EXCERPT - Performance Work Statement (PWS) for the

Air Force Enterprise Operations Support (AEROS) Effort

Note: This is an Excerpt from a Draft AEROS Performance Work Statement (PWS) and does not necessarily reflect the Final Performance Work Statement (PWS) that will be provided for the

Request for Quote/Proposal (RFQ/P) or that will go on contract.

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 General

This Performance Work Statement (PWS) outlines the requirements for Air Force

Enterprise Operations Support (AEROS) services and technical operations support desk services for the existing legacy system portfolio applications and the modernized system portfolio applications. The Contractor shall provide comprehensive functional and technical operations support of critical command and control (C2) capabilities within a government-provided environment.

The primary characteristic defining the operational environment is its 24/7/365 Global

Tempo. Because Command and theater operations never cease, these applications are under constant load. This load originates not only from the centralized Primary

Operations Center, but also from the highly decentralized Regional Operations Divisions embedded within geographic Air Operations Centers (AOCs) worldwide, alongside en-route hubs and aircrews. This distributed user base dictates that the vendor support model must be capable of supporting both centralized global strategic planning and decentralized, theater-specific tactical execution across all time zones.

This widespread usage is coupled with a High Consequence of Error. System failure or data inaccuracy can lead to severe operational disruptions and mission delays.

Consequently, the Operations Support Desk (OSD) must be proficient in high-severity triage and immediate escalation protocols that account for both global and regional mission priorities. Systems are deployed across both Unclassified and Classified networks to handle various mission classifications, requiring all vendor support personnel to maintain active required clearance level and access to secure facilities. The landscape is further complicated by Legacy and Modern Architectures, which blend modernized, cloud-native services with specialized Government-Off-The-Shelf (GOTS) software. A successful vendor must implement robust training pipelines to ensure their staff remains proficient in these unique interfaces.

Furthermore, the applications supporting Rapid Global Mobility (RGM) operations exhibit deep interdependence, acting as a unified ecosystem. To manage this effectively across both the Primary Operations Center and Regional Operations Divisions, the support desk requires functional complexity support. The Contractor must provide

Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) who understand not just the software, but the operational intent behind the tasks. These SMEs must grasp the distinct nuances between enterprise-level global management and the rapid, theater-specific agility required by personnel coordinating intra-theater operations.

1.2 Scope and Shared Responsibility Model

The Contractor shall provide 24/7/365 support focused on the System Portfolio applications, all supporting environment components, and the mission partner data feeds that are critical to the operational capabilities within the System Portfolio architecture.

This PWS is built upon the Shared Responsibility Model inherent in Platform as a Service

(PaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS):

1.2.1 The Environment Provider Contractor (e.g. Approved Cloud Provider) is responsible for the security of the operations environment, including the physical data centers, hardware, networking, and the underlying managed IaaS and PaaS services (e.g., database platforms, container orchestrators).

1.2.2 Software Developer Contractors are responsible for the development of the

System Portfolio applications, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), and the Pipelines that will deploy the software in the Test & Production accounts. The software developers will execute pipelines in all environments.

1.2.3 The OSD Contractor, which is the subject of this PWS, is responsible for providing functional and technical operational services for the System Portfolio applications in all Production environments (Impact Level 5 & 6). The

Contractor will provide functional SMEs to interact with the System Portfolio application users world-wide to resolve functional issues in an expedite manner.

The Contractor shall provide technical SMEs that will monitor the System

Portfolio applications and supporting environment components in all production environments. Technical SMEs will be familiar with all aspects of the System

Portfolio architecture and the mission partner interfaces.

2. PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS

2.1 General Requirements

The Contractor shall maintain and update Support Desk Standard Operating Procedures

(SOP) to reflect environment-native processes and triage responsibilities (CDRL A025).

2.1.1 The Contractor shall support the migration and continuous modernization of systems supporting the capabilities within the government provided environment.

2.1.2 The Contractor shall utilize procedures provided by the application developers to monitor, troubleshoot, and sustain the operational System Portfolio applications.

2.1.3 The Contractor shall establish and sustain a 24/7/365 Support Desk at designated

Government facility that provides functional and technical operations support services for the System Portfolio applications. The Support Desk shall be staffed with both functional and technical SMEs that are able to support the complex

System Portfolio applications and the interaction with mission partners.

