FAD-T_Questions_and_Answers_FINAL.doc

1. Company is interested in pursuing the USDA FSA Application Delivery (FAD) (Reference Number: AG3151S130001) opportunity. Will there be awards to both SB and F&O for this BPA? Or is it only intended to be a F&O procurement? Is there an anticipated/estimated RFP release date for this? This question is not related to FAD Testing and will not be answered.

2. In the PreSolicitation Notice there is a statement about conflicts regarding how many of the three solicitations a company can bid on. Does that mean that a company can only respond to one of the Solicitations as a prime? The conflict referenced in the PreSolicitation is inherent in the work to be performed. Therefore, should your company be awarded a contract, either as a Prime contractor or a Subcontractor, for this FAD Testing Solicitation, your company may not be awarded a contract, either as a Prime or Subcontractor for the Development or IV&V Solicitations. An offeror can bid any and all of these solicitations; however, an offeror can only win one of the three.

3. Or can a company be a subcontractor on a team for multiple opportunities? See response to question 2.

4. There is much confusion among the supplier community regarding the following statement in the subject Pre-Solicitation Notice:

"Potential Offerors may only submit a proposal for one of these Solicitations due to the inherent conflicts in this type of work. Should more than one proposal be received, the Government will reject all proposals received from that Offeror."

The question that we have is as follows:

Does this language refer to prime Offerors only and can firms be subcontractors on multiple proposals, or does it cover all relationships and limit any one firm to being a part of only one proposal? See response to question 2.

5. We would appreciate it if you would provide the answers to the following questions for each of the three solicitations: One questions for FAD Testing are being addressed at this time.

Release Date: Released.

Estimated Value: In Solicitation Contract Vehicle: In Solicitation NAICS Code: In Solicitation Small Business Size Standard: In Solicitation Program Office Visitation Opportunities: None Industry Day Date: None

6. Finally, some of the wording in Amendment 001 concerned me and I would appreciate a clarification: “Posting of the Request for Proposals for TESTING – FSA APPLICATION DELIVERY (T-FAD) – AG-3151-S-13-0002 has been rescheduled for on or about February 01, 2013.” I don’t recall reading in the Solicitation Notice that AG-3151-S-13-0002 had been scheduled, so for it to be “rescheduled” is confusing. Solicitation has been released.

7. Does submitting a quote on this RFQ for testing services preclude a company from submitting a quote for application development? Do you have a timeframe for when the FAD application development RFQ will be released? Request a response to these soonest as they will directly impact our bid/no-bid decision. See response to question 2.

8. Ma’am: Reference the FSA Application Delivery - Testing Solicitation: AG-3151-S-13-0002. Is a company only allowed to bid on one of the FAST opportunities (are we OCI’d out of bidding on the Applications Development piece)? See response to question 2.

9. Does the upcoming solicitation for IV&V in support of FSA Application Delivery have an incumbent? This question is not related to FAD Testing and will not be answered here.

10. Is this in any way related to the current USDA FSA IV&V BPA held by Capgemini and Compass Systems Consulting? There is some overlap between this BPA and the Solicitation.

11. We were wondering if this is sole source contract or can a firm submit proposals for certain roles? This is a single award contract. Teaming and Joint Venturing is encouraged.

12. I have two related questions:

Is any firm that bids on t-FAD as a prime offerer eliminated from bidding on the future FAD solicitation as a subcontractor to another prime offeror? See response to question 2.

If a firm that bids on t-FAD as a prime offerer is not awarded t-FAD, are they eliminated from bidding on the future FAD solicitation as a subcontractor to another prime offeror? See response to question 2.

13. Given that there is an existing, competitively procured Blanket Purchase Agreement (GSQFOBBPA‐10‐0003), has the government considered whether the existing BPA could be used to support FSA’s current Testing and IV&V needs? Yes.

14. Referring to Sec. H.5.1 (pg. 31), the solicitation states that the offeror selected for contract award (1) does not obtain any unfair competitive advantage over other parties by virtue of prior performance of this contract and (2) that the selection of the contractor is not biased because of its current and planned interest (financial, contractual, or otherwise) which relates to the work under this contract.

Does the “Conflict of Interest” clause in Section H.5.1 preclude any offeror or teammates of that offeror from bidding on subsequent solicitations related to FSA’s Application Delivery? Yes, if the offeror is awarded the FAD Testing contract.

