DBMO_QA_12_23_13.docx

Solicitation AG-3151-S-14-0001 FSA Data Administration, Tool Administration, Business Intelligence Support and Operations Services (DATA-BIS-OPS)

1. Is there an incumbent contractor team performing the work specified in solicitation AG-3151-S-14-0001?

There are multiple contractor teams performing similar work specified in this solicitation.

If there is, who is the prime contractor and who are the sub-contractors?

Any answer to this question could be misleading and as such please form your teams as appropriate to your proposal.

Are the incumbent prime or subcontractors eligible to bid on this solicitation?

The incumbent prime contractors are not eligible to bid as a prime on this solicitation.

2. Can the government provide a list of the companies that responded to the initial RFI?

6e Technologies Agasti LLC Anvil Logic Binary Info Tech Centeva Cirdan Group CIS Global CMW & Associate Convergent Solutions GCS Info Harmonia Harpy IT Solutions Imaginative Consulting Information International Innovative Svc & Solutions Integral Consulting Management Tech MERP Systems Powertek Corp Quantrum RER Solutions RLW Technologies SRR International Veracity Consulting Veritiss Vsolvit Will Technology Woodbury Technologies 3.

4. Why did the government determine to release this as a woman owned small business set-aside?

Market research determined this would be an appropriate acquisition strategy to achieve USDA/FSA’s women-owned small business goals.

5. Does the government intend to give preference to a Kansas-based company?

No.

6. Does the government have a preference for retaining incumbent staff as much as possible where possible?

Please see Section I, 52.222-17, Non-displacement of Qualified Workers (Jan 2013) (E.O. 13495)

7. Will the government consider specialized key personnel experience and technical performance in addition to company past performance for task order related past performance information in “Volume II: Past Performance”?

Please refer to Sections L and M.

8. Considering the upcoming holidays, will the government consider granting at least a two week (14 day) extension to the proposal due date?

No.

9. Will the award be to multiple vendors or a single vendor.

Single.

10. Will Teaming be allowed and if yes, the government would like to see the teaming agreement as part of the proposal?

Teaming agreements are anticipated. The government does not need the teaming agreements as part of the proposal.

11. How many resources are currently working on the project?

The Government’s estimates for the resources required for the PWS are only estimates and are not necessarily required levels of staffing.

Attachment 6 -Task Order:

Option 5

Attachment 7 -Task Order:

Senior 2.2750 1.1375 2.2750 1.1375 2.2750 1.1375 2.2750 1.1375 2.2750 1.1375 2.2750 1.1375

12. Does the government require only US citizens to work on the Task Orders.

No, please see section H.3.2.

13. Is the government expecting Past performance questionnaire and Past Performance references from the proposed sub-contractor as well?

Please see section L.

14. Will the government provide an estimated staffing level table for Attachment 7 USDA/FSA DATA-BIS-OPS DATA BASE ADMINISTRATION, DATA TOOL ADMINISTRATION AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT TASK ORDER with the same information in the table found in Attachment 6 USDA/FSA DATA-BIS-OPS BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE TASK ORDER, Section C.1.3.3 Estimated Staffing Level (Pages 78-79).

See answer to Question #10.

15. Section H.4.1 Key Personnel, page 118, lists nine key personnel positions for the USDA/FSA DATA-BIS-OPS DATA BASE ADMINISTRATION, DATA TOOL ADMINISTRATION AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT TASK ORDER. Section L.4 paragraph Sub-Factor 5: Key Personnel Resumes (page 159) lists eight key personnel positions and omits Master Data Operations Manager position on page 118. Which section has the correct key personnel positions required for a complete proposal submission?

The Master Data Operations Manager position was inadvertently left off of Section L&M. This position is a Key Personnel category. Section L&M have now been adjusted accordingly.

16. How many personnel are currently supporting the Attachment 6 and Attachment 7 Task Orders?

See answer to Question #10 for estimated staffing level for Attachment 6 and Attachment 7.

17. Are there any technical differences between the current tasks supported and the proposed tasks under this Solicitation?

Yes.

18. What is the expected growth of work requests in support of Oracle databases and Oracle Data Integrator?

Should the work requests in support of Oracle databases and the Oracle Data Integrator increase significantly, the government understands that this would need to be addressed via contract modification.

19. What is the average time required to complete work requests?

90% of the work requests can be completed in approximately 1-2 days. The remainder of work requests vary based upon task. Data Mart and Data Integration development projects do not fall into this category, and can be expected to take considerably longer to accomplish.

20. What is the composition/category of work requests in terms of effort level? (Ex. Low, Medium & High) and the time required for each category?

See the answer to Question #15 and #18.

21. Does the USDA FSA have required/desired templates or formats for deliverables such as the Quality Control Plan (QCP) and project management plans?

USDA FSA does not have a required/desired template or format. However, it is anticipated that the QCP and project management plans will be consistent with the SDLC. See Section J Attachment 9.

22. What percentage increase does the FSA DBMO anticipate per year in the number of data models?

Should the number of data models increase significantly, the government understands that this would need to be addressed via contract modification.