2.2 Functional Support Desk (FSD) Services

2.2.1 All personnel assigned to Operations Desk roles are considered Mission

Essential. Contractor personnel are required to accomplish tasks designated as

Mission Essential Personnel shall report to assigned work locations and perform required tasks, regardless of weather or security conditions.

2.2.2 Provide 24x7x365 functional support to end-users, as SMEs assistance on program specific application functionality, operational issues related to user inputs/outputs and provide guidance on recommended usage of the System

Portfolio applications.

2.2.3 Serve as a central point of contact (PoC) for application or functional problems and coordinate issues with the applicable program management office (PMO), Software Sustainment team, and technical support desk PoCs.

2.2.4 Create, update, and maintain FSD procedures that standardize support desk actions and enable staff to quickly identify and resolve functional user problems and questions.

2.2.5 Remain current with system, application, and operational functions to provide the MAF C2 user community SME support for their application issues or questions.

2.2.6 Perform monitoring and management of classified and unclassified communication services writes and reads with microservices; includes Web

Application monitoring and management of communication services Inbound

Processing, communication services Outbound Processing, Mission Conflicts, and communication services Object Hydration.

2.2.7 Perform operational validation of System Portfolio applications after the software developer deploys new capabilities.

2.2.8 Assist in the operational validation of application updates, enhancements, and changes for the purpose of assisting in ensuring that assigned applications and related systems function appropriately.

2.2.9 Perform data testing to ensure the data population process and programming logic are accurate and in accordance with Government-approved specification, to include validating data is replicated across data stores and/or caches as designed

2.2.10 Fully implement automated testing possible utilizing Government-approved automated testing tools to verify that the software meets test pass/fail criteria for each requirement as directed by the Government.

2.2.11 Provide Operational Test Plans, Operational Test Cases, and Operational Test

Results for each software release in accordance with requirements.

2.2.12 Support Government Acceptance Testing, interoperability testing, collaborative testing, and customer testing as directed by the Government.

2.2.13 Enter test defects into the Government-approved test defect tracking tool.

2.2.14 Participating in Government test-related meetings as requested

2.2.15 Have qualified support staff knowledgeable in all technical and functional aspects of System Portfolio and infrastructure on-call and available with access to the environments (e.g., connectivity, accounts) within 30 minutes of initial contact for the Production environments.

2.2.16 Provide functional area subject matter expert advice to end users on the use of the MAF C2 Software.

2.2.17 Document and submit trouble tickets using ticket system and recommend change requests for recurring issues.

2.2.18 Correct and validate defective or missing database entries in security-related tables, when specified in open trouble tickets. All changes must be coordinated with the MAF C2 development team and documented using the approved MAF

C2 change processes

2.2.19 Platform Support (Environment Provider Responsibility): For issues identified as residing with the underlying Environment platform, the Contractor's responsibility is to log a support ticket with the Environment provider, provide all necessary technical details, and actively manage that ticket through to resolution, keeping government stakeholders informed.

2.3 Trouble Ticket Management (Tiered SLAs)

2.3.1 Answer users’ calls and create, assign priority, update, and track trouble tickets;

include user information such as trouble ticket number, date and time received, user and/or system problem, corrective action, date and time resolved, username, and date and time notified.

2.3.2 Trouble Tickets are worked, coordinated (when required), and recorded from the time they are received during any 24/7 shift. Trouble tickets are worked according to priority: Critical, High, Medium, or Low.

2.3.2.1 Critical tickets are worked 24/7 until resolved or a Functional

Manager (FM) approved workaround has been implemented. For critical tickets, a conference call will be initiated by the System

Manager (SM) and remain in progress throughout the outage to facilitate troubleshooting and resolution activities.

2.3.2.2 High priority tickets are worked 24/7 until resolved. Workarounds will be coordinated with the SM and PMO. For high priority tickets

FSD technicians will provide hourly updates in the ticket.

2.3.2.3 Medium priority tickets are worked during duty hours and FSD technicians will provide daily updates in the ticket.

2.3.2.4 Low priority tickets are worked during duty hours and FSD technicians will provide updates in the ticket every 7 calendar days.

2.3.3 For Application-Level Issues: Achieve First Call Resolution (FCR) for at least

80% of simple, documented issues. For all other application-level issues, provide a resolution or mitigation within 4 hours for Critical tickets and 8 hours for High priority tickets.