15. We understand that we can bid on only one solicitation among the 3 anticipated.

Since the testing RFP came out first, we have the following questions:

Would the application delivery AG-3151-S-13-0001 be exclusive to large businesses or open to everyone ? Can a small business bid on AG-3151-S-13-0001? This Solicitation is not available for questions at this time. Please keep an eye on the FEDBIZOPPS pre-solicitation notice for information related to this Solicitation.

16. At this time we understand that the exclusion of a bidder of one RFP from the other RFPs in FSA Application Delivery, is still in effect. Please clarify if we are correct in this understanding. See response to question 2.

17. Does the participation of a small business as a subcontractor on one RFP, automatically disqualify them from participating in the other RFP ? Would such participation be considered an irresponsible act and would we be considered in violation of the spirit of the government's vision? See response to question 2.

18. We would like to know if it is possible to be a subcontractor to an eligible prime on T-FAD and be a prime contractor on FAD, assuming we implement appropriate firewalls between any T-FAD and FAD work? See response to question 2.

19. We would like to know if it is possible to be a subcontractor to an eligible prime on I-FAD and be a prime contractor on FAD, assuming we implement appropriate firewalls between any I-FAD and FAD work? See response to question 2.

20. We would like to know if it is possible to be a subcontractor to an eligible prime(s) on I-FAD and T-FAD and be a prime contractor on FAD, assuming we implement appropriate firewalls between any I-FAD, T-FAD, and FAD work? See response to question 2.

21. Can you please confirm that there will be no OCI issue between the T-FAD and the FAD. See response to question 2.

22. Please let us know the list of incumbents. AceInfo Solutions (Prime)/CRGT (Sub), Total Solutions, Milvets

23. Let us know the incumbent contract number and the contract value details. AG-645S-D-08-0059, AG-645S-C-09-0009, AG-645S-D-09-0024

24. Will this be a single or multiple awards? This will be a Single award. Single Award.

25. If multiple awards, let us know the expected number of awards?

26. We are a small business IT firm. We are planning to bid on the AG-3151-S-13-0001 - FSA Application Delivery solicitation as a subcontractor to another prime. Can we bid on this opportunity (AG-3151-S-13-0002 – Testing - FSA Application Delivery as a prime? See response to question 2.

27. A few questions:

How many awards are you planning to make? One Will all awards be awarded to Small Businesses? This is a small business set aside.

Are there any incumbents currently doing this work? See question 22.

Will there be a industry day or a onsite visit opportunity before the proposal due date? No.

28. According to the Pre-Solicitation Notice (pg. 1), "Potential Offerors may only submit a proposal for one of these Solicitations due to the inherent conflicts in this type of work. Should more than one proposal be received, the Government will reject all proposals received from that Offeror." Does this limit apply to offerors as both prime and subcontractor, or does this limit only apply to offerers that are the prime contractor? In other words, will we be able to submit a proposal for the T-FAD contract as the prime contractor and then submit a proposal for the FAD contract as a subcontractor? See response to question 2.

29. Can a Small Business be awarded the FAD-T (or FAD-I) contract and also be a team member on FAD? See response to question 2.

30. ATTACHMENT 3 - PAST PERFORMANCE EVALUATION SURVEY Is it possible to get this document in a word.doc form? That would be greatly appreciated. Yes, see attached word document.

31. If a large business decides to join Team (as a subcontractor) in providing a proposal to this solicitation, will it preclude the same large business in providing a proposal (as a prime) in the FSA Application Delivery (Solicitation AG-3151-S-13-0001)? See response to question 2.

32. We have the following questions about the RFP that is listed in the subject above. If you could please provide this information, that would be greatly appreciated:

Who is incumbent on this project? Are they eligible to bid on this project? See response to question 22 Can you give us a breakdown on the current pricing used on this project? Current pricing is unrelated.

Is there a known or projected break-down of resources that will be deployed between DC, Kansas City and Salt Lake City? The work location will be stated in each subsequent Task Order. It is anticipated that all work for the initial Task Order will be in Kansas City.

33. We respectfully request that the Government please provide an MS Word file of the Past Performance Evaluation Survey for solicitation AG-3151-S-13-0002. This file format would greatly facilitate the PPES responses from our client counterparts. Please see response to question 30.