23. What percentage increase does the FSA DBMO anticipate per year in the number of DataStage jobs and SSIS packages?

Should the number of DataStage jobs and SSIS packages increase significantly, the government understands that this would need to be addressed via contract modification.

24. Does the FSA DBMO expect a consolidation of databases and move towards a single (ex: Oracle) or reduced number of vendors?

This is a possibility. Should this consolidation significantly increase or decrease the work required, the government understands that this would need to be addressed via contract modification.

25. Does the FSA DBMO desire a consolidation and selection of a preferred ETL tool for data management?

Preferred tool sets can change at any time, depending on Government needs and architectural direction.

26. Page 163, L.5.4 This section is titled “Past and Present Performance Questionnaire”. Can the government explain the applicability of the term “Present” as it relates to requirements in this section?

Present means on-going.

27. Page 163, L.5.4 There is reference to “L.6.6.” in this section, but there is no section reference for L.6.6. Is this an error?

Yes, this is an error. Please see revision in the solicitation.

28. Page 84, Attachment 6, C.1.4.10 The contractor will support the development of the Enterprise Data Warehouse, and develop new and maintain existing Data Marts. Within the C.1.4.10 sub sections, there are references to requirements, design, testing, deploy, etc. However, development was not mentioned. Can the government confirm that development should be included as a subsection?

Confirmed, development should be included in this subsection. Please see revised section C.l.4.10 and Section L and M in the Solicitation.

29. Page 89, Attachment 6 The attachment goes from Section C.3.3 to C.3.5. It appears that Section C.3.4 is missing. Is this an error?

Yes, this is an error. Please see revision in the solicitation.

30. Page 29, Attachment 7 The attachment goes from C.4 to C.5.1. It appears that Section C.5 is missing. Is this an error?

Yes, this is an error. Please see revision in the solicitation.

31. Page 91, Attachment 6, C.4 To receive a Pass/Fail rating for Performance Requirement #1 (Number of Critical Defects – Certification Testing), there appears to be a difference between the AQL and Performance Standard. The AQL has “No more than one violation…” whereas the Performance Standard states “No severity level “critical” software…). Please clarify the Performance Standard and AQL.

The Performance Standard is ‘No severity level "critical" software defects’, but the acceptable quality level is one violation per production system delivery release. While the standard is none, an acceptable level without resulting in a Fail rating, is as stated in the AQL, which is no more than one violation.

32. Page 91, Attachment 6, C.4 Performance Requirement #2 (Number of Certification Testing Cycles per Release) has a Performance Standard “…given cycle will address n number of defects…” Please clarify the “n ”.

n” is the number of defects being corrected out of the total number of defects reported by TCO. It can be any number, depending on the results of testing during that cycle and previous cycles.

33. Page 91, Attachment 6, C.4 Performance Requirement #2 (Number of Certification Testing Cycles per Release), there appears to be a difference between the AQL and Performance Standard. The AQL has “No violations per production delivery…” whereas the Performance Standard states “No more than 2 cycles to….). Please clarify the Performance Standard and AQL .

A violation would be greater than 2 cycles to Certification Testing per system release, and no more than 3 passes of code modifications per cycle.

34. Page 102, Attachment 7, C.3.3.6 Is our understanding correct that the contractor shall define the roles and responsibilities for the DBMO government staff, DBMO and Agency management, DBMO customers, and those positions and organizations providing services and support to DBMO?

Please see revised section, which has been replaced with the following language to read more clearly. “The contractor shall document recommended contractor position roles and responsibilities for government review and approval. These roles and responsibilities will focus on the DBMO services, which may be provided within the context of larger integrated teams, which may be comprised of members from various USDA and FSA organizations.”

Can the contractor define roles and responsibilities for government staff?

No. This section states “document” not “define”. The clause has been updated to clarify what is meant by document.

35. Page 110, Attachment 7, C.5.3 With the transition occurring during the startup of the task orders, may the deliverable #6 be delivered 4 weeks after the period of performance start date?

No.

36. Page 154, L.2.5.1 To ensure the volumes satisfy the requirements of the solicitation with clear, coherent with sufficient detail, may the following suggestion be considered:

· Volume II and Volume III be excluded from the 75 page count.

· Volume II would be limited to 20 pages.

· Volume III would be limited to 10 pages.

As stated in the L.2.5.1, the statement “The cover letter, title page, table of contents, resumes, contingent offer letters, and glossary of abbreviations & acronyms, if provided, do not count against page count limitations” would continue to not count against the 75 page limit.

No, but the page count has now been increased to 100 page limit. Please see revision in the solicitation.

37. Page 159, L.4, The key personnel listed in Attachment 5, Section H.4.1 (page 118) do not match the list provided in Section L.4, Sub-Factor 5 (page 159) as well as M.3.1.2.5 (page 173). Please clarify the key personnel list between these three sections.

Please see Question #14.

37. Page 1 Section B The attachment begins with Section B. It appears that Section A, and the cover page is missing. Is this an error?

This is an error, please see revised solicitation.