FSA_IT_AWAC_IDIQ_RFI_Questions_from_Industry_Technical_only.xlsx
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- Solicitation number
- AG-3151-S-16-0008
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Answers to Questions from Industry Second round Technical.
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Sheet1
| Number | Question | Task Area | Answer | Initials |
| 1 | What project name does “Non-Recourse Marketing Assistance Loans” work fall under? What applications/systems are used to make these loans? Who is the incumbent contractor? When will the current contract expire? | Fig 16, pg 23 | ||
| 2 | What project name does Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) work fall under? What applications/systems are used to make these loans? Who is the incumbent contractor? When will the current contract expire? | Fig 16, pg 23 | ||
| 3 | Does the Government perceive of any initiatives to further organize and consolidate services across the Task Areas to achieve better cost, resource and contract management efficiencies? | KARA | We will consider this input. | |
| 4 | Can the Government identify the number of contractors currently supporting the FSA OCIO in tasks/functions similar to this RFP to provide a basis to estimate level of effort to support this OCIO? | KARA | FSA currently is supported by 800-850 contractors providing IT services similar to the tasks included in this RFI. | |
| 5 | There seems to be functional areas of overlap within each of the task orders that could create conflict between vendors charged with satisfying the scope of each task order. Recommend that the final SOW descriptions, roles, and responsibilities within each task order are clearly defined, clearly delineated and work together to satisfy the agencies objectives? | KARA | Thank you, we will review and adjust as needed. | |
| 6 | Most of the labor category position descriptions contain experience requirements. Others do not, or simply state (when not part of a family or grouping) “commensurate experience and education.” Would the Government provide experience requirements for every labor category to level the playing field? | KARA | The RFP will include minimum experience and/or education requirements for all labor categories. | |
| 7 | For this program, what areas is the Government looking for improvement in? | KARA | Look at the GAO report … Improve competition … | |
| 8 | For this program, what areas does the Government feel are working well? | KARA | ||
| 9 | The Government’s draft RFP states that “IDIQ contracts shall provide the full range of IT services…..” Has the Government considered the potential impact of this requirement on limiting the Government’s access to niche, best-of-breed solution providers that may offer USDA/FSA innovative options to their complex IT and data management challenges? | KARA | FSA will take into consideration. | |
| 10 | Has the Government assessed the potential advantages and synergies that may be realized if certain task areas identified in the draft SOW are grouped together into discrete functional domains that are competed separately? | KARA | FSA will take into consideration. | |
| 11 | Because of the work to be performed across the functional areas, potential organizational conflicts of interest may occur. To avoid this and foster innovation through small business participation, we recommend the use of functional area pools for the small business competition to ensure that the Government’s best interests are met across task orders. The concept of functional area pools would enable competition based on contractor's whose bids meet the Government task area objectives. Functional pool areas can be used to separate systems integration and core operational tasks from more management, oversight, and advisory related services. The groupings of functional areas could also have a small and large business track. We recommend the following groupings for consideration. |
• Functional Group 1 Task Area 1 – Advisory CIO Services Task Area 3 – Strategic Planning/Enterprise Architecture Task Area 4 – Program and Project Management
• Functional Group 2 Task Area 2 - Quality Management And Independent Verification and Validation Task Area 8 – Test Management
• Functional Group 3 Task Area 5 – Systems and Software Engineering, Design, Development and Integration Services Task Area 6 – Information Assurance, Security and Privacy Task Area 7 – IT Operations and Maintenance Task Area 10 – Enterprise Information Management (EIM)/Data Management Task Area 11 – Database Operations Task Area 12 – Digital Services Task Area 13 – Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Services
• Functional Group 4 Task Area 9 – IT Outsourcing
| KARA | FSA will take into consideration. | ||
| 12 | Many agencies have found value in separating CIO Advisory Services to provide more objective advice on IT strategy and independent support for IT governance and oversight. Given the complex IT initiatives planned and underway, has the Government considered how to best avoid potential Conflict of Interest (COI) issues arising between contractors offering effective CIO support and expert systems development and operations and maintenance services, if all such services are acquired from the same contract vehicle? The implementation of pools can also be used to group technical functional areas together to mitigate conflict of interest (COI) risk and reduce the impact across task orders for the Government. | KARA | Yes, conflict of interest (COI) between task areas has been assessed and will be reflected in solicitation requirements. |