34. Does the USDA anticipate a single or multiple award IDIQ from this procurement? Single award.

35. Section L.2.1 calls out an IDIQ Technical Volume, however it is not mentioned in Section L.2.3 or in Section M. Is there an IDIQ Technical Volume requirement and if so can the government provide instructions/requirements for this volume? Section L.2.1 should not reference an IDIQ Technical Volume. This has been amended and revised solicitation is attached.

36. Section L.2.1. does not specify a IDIQ Past Performance Volume, however, it is listed in Section L.2.3 and as an evaluation factor in Section M. Please confirm the requirement of an IDIQ Past Performance volume. Section L.2.1 should include reference to an IDIQ Past Performance Volume. This has been amended and revised solicitation is attached.

37. Can USDA provide Attachment 3 (Past Performance Evaluation Survey) in a Word format so we can easily insert required information? See response to question 30.

38. Can USDA provide Attachment 6 (Resume format) as a Word document so we can easily insert in the required information? Yes, see attached word document

39. Does USDA expect to receive completed (hardcopy) of the Reps & Certs (section K) or will reference to completed Reps & Certs residing in ORCA suffice? If actual hardcopies of the Section K documents are required, will they count in the overall 150 page count? And what volume should they be included in? Only the reps and certs not covered in ORCA should be submitted.

40. Does the USDA expect to see a draft of the Quality Control Plan? Yes. Can that be an appendix and will it be included in the overall 150 page count? No, but the Government will amend the overall page count to 200.

41. Please confirm that the Executive Summary will not be evaluated. Confirmed.

42. Can the Executive Summary be combined (and properly tabbed) with another volume to save costs on binders and shipping? Yes, this can be combined with Technical.

43. Does the govt have any other pricing instructions for the IDIQ other than complete Section B? How will price realism/reasonableness be evaluated with the requirement to complete Section B? No. Comparison of Rates.

44. What (if any) requirements/instructions can the government provide regarding subcontractor pricing? No additional information is to be provided.

45. Section M.1, Task Order Technical, p. 160 requests Relevant Experience for subfactors a – j to provide evidence of experience providing these services. However, the wording on several subfactors (a, f, g, and h) seems to request information specific to the approach for this TCO task order. Subfactor j appears to be a statement of how the government will evaluate the proposal rather than an experience question. Overall, the subfactors seem to request a mixture of experience and approach. Can the government please clarify this confusion? The technical evaluation will be a hybrid of the ability to meet the performance work statement and relative experience based on the sub-factors outlined.

46. Will the Government please clarify the discrepancy between who is to provide facilities, equipment, material, supplies, etc. for the TO as well as for the IDIQ, either Offeror or Government? There is conflicting guidance contained within the Solicitation. p1 states Govt, p 85 states contractor, and p109 states Govt. The government will provide facilities, equipment, material, supplies, and services for this initial task order. The solicitation shall be amended to reflect this clarification.

47. Will the Government please clarify if they are referring to the same deliverable when they reference the "Quality Control Plan" versus the "Quality Assurance Plan"? p8, C.3.1 vs p160. The Quality Control Plan and Quality Assurance Plan are the same. The solicitation has been amended to reflect Quality Assurance Plan.

48. Will the Government please provide a Word document format for Attachment 3, the Past Performance Evaluation Survey? See response to question 3.

49. Page: 1 & 150 -Section: B.1 & L.1.1 Is the IDIQ solicitation for IT testing services intended to be a single-award? Yes.

50. Page: 1 - Section: B2 Does the government intend to provide a spreadsheet template for the labor category pricing to define government-site and contractor-site CLINs across all periods of performance that will be specific to the geographic locations referenced in Section F.2 Place(s) of Performance on page 14? Section B of the IDIQ will be amended to allow for 3 separate rate table specific to each potential Task Order Location.

Note: Pricing for a single labor category like Program Manager, Entry-Level across 4 geographies for all periods of performance would yield 40 prices if government site and contractor site pricing is required. Please confirm this is the pricing methodology the government requires or clarify otherwise. Section B of the IDIQ will be amended to allow for 3 separate rate table specific to each potential Task Order Location.

51. Page: 24 - Section: H.3.2

Please clarify how ‘…the contractor will be held responsible for all related costs associated with processing the application(s).’ Please quantify the referenced costs. Please also specify how the contractor will be invoiced and how payment must occur if it is the government’s intent to pass these costs to the contractor. The process for addressing this cost will be provided upon award. The cost may be estimated as $875, per application.

