the scaled-agile framework (SAFe) or Disciplined Agile Delivery (DaD), or Large Scale Scrum (LeSS)? | The lack of technical details in this question(s) is deliberate. USPTO will not provide additional details at this time. If necessary, respondents may include within their responses any assumptions upon which their responses are based. | |
| 12 | RFI Attachment 1, Question 1 | Technical | How is velocity measure here - number or tasks or story points or others? | The lack of technical details in this question(s) is deliberate. USPTO will not provide additional details at this time. If necessary, respondents may include within their responses any assumptions upon which their responses are based. | |
| 13 | RFI Attachment 1, Question 1 | Technical | What is the size of each task? Are they same? | The lack of technical details in this question(s) is deliberate. USPTO will not provide additional details at this time. If necessary, respondents may include within their responses any assumptions upon which their responses are based. | |
| 14 | RFI Attachment 1, Question 1 | Technical | The question states "June believes the team is insufficiently staffed and plans to address this problem by replacing Agile team members with individuals with more experience/skills (e.g. substitute a mid-level developer for a senior developer)." Can you please confirm that June wishes to increase team velocity by replacing a senior developer with a mid-level developer, or is there a transposition in the latter part of the referenced text? | RFI Attachment 1, Question #1 revised to clarify that June plans to address the issue "by replacing Agile team members with individuals with more experience/skills (e.g. remove a mid-level developer and replace with a senior developer)" | Attachment 1 – RFI Response Template, revised accordingly. |
| 15 | RFI Attachment 1, Question 1 | Technical | Question No. 1 of the RFI asks Offerors several questions regarding their solution for an "Agile team with a low velocity" that is "not on track to complete all high priority work items in the product backlog." |
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