| 13 | To provide the most competitive pricing, would the FSA OCIO AWAC IDIQ support factors influencing labor rates such as: remote work; US Citizenship; H1, etc.? | KARA | Yes, factors influencing labor rates will be considered. |
| 14 | Will the AMD and OCIO strongly enforce the use of this vehicle for all FSA IT services or will FSA and other departments continue to offer other BPAs, or other similar IDIQs? | KARA | FSA is seeking to migrate IT services to this vehicle but does not exclude the potential to use other BPAs or IDIQs if appropriate to the needs of the government. |
| 15 | Are all tools, software and hardware considered GFE? Will a current inventory be provided as part of the RFP? | KARA | It is anticipated that most tools, software and hardware for work under this contract will be Government furnished. An inventory of current tools, software and hardware (other than IT equipment for individuals) provided as GFE will be provided. |
| 16 | Many services outlined in the RFI entail access to confidential Government information and plans. Will awardees of any of these task areas be precluded from competing for follow on Government business as a result of this access? | KARA | Conflict of interest (COI) between task areas has been assessed and will be reflected in solicitation requirements, including potential restrictions on follow on Government business. |
| 17 | Our recommendation is to allow for the procurement of cloud-based services (IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS) on the AWAC IDIQ in additional to traditional IT services. We have found that the provision of technology services is most effective as a seamless blend of human services (labor hours) and cloud-based IT services. Allowing IT support services, testing services, development services, digital services, database services to be procured along with testing software as a service, infrastructure as a service, and platform as a service would allow companies to provide seamlessly integrated solutions to the Government. Having access to contractor provided Platform as a Service (PaaS) alternatives such as Heroku, Cloud Foundry, or Bluemix would allow us to more fully support Task Areas such as Application Prototyping, Mobile Application Development, and Infrastructure Engineering, Development, Implementation, Integration. | KARA | FSA will take into consideration. |
| 18 | Another recommendation and comment is that most capable companies prefer end-to-end responsibility for projects (task orders) that address USDA's most challenging business issues under a FFP performance based contract type over T&M staff augmentation. | KARA | FSA will take into consideration. |
| 19 | Will the current support contracts that are on bridge be extended, or will those contracts be subsumed by this IDIQ and competed as TOs? | KARA | FSA's intention is to migrate IT services to the IDIQ at a pace that best supports the government's need. The exact schedule and approach to issue task orders under the IDIQ has not been finalized. |
| 20 | Will this vehicle consolidate and replace all other IT contracts for USDA FSA? If so, which contracts? | KARA | FSA's intention is to migrate IT services to the IDIQ at a pace that best supports the government's need. The exact schedule and approach to issue task orders under the IDIQ has not been finalized. |
| 21 | Will the draft/final RFP package include a complete inventory of applications, technologies, processes, standards, and guidance documents? | KARA | An inventory of applications, technologies, processes, standards and guidance documents will be included in the solicitation. |
| 22 | Is the IT infrastructure of other USDA agencies to be considered as a part of this procurement initiative? | KARA | No, this procurement initiative will focus on the FSA IT infrastructure. |
| 23 | Will each of the 13 Task Orders begin within the base period of the AWAC? For example, DBMO was awarded as a separate contract less than two years ago. Will that Task Order be awarded in the Base Period of this new AWAC? | KARA | FSA's intention is to award the 13 task areas during the base period of the FSA IDIQ. Task orders may be awarded in the 13 task areas during the base period of the FSA IDIQ but are not guaranteed. |
| 24 | There have been previous sources sought on GSA Schedule 70 for scope of work quite similar to the AWAC outlined. Further, there have been 5 Year contracts awarded as recent as within past 18 months, that include the scope of work as outlined in the AWAC. What pain points does the government plan to address with this AWAC? What are the challenges that are not currently being addressed with the existing awarded contracts vehicles with remaining period of performance exceeding at least 36 months? | KARA | |
| 25 | Ref. PWS Section 2.0 OBJECTIVE: What is the FSA Program Executive Offices (PEO). Please explain its role. | PWS Section 2 | |
| 26 | Ref. PWS Section 3.0 SCOPE: What other USDA agencies besides FSA can order against this contract? | PWS Section 3 | It is anticipated that any USDA agency can order against this IDIQ. |
| 28 | Task Area 1: In Task Area 1, sub-task (d) – IT Organizational Development and Change Management (page 3), are techniques such as McKinsey’s 7-S model, Weisbord’s Six Box model, and SWOT currently being used? Are they suggested or will the Government be open to considering other models? | TA1 | The Government will be open to considering other models. |