52. Page: 15, 26 - Section: H.3.2

The section refers to Public Trust Designations and the phrase ‘All positions in this contract are designated as high risk computer-related positions;’ Please clarify if this level of security clearance is required versus the National Agency Check with Inquiries (NACI) security clearance level. The National Agency Check (Moderate Level) is what is required.

53. Page: 29 - Section: H.4.2

Is it the government’s intent to specify IDIQ contract-level Key Personnel before proposals are due to the government? This is not the government’s intent.

54. Page: 31 - Section: H.5 May a small business subcontractor organization team with a large business prime contractor on the “-0001 FAD” solicitation to provide staff augmentation services and may the same small business subcontractor organization propose to be a prime contractor for either the “-0002 T-FAD” or “-0003 I-FAD” solicitation with the clear understanding that each prime contractor would be wholly and individually responsible for fulfilling its prime contractor responsibilities and requirements as specified in the awarded contracts and associated task orders? See response to question 2.

55. Page: 31 - Section: H.5 May a small business subcontractor organization team with a large business prime contractor on the “-0001 FAD” solicitation to provide staff augmentation services and may the same small business subcontractor organization provide staff augmentation services to other small business prime contractors who receive awards for the “-0002 T-FAD” and “-0003 I-FAD” solicitations? See response to question 2.

56. Page: 31 - Section: H.5 May a small business subcontractor organization team with a large business prime contractor on the “-0001 FAD” solicitation to provide staff augmentation services and may the same small business subcontractor organization team and provide staff augmentation services to other small business prime contractors who receive awards for the “-0002 T-FAD” and “-0003 I-FAD” solicitations? See response to question 2.

57. Page: 31 - Section: H.5 May the same small business be a teaming partner (subcontractor) on “-0001 FAD”, and “-0002 T-FAD”, and “-0003 I-FAD”? See response to question 2.

58. Page: 31 - Section: H.5.1 May current incumbent small business prime contractors who are supplying IT Testing services to FSA/TCO bid as prime “-0002 T-FAD” contractors? See response to question 2.

59. Page: 31 - Section: H.5.1 May current incumbent prime contractors who exceed the small business size standard and are supplying IT Testing services to FSA/TCO participate on a “-0002 T-FAD” small business prime contractor team and may they also seek a prime contractor role on the “-0001 FAD solicitation”? See response to question 2.

60. Page: 31 - Section: H.5.1 May current incumbent prime contractors who exceed the small business size standard and are supplying IT development / maintenance services to FSA participate on a “-0002 T-FAD” small business prime contractor team and may they also seek a prime contractor role on the “-0001 FAD solicitation”? See response to question 2.

61. Page: 82 - Section: G.4 May the ‘10th calendar day’ be changed to either the ‘10th business day’ or the‘15th calendar day’ to provide an opportunity to assure end of the month or first of the month holidays and weekends do not unduly cause administrative issues based on how different companies process payrolls and invoices? This change is acceptable. The solicitation has been amended to reflect this the 10th business day.

62. Page: 87 - Section: C.1.3 Is TCO currently employing a Work Item Tracking (WIT) system that will be leveraged by the incoming contractor? No.

If so, what data elements are being tracked and what technology does it employ? If not, must the contractor either procure or develop the WIT system? Contractor is not required to procure and/or develop this system; however, they are required to use a system as furnished by the Government.

63. Page: 98 - Section: C.3.2 (3) May the ‘10th calendar day’ be changed to either the ‘10th business day’ or the15th calendar day’ to provide an opportunity to assure end of the month or first of the month holidays and weekends do not unduly cause administrative issues based on how different companies process payrolls and invoices? See response to question 61.

64. Page: 108 - Section: E.1 Please confirm Transition Plans will be developed on an as-requested basis and will be delivered to the government no later than 90 calendar days prior to the affected task order ending. Accordingly, please confirm there is no requirement to submit a transition plan as a component of this proposal. Confirmed

65. Page: 150 - Section: L.2.1 May Sections I and K, Volume Tables of Contents, and Volume Title Pages be removed from the proposal’s total page count? No, see response to question 40.