2.3.4 Account Management

2.3.4.1 The Contractor shall provide account management services executed via modern, government-approved Identity and Access

Management (IAM) tools and processes.

2.3.5 Maintain the System Application Unit Program Account Manager (UPAM) appointment letters and add/remove privileges as appropriate.

2.3.6 Perform account validation processes as required by Risk Management

Framework (RMF).

2.4 Technical Support Desk (TSD) Services

2.4.1 Personnel Requirements & Certifications

2.4.1.1 All personnel assigned to technical support desk roles are considered Mission Essential.

2.4.1.2 Provide 24x7x365 technical support, as technical SMEs provide monitoring and initial troubleshooting and triage support for operational issues related to the System Portfolio applications and the supporting Environment services.

2.4.1.3 Technical support desk personnel shall possess relevant, current

DODD 8140.01 compliant certifications (e.g., Sec+) and maintain

IAT Level II certification.

2.4.2 Application & Data Platform Management

The Contractor shall monitor the operational System Portfolio applications and all related Environment services (e.g. EC2, RDS, Containers) required for the functionality of the MAFC2 applications.

2.4.3 Observability and Monitoring

2.4.3.1 Utilize developer provided monitoring plan and real-time dashboards reflecting the health of the applications and all mission data feeds.

2.4.3.2 Monitor Production System Portfolio applications and supporting

Environment services (e.g. EC2s, Containers, RDS, Loadbalancers) using Environment tools (e.g., Cloud Monitoring Tools) 24/7/365 that support the Production environments and user applications.

2.4.3.3 Monitor Production systems and platforms 24/7/365 for database availability, database replication currency, and database systems serviceability.

2.4.3.4 Utilize developer provided SOPs when responding to alerts, troubleshooting the issue and applying recommended actions to resolve the issue

2.4.3.5 Respond to all monitoring alerts, outages, user requests, and maintenance actions and ensure they are documented in the ticket system.

2.4.3.6 Track and monitor all identified issues, customer support requests, and troubleshooting and resolution actions in the ticket system.

2.4.3.7 Provide Quality Control to final trouble ticket to ensure accurate information regarding original issue, issue origin, and mitigation/resolution steps.

2.4.3.8 Collate and document the necessary information (problem, troubleshooting steps taken, stakeholders coordinated with etc.) for creating requests for higher-level technical support.

2.4.3.9 Coordinate and track which site is the primary and which site is the backup for each Production system, users, and interface partners.

2.4.3.10 Coordinate and move users and interface partners from primary site to a backup site utilizing the Program’s procedures and processes.

2.4.3.11 Assist in the operational validation of application updates, enhancements, and changes for the purpose of assisting in ensuring that assigned applications and related systems function appropriately and meet configuration baseline and database software requirements.

2.4.3.12 Perform technical validation post software and/or hardware fielding to ensure that all applicable systems, applications, and services are available, and the systems are now ready for users and interfaces.

2.4.3.13 Coordinate all scheduled maintenance outages with appropriate agencies.

2.4.3.14 Coordinate and communicate with System Manager and impacted constituencies for activities (e.g. System maintenance and other situations where System degradation and/or outage may occur) to facilitate Authorized Service Interruption (ASI) scheduling.

2.4.3.15 Perform backup operations, in accordance with government direction using developer provided standard operating procedures.

2.4.3.16 Notify designated government personnel upon receipt of or escalation of Operational Reportable (OR) ticket being designated in the ticket system.

2.4.3.17 Work tickets within the following timelines & guidelines:

2.4.3.17.1 Low tickets will be updated within 7 days of the last update until closure.

2.4.3.17.2 Medium tickets will be updated within 3 days of the last update until closure.

2.4.3.17.3 High tickets will be worked 24/7 until closure and will be updated hourly. Workaround will be coordinated with the System Manager (SM) and the Program

Manager (PM).

2.4.3.17.4 **High Priority tickets are worked 24/7 until resolved.

Workarounds will be coordinated with the SM and PM.

Technicians will provide hourly status updates in current ticket system.

2.4.3.17.5 OR tickets will include OR start time and be updated hourly until closure, or until ticket is downgraded in accordance with SOP.

For issues identified as residing with the underlying

Environment platform, log the support ticket with the

Environment provider, provide all necessary technical details, and actively manage that ticket through to resolution, keeping government stakeholders informed.