| 29 | Ref. Ref. PWS Trask Area 1 – Advisory CIO Services, a. Advisory and Assistance Services: Do transformation services include modernization services? Which agencies are looking at these services? | TA1 | Transformation services may include modernization services. |
| 32 | Have any training materials been developed previously that can be leveraged? Or will training materials (including curriculum and CBTs) need to be created from scratch? | TA1 | Requirement may vary and will be specified at TO level. |
| 33 | Which Computer Based Training (CBT) solution is currently in use? | TA1 | USDA AgLearn |
| 34 | Would participating in the advisory tasks limit the vendor from fulfilling tasks resulting from the previous advisory services areas due to conflict of interest? | TA1 | To be determined. |
| 35 | Recommend adding "Assist in preparing responses to oversight entities including the inspector general, GAO, and OMB. This includes developing strategies, plans, research, and briefing activities." | TA1 | FSA will take into consideration. |
| 36 | Under the key focus areas, consider adding a numbered bullet to explicitly develop methods and practices that promote integrating service tools, techniques, practices and tools across multiple service providers in an enterprise environment. | TA1 | FSA will take into consideration. |
| 37 | Under the key focus areas, consider adding a numbered bullet to explicitly solicit support in the development, alignment and sustainment of enterprise architecture and technical roadmaps over the life of the program. | TA1 | FSA will take into consideration. |
| 38 | Under the key focus areas, consider adding a numbered bullet or augmenting recommendations to include integration of innovation, success stories and improvements of other service provider customers of similar size and scope. | TA1 | FSA will take into consideration. |
| 39 | Within bullet 3, consider including language addressing approaches for incentivizing and demonstrating improvement over time in efficiency and effectiveness. | TA1 | FSA will take into consideration. |
| 40 | Within bullet 9, consider including the commercial sector for the widest scope of options to be brought before the USDA. | TA1 | FSA will take into consideration. |
| 41 | In the first paragraph, consider adding "commercial" along with government and industry best practices. | TA1 | FSA will take into consideration. |
| 42 | Under the key focus areas, consider adding a numbered bullet to support demand management and financial analysis as part of evaluating infrastructure and service total cost of ownership (TCO) decisions. | TA1 | FSA will take into consideration. |
| 43 | Under the focus area 1. Developing and Leading, consider adding a sub bullet for experimentation and learning. | TA1 | FSA will take into consideration. |
| 44 | Under key focus areas, consider adding a bullet to improve inter and intra IT functional efficiency through improved cooperation and communication. I would also suggest supporting the development of enterprise tool chains that operate across the environment. | TA1 | FSA will take into consideration. |
| 45 | Under key focus areas, consider adding a bullet to perform proof of concept activities involving innovative approaches, technologies and techniques. | TA1 | FSA will take into consideration. |
| 46 | Some labor categories have levels I, II, & III, while others use an adjective like "Senior.” Please clarify the distinctions between these "experience" levels for the labor categories. Recommend a consistent methodology to do this, for example the labor category description describes the skills and work to be performed, and the level describes the educational and experience requirements for the labor category. | TA1 | FSA will take into consideration. |
| 47 | The labor categories under this task area seem excessive for advisory |
Services. For example Application Programming is generally a developmental task.
| TA1 | FSA will take into consideration. | ||
| 48 | Will all the TASK 1 FTE's on the Advisory CIO Services have to the located at USDA HQ? | TA1 | Location will be specified at the TO level. |
| 49 | There are multiple tasks that have overlapping scope. For example, transformation services and IT roadmaps shows up in Task 1, 3, 5, 7, 10 and 13. While several of these are clearly support roles, Task 1 and 3 transformation strategy and IT roadmaps could be overlapping tasks. To appropriately address the scope and level of seniority of the labor set within our responses, will there be some type of hierarchy between the task orders for responsibility and authority on overlapping activities? | TA1 & 3 | FSA is reviewing potential overlaps of task areas. Some overlaps are anticipated and will be clarified in any potential RFPs. |
| 50 | Several areas within the RFP reference Advisory and Assistance Services. Generally these types of services create an OCI. Does the Government anticipate controlling OCI concerns by 1) issuing task orders only to those vendors where a conflict does not exist in the eyes of the Government or 2) will each contractor have to analyze each task order for potential OCI's? | TA1 & 5 | To be determined. |
| 51 | As performance of services under TASK AREA 1 – Advisory CIO Services, TASK AREA 2 - Quality Management and Independent Verification and Validation, and TASK AREA 4 – Program and Project Management may create a downstream organization conflict of interest, FSA may want to consider setting aside these task areas for small businesses. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency used a similar strategy when procuring similar type services under a BPA/IDIQ type solicitation. | TA1,2&4 | FSA values all comments and suggestions. FSA will take them into consideration. |