66. Page: 150, 1 - Section: L.2.1 and L.2.3 L.2.1 identifies the IDIQ Technical Volume. L.2.3 identifies Volume I Executive Summary and Volume II Past Performance. Are the L.2.3-identified Volumes I and II the component parts of the IDIQ Technical Volume? Please clarify. See answer to question 35 and 36.

67. Page: 159 - Section: M.1 Past Performance The section states: “The references may include State or Federal government customers where the offeror performed within the past 5 years.” May IT Testing services provided to commercial customers in the past 5 years be provided as relevant and qualifying past performance references? Yes.

68. Would government consider selecting multiple vendors for this IDIQ? It appears that most of the work that falls under the scope of this contract is currently being performed by two vendors, and it would be very difficult for other small businesses to compete if the intent is to award to only or two companies. No, but teaming and joint venturing is encouraged.

69. Section M, p. 158 Section M is missing the Evaluation Criteria for the IDIQ Executive Summary Volume. Will the Government please provide the evaluation assessment criteria? The Executive Summary is not evaluated.

70. Section SF1449 Since the RFP release date on the SF 1449 is January 15 and the Solicitation was not released until February 5, will the Government consider postponing the due date to allow more time to prepare responses? Yes, proposals will be due on March 18th. The solicitation has been amended to reflect this revision.

71. Section Attachment 7 Is the current Task Order representative of the size of a typical Task Order under this contract? Each Task Order will vary in size.

72. Section Attach 7, Section C.1.3.2.1, p. 88 The RFP states that the “Contractor will establish and maintain a work item tracking system within the Testing and Certification Office.” Does the Government need a new system or is there a system in place that needs maintenance? If one is in place, will the Government provide the tracking system in use? See response to question 62.

73. Section: Attach 7, Section C.1.3.2.3, p. 89 What tool is currently used to develop and manage estimates for new requirements? A standard tool is not currently used to develop and manage estimates.

74. Will the Government provide a ceiling value for this contract? Ceiling is listed in the Solicitation.

75. Will the Government provided the number of awards it plans to make on this contract? Single award award IDIQ. Multiple Task Orders are anticipated.

76. Will the Government provide the name of the company(ies) who is/are performing these tasks now as the incumbent? See response to question 22.

77. Does the govt expect to see a full fledged transition plan as part of our response? No. It appears there is a contradiction as the RFP states that the transition plan is due 90 before the end of the task order period. See response to question 64.

78. Is pricing exempt from the page count? No. In most cases pricing is performed by other divisions and not all the team is privy to the information nor would we know how long (page count) is until the very last day.

79. Is there an incumbent contractor for this work? If so, please identify. Will they be eligible to respond? See response to question 22.

80. Do you intend to award this IDIQ to only one (1) small business? Yes.

81. RFQ Ref: B1. Schedule of Services… “This is an order under this IDIQ. Except as may be otherwise expressly set forth in that IDIQ, the Contractor shall furnish all personnel, facilities, equipment, material, supplies, and services, in performance of the services specified under this Task Order as well as any additional requirements set forth herein.” Question: Does this mean, the proposed price should be “off-site” (contractor site) including equipment, material, supplies, etc.? The price should be for onsite work. The solicitation has been amended to reflect this clarification.

82. RFQ Ref F.2 – Place of Performance. “The primary place of performance shall be in Government facilities in Kansas City, MO, St. Louis, MO, Salt Lake City, UT, and Washington, D.C. The contractor may perform task related activities at contractor facilities within the local area when required and authorized by the Government at no additional cost to the government. Reimbursement for local travel is not authorized. See individual Tasks orders for more information.” Question: Do we respond to each rate per place of performance as the onsite (government facility) support? See response to question 50.

83. RFQ Ref: H.5.2 SCOPE. Question: Could you please specify what programs / agencies the awarded contractor would be ineligible for? How would this affect current development projects that we currently support (prime / subcontractor) and have access to their data? This is an Agency Wide IDIQ, therefore, there is a potential for testing of development projects under all USDA Agencies. If this creates a conflict of interest for your company, in accordance with FAR 9.5 and Section H.5. of the Solicitation, then your company would not be eligible to receive award.

84. RFQ Ref: C.2.1 Representative list of FSA common capabilities and programs. Question: The data listed under Commodity Capabilities – Domestic (please refer to list below) contains data from other USDA agencies. Based on the RFQ Ref: H.5.2, would the awarded contractor under this RFQ be ineligible for work on these systems using data from other USDA agencies? See response to question 83.

Commodity Capabilities

Domestic

National School Lunch Program (NSLP)

Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACF)

Summer Food Service Program (SFSP)

Nutrition Services Incentive Program (NSIP)

The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP)

Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR)

Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP)

Disaster Feeding Assistance (DF)

85. Is the contractor expected to develop:

Given the scope of testing within TCO encompasses scores of applications, the answers below will vary.

A test strategy or does one exist?

Test plans or do these exist?

If test plans do exist, are they up-to-date or if not, what is the LOE estimated to fix it?

Please provide inventory of all test artifacts --how are the systems documented?

Are the design. documents, requirements up to date?

86. Is there a formal hand-off to Test team? Yes.

87. Will the govt provide access to Business Analysts and Developers including contractors to develop and maintain test plans? Yes,

88. Will the contractor have access to source code? No

89. Can the contractor propose different test tools? Yes

90. Is the contractor responsible for unit testing? No

91. Does the development or O&M team perform formal, documented Unit Testing? Yes Integration Testing? Yes

92. Can we obtain a copy of FSA Architecture? No

93. Does it spell out a testing strategy? No

94. Is there an user acceptance test? Yes, but varies. Who is responsible for coordinating & managing it? The TCO, which may include the contractor.

95. Who is the arbiter for any questions regarding validity of test plan and test outcome? The TCO management. What is the interface with the other parties? The Government does not understand this question.

96. Is the contractor required to deliver a certain percentage of test automation? No Or can the contractor propose 100% manual testing? Yes

97. Are there any SLAs? See the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan.

98. Can the contractor utilize 3rd party or proprietary or cloud based services? No, except as provided by the Government. See response to question 81.

99. Is there an incumbent contractor? Who? Team size? See response to question 22.

100. Section: H.4.2 AGAR 452.237-74 - Key Personnel (FEB 1988) part (a) says: The Contractor shall assign to this contract the following Key Personnel:

TBD

Could the government please determine Key Personnel requirements for this IDIQ. None are require for the IDIQ. They are required in the Task Order.

101. Section H.4.4 Personnel General expertise and experience - Which modules of SAP ERP system is the person expected to be experienced with. ECC, CRM, PI, MDM, BOBJ, BI, Portal

102. Attachment 4 – Please specify the technologies that personnel for the labor categories below are expected to support:

Data Warehousing Specialist: Currently supporting an Oracle platform and tools System Administrator: See Task 7 on page 94 of the solicitation

103. Would the government please consider extending the due date to Tuesday, March 19. See response to question 70.

104. Does the government anticipate a certain amount of travel? Not for the initial Task Order. How many people, how often for what duration. Will this be specified at the task order level? Yes.

105. Will the work location be determined at the task order level? 4 locations are listed with Kansas City, MO listed as the primary location. See response to question 32.

106. Is there a page limit on the resumes?

107. Are table of contents and cover pages for each volume included in the 150 overall page count? See response to question 40.

108. Are reps and certs considered part of the page count? See response to question 40.

109. Per the chart on page 105 for the base year 24 FTE are identified. Will the entire staff work at the Kansas City, MO location? Yes.

110. How many applications are there and what is there release cycle? Application counts and release cycles are fluid based on legislation, technical upgrades and other factors.

111. Is there an incumbent? If yes, please name the incumbent. See response to question 22.

112. Pricing is at the IDIQ level and Task Order Level. Can the government please specify the overall LOE for the IDIQ and the LOE at the Task Order Level. Section D.1 contains an Estimated Staffing Level but does not specify if it is the IDIQ or Task Order Level. The IDIQ is Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity please price in accordance with Section B. The LOE for the Task Order is as set forth in Section B of the Task Order.

113. Is this a multiple IDIQ award or single award. If it is multiple award, how many companies do you envision awarding it to? Single Award.

114. (PWS Section C.5.1, Contract Performance Requirements, Page 101-104) Will the Government elaborate on the specific testing systems utilized in Task Order 1, mentioned in the SDS? See C.2.2 Software and Systems

115. Please apply the same question to the different tasks listed as the Performance Standard in the SDS referenced in the PWS Section C.5.1, Contract Performance Requirements, Pages 101-104. See C.2.2 Software and Systems

116. In section M.1, 52.212-2 -- Evaluation - Commercial Items (Jan 1999) of the PWS, pages 158-159, the IDIQ Past Performance is mentioned. Please see response to question 35 and 26.