| 52 | Labor Categories for Task Areas 1,2,3 and 4 We note that Administrative and Clerical Job Categories are not normally required to fulfil the requirements under these task areas. | TA1,2,3&4 | All Labor Categories that could be potentially needed to accomplish work in a specific task area need to be identified at the IDIQ level. The specific labor categories needed to support a task order will be determined at the task order level. |
| 53 | Is there an existing Enterprise Data Model that systems and applications are required to map to? | TA10 | There is an existing enterprise data model, but applications are not required to map to it. Agency does not consider the current state of enterprise data model complete & up to date in all aspects. Agency expects all future work to have complete data models that map to the enterprise data model. |
| 54 | What percentage of systems and applications have data models? Are each of the data models up to date? | TA10 | Most of the agency developed systems and applications have data models and they are kept up to date. Agency does not consider the current state of enterprise data model complete & up to date in all aspects. |
| 55 | How many applications/systems does FSA anticipate moving to SaaS solutions? | TA10 | Agency is under planning and this is unknown at this time. |
| 56 | Is USDA looking to move into in-line memory Information Management? | TA10 | Agency will look into it for future implementation. |
| 57 | Data Migration activities associated with Cloud Computing (SaaS) activities should be combined with Cloud Computing Activities in Task Area 9 and be made into an independent Cloud Computing Task Area. | TA10 | Currently agency has on-going data migration needs outside cloud computing. |
| 58 | Does the FSA have a Database Disaster Recovery Plan? Has the plan been tested? What were the results? Were databases restored without data loss in a timely manner? | TA11 | Yes, the FSA has Disaster Recovery Plans for the various computing environments that host data and applications. The plans address the recovery of applications and data. The plans are tested by integrated teams. Testing is often coordinated and the results of the testing are documented. Transactional databases have been restored without data loss within the time parameters established for each application system. Disaster recovery testing of Business Intelligence databases is planned for future exercises when a BI Continuity of Operations environment is established. |
| 59 | Those working in Database Administration and Operations, and more importantly involved with capacity planning seem best suited to address storage solutions and storage management. However, Storage Planning and acquisition seems to be addressed under TA5.m Data Migration, Integration and Modernization as well as TA9.c Cloud Computing. Logically, it should be made clear where the capabilities for storage planning and storage management should reside. | TA11 | |
| 60 | Suggest that language is added to key focus areas to prove and validate backup processes have completed successfully and that data can be restored in acceptable time frame | TA11 | FSA's COOP plan describes RTO and RPO. |
| 61 | Consider adding requirements for database management and support to be part of a DevOps approach as requested in task area 7. | TA11 & 7 | Support of database management and data related operations management are addressed in TA12. |
| 62 | Can the Government provide a Labor Category sheet for Task 12 – Digital Services? The Task 12 document attached to the RFI appears to be a copy of the material provided in the Task Area 12 description. | TA12 | Yes, we can provide. |
| 63 | Please name at least 2 existing technologies that you foresee as key to leverage for expanding systems integration. Name any that you think should be replaced in the next year. | TA12 | Researching |
| 64 | What kind of monitoring is currently performed on the network systems to insure the EDI traffic is appropriately handled (in terms of capacity and response time)? | TA12 | In the process of setting up SAP SOUTION MANAGER tool for monitoring SAP interfaces and applications. Coradiant used for monitoring Web Applications |
| 65 | Do you envision Enterprise Search to cover all/majority of FSA systems or to extend through EDI to those G2B and G2G systems that are linked to FDA systems through an interface? | TA12 | We envision Enterprise Search to cover a majority of FSA systems and include EDI through an API. |
| 66 | Is the government currently using any tools for performing searches? If so, please elaborate on what tools are in place. | TA12 | For the external facing website (www.fsa.usda.gov) the government uses the DigitalGov (formerly USASearch) Search Engine. No tools are in place for searching internal web sites and SharePoint. |
FSA uses SAP TREX search engine for searching Business Partner data
| 67 | Can the government provide the current SDLC to support web based development? Are there any gates which need approvals for any changes made to the web based systems? | TA12 | SDLC information is available on our public website at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/sdlc. Seems to be irrelevant question for Data Operations TA. |
| 68 | The document on FBO with the description TA-12 Labor Categories and names TA-12 Digital Svcs Final 01052016.docx appears to be the same as the TASK AREA 12 – Digital Services description found in the consolidated RFQ? Suggest the government identify the labor categories required for Task Area 12. | TA12 | Thank you we will review and correct as needed. |
| 69 | There appears to be a discrepancy in the file name titles and the contents for the labor category files supporting Task Areas 4 to 12. | TA12 | Thank you we will review and correct as needed. |
| 70 | There is not a labor category file for task 12. In reviewing Task 11 file it appears that these labor categories maybe task 12. | TA12 | Thank you we will review and correct as needed. |
| 71 | Considering Web Development approaches generally follow the same processes and procedures as for other application development, suggest merging TA 12.a into TA5 Systems and Software Engineering, Design, Development and Integration Services. | TA12 & 5 | FSA will take into consideration. |
| 72 | Was the CLU developed internally by FSA or was it contracted? If contracted, who was the contracting firm that performed the work? | TA13 | FSA developed the CLU internally with in-house resources and some contractor support. |
| 73 | Who is responsible for the integrity and accuracy of farm records? | TA13 | As stated, the question does not appear to be germaine to the TA13. Further clarification would be required to determine legitimacy. |
| 74 | Will the industry wide IDIQ vehicle provide a CLIN structure for the PMO 13and other administrative tasks necessary to support the program? | KARA | The CLIN struction will be defined in future solicitation. |
| 75 | Common land Unit (CLU) is used to describe a contiguous land parcel. FSA land identifiers have historically been based on Farm Serial Number, Tract and Field ID; whereas, RMA uses Legal Descriptions. Is there a plan to identify a parcel of land for historical purposes (acreage and yield history, etc.) that’s unaffected by a change in ownership/entity for a common identifier (CLU) across agencies? | TA13 | This is under consideration for future development. |
| 76 | Ref. PWS Task Area 2 - Quality Management and Independent Verification and Validation Note quality standards required include ITIL, ISO 9001:2015, CMMI-ML2/Capability Level 3. Does the government have any willingness to offer flexibility re: these quality standards? Will the government accept ISO 9001:2008? Is CMMI for DEV or SVS acceptable? | TA2 | ISO 9001:2008 can be considered acceptable as well as the CMMI models for DEV or SVCS. The importance is an ISO registration and experience and/or a successful CMMI Scampi appraisal of Maturity Level 2/Capability Level 3 in any relevant CMMI model. |
| 77 | How does the FSA currently promote the use of ITIL on projects? | TA2 | The agency has not formed a formal ITIL policy at this time. |
| 79 | Sentence is missing the word "limited" - • Achieve compliance with prescribed standards and or models, to include but not limited to ITIL, ISO 9001: 2015; CMMI Maturity Level 2/Capability Level 3; | TA2 | Agreed. The sentence should read: Achieve compliance with prescribed standards and/or models, to include but not be limited to ITIL, ISO 9001: 2015; CMMI Maturity Level 2/Capability Level 3; and will be corrected. |
| 80 | Can this task be issued to a contractor who performs any of the other Tasks by having them Firewalled off and reporting to a separate division within the parent company or is it the Governments desire to have no connection with any another task? | TA2 | Conflict of interest details will be provided at a later date. |
| 81 | Please confirm the organizational structure under which the IT Services Division resides. IRM-425 makes it clear there is an ITS Division under FSA, but the FSA org chart does not show an ITS Division. Alternatively, there is an ITSD under NFC and would like to confirm this is not the organization being represented. Please also confirm that ITSD listed under TA 2.b (p12) should in fact be IT Services Division and not IT Systems Development. | TA2 | |
| 82 | There is an overlap of acceptance criteria definition (TA2.b) and accessibility services (TA2.e) as described in TA2, and the similar acceptance criteria definition (TA5.o) and accessibility services (TA5.e) TA5 o. Test and Evaluation Services. While TA5.e is slanted toward design, TA5.o leans toward acceptance testing, confusing responders in terms of FSA organization and SDLC phase where this function might actually occur. It is suggested that any mention of testing as it relates to usability and/or acceptance be incorporated in TA2 only. TA5 should focus on design of usability/accessibility, but not the associated acceptance criteria. | TA2 | |
| 83 | The labor categories under this task area include categories that generally fall under developmental tasks such as Applications Programmer, Data Architects, etc. | TA2 | Will be taken under advisement. |
| 84 | While Appendix A provides an overview of the FSA Technology environment, please provide a complete Technical Reference Model (TRM) including list of applications, GOTS, COTS, and Custom software as well as tools that are supported under this contract. | TA3 | Reassigned to TA3. |
| 85 | While Appendix A provides an overview of the FSA Technology environment, will a complete inventory of hardware supported under this contract be provided as part of the solicitation? | TA3 | Reassigned to TA3. |
| 86 | Section 6.0 Operational Data mentions a disruption of >180 applications due to a NITC network issue. Is FSA looking for a cloud solution to replace NITC, or