117. Is the offeror able to submit a single past performance as an umbrella submission or are the multiple, 3 minimum & 5 maximum, past performances required to be listed individually? Either method of transmission is acceptable.

118. Due to the ambiguity presented within the PWS and referenced by the questions above, will the Government consider an extension for the due date for this response? See response to question 70.

119. The pre-solicitation notice for the three FAD solicitations states that, "Potential Offerors may only submit a proposal for one of these Solicitations..." Is it correct to assume that this statement does not preclude a firm from being the Prime Offeror on one of the three solicitations and a subcontractor on another? See response to question 2.

120. Place of performance – do the contractors need to physically be present at the government offices or can the work be performed remotely? Yes, the contractor must be physically present.

121. Are we required to provide pricing for all Labor Categories, or can we provide a partial quote? All Labor Categories are required.

122. The RFP states that we must provide fully loaded rates – are you asking for hourly rates or flat prices? Hourly rates.

123. Incumbent – What is the name of the contractor who is performing the work currently? How long have they had the contract? See response to question 22.

124. What was the award amount of the previous contract? Was this for one year or the total contract? See response to question 22 and 23.

125. What was the previous solicitation number for the contract? There was not a comparable previous solicitation.

126. Is the current contractor eligible to rebid? There are various contractors performance this work. This answer depends on whether the contractor continues to meet the small business size standard requirements set forth in this Solicitation.

127. Were there any performance issues with the previous contract? There are various contractors performance this work. This answer depends on whether the contractor continues to meet the small business size standard requirements set forth in this Solicitation.

128. Do you anticipate awarding both the IDIQ and the Task Order portion to the same company? Yes, Single Award.

129. Can you bid on the IDIQ and the Task Order separately? No.

130. What is the anticipated value of the IDIQ and the Task Order? See solicitation.

131. Page 15, Normal Duty Hours, “non-standard work” What non-standard work is expected and how much? This varies based upon each Task Order.

132. Page 31-33 – Conflict of Interest; does this clause apply only to the Department of Agriculture or to all government entities? Department of Agriculture, however, should a Conflict of Interest occur involving another Government entity, USDA would expect the contract to comply with the Conflict of Interest Clause found in Section H.5 of the Solicitation.

133. Do we need to provide an acronym list? If one is required to under your proposal.

134. The Scope of Work listed in the IDIQ and the Task Order appear very similar. What are the main differences? Please recognize that the IDIQ includes a broader scope as there may be multiple Task Orders awarded within this Scope.

135. Is commercial experience acceptable past performance experience? Does commercial experience receive a different ranking instead of government past performance experience? See response to question 67.

136. In section C.3.2 Quality Assurance: Is this a formalize process? Yes. What are the inspection criteria? Please note that the QAP is to be provided as part of the Contractor Proposal. How is the data captured? Please note that the QAP is to be provided as part of the Contractor Proposal.

137. Do we have to respond to all positions? Yes.

138. What is the expected turnaround time? Do not understand the question.

139. Do all resources need to be W2 or can we subcontract? Subcontracting and Joint Venturing is encouraged.

140. Are there guaranteed minimum contract lengths (i.e. nothing short then 6 months, 3 months, etc.)? Do not understand the question.

141. Section K -Should the Reps and Certs be submitted with the IDIQ Price Proposal? Yes. See response to question 39.

142. L.2.1 - Will the Government consider removing the requirement for hard copy submissions to allow vendors additional time to prepare submissions and to reduce the environmental impact? No.

143. L.2.3 - The instructions for Volume III of the IDIQ Proposal and Volume II of the Task Order proposal are the same. Both say to submit Section B of the Task Order Solicitation (Attachment 7). Is this correct? Section B of the IDIQ and Section B of the Task Order are both required. The solicitation has been amended to reflect this change.

144. M.1 - M.1 requires the vendor to provide resumes for key personnel as listed in H.4. However, H.4 does not identify key personnel. Please clarify that the government is referring to the key personnel listed in Attachment 7, D.2. Section M is referring to the key personnel listed in Attachment 7 D.2.. The solicitation has been amended to reflect this change.

145. M.1 - M.1 provides a bullet list of sub factors. Are these sub factors all part of the Task Order approach and understanding listed in L.2.3, or should the instructions for the Task Order Technical Proposal also require the bidder to include experience, knowledge transfer plan and staffing/resumes in this volume? The Instructions and the Evaluation Criteria do not appear to match. The Bidder may include any information that they deem necessary. See question 45.

146. Attachment 7 Section C.3.2 - The Deliverable table is miss-numbered beginning with Deliverable 6; i.e., Task 4 is miss-labeled as support testing rather than Lead Tester Role. Please clarify. This has been amended and revised solicitation is attached.

147. Attachment 7, Section D.1 - Is the estimated staffing level in D.1 for the entire IDIQ or for the task order? Task Order

148. Attachment 7, Section E - The Task Order specifies a Transition Plan deliverable. Should the technical approach address this deliverable, which is not listed in the Deliverable Table in C.3? This has been amended and revised solicitation is attached.

149. L.2.1 - To ensure ease of page count determination by USDA FSA, may Key Personnel resumes be provided as a separate appendix to the TO Technical Volume? No, see response to question 40.

150. H.4.2 – (a) The Contractor shall assign to this contract the following Key Personnel: TBD. However, the Section B.2 Price Schedule lists the following Labor Categories: Program and Project Managers; Subject Matter Expert; Test Engineer Automation; Software Tester; Data Warehouse Specialist; Technical Writer; System Administrator; Data Warehouse Testing Project Manager and Architect; Data Warehouse Lead Business Intelligence (BI) and ETL Testers and Release Coordinator and Audit Support Specialist.

Question: Are the Labor Categories listed in Section B.2 the minimum of the Key Personnel required to successfully accomplish this contract? Key Personnel is not required for the IDIQ.

151. L - Question: Is it the governments’ wishes to have the submitted proposals Section 508 Accessibility Compliant? 508 Accessibility Compliance is required for performance.

152. L.2.1 - The electronic version of the proposal shall be shall be submitted with the hard copy on separated CD’s identified as IDIQ Technical Volume, IDIQ Price Volume, Task Order(s) Technical Volume and Task Order(s) Price Volume.

Please Clarify: The Past Performance Volume is not listed as an electronic submittal. Electronic submission is allowable.

153. Section M, page 162: - It appears that either paragraphs M.3 and M.2 were switched when they were placed in the document (M.3 precedes M.2) or the paragraphs are miss-numbered. Solicitation has been amended to reflect this change.

154. Performance Evaluation Surveys (Attachment 3) - Will the government accept the word version of the past performance survey? Yes.

155. General Question - Can testing be performed in a Contractor-Owned Facility within the Continental U.S.? No.

156. Section 52.217-8 - Option to Extend Services (Nov 1999) - The option provision may be exercised more than once, but the total extension of performance hereunder shall not exceed 6 months. The Contracting Officer may exercise the option by written notice to the Contractor within 1 day. Relative to the correctness of total extension period – e.g., should this be 6 months be 48 months? No.

157. Attachment 7 – Task Order, Section B.2.1 - According to Attachment 7 – Task Order, Section B.2.1 – only one rate applies across the base period and all four option periods. Can we modify this table to indicate a different rate for each contract period? Yes.

158. Section C.5.1 of Attachment 7 - The QASP for the Task with excess violations costing - violation will result in a 1% payment reduction up to the maximum payment percentage. Plus: *Maximum Payment Percentage: The cumulative total of all payment percentage application of both the IDIQ and this Task Order QASP shall not exceed 20% of this Task Order’s monthly invoice. These amounts seem to be excessive (more than normal profit). Would the government consider modifying these rates? No.

159. L.2.4 (a) - The small business size is $25M However, the small business size standard for a concern which submits an offer in its own name, but which proposes to furnish an item which it did not itself manufacture, is 500 employees. Does this mean companies larger than $25M can bid? Please review clause and make determination as to whether your company meets the size standard.

160. IDIQ Section C.3 - IDIQ Section C.3 discusses establishing and maintaining a QAP but does not provide any information as to when delivery of this document is to be delivered. Please clarify. This is to be delivered with the proposal. The solicitation has been revised to make this clear.

161. Task Order, Section B.2.1 - According to Attachment 7 – Task Order, Section B.2.1 – only one rate applies across the base period and all four option periods. Can we modify this table to indicate a different rate for each contract period? Please see response to question 157.

In addition to the above Questions and Responses, the Government has updated FAR 52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items (JAN 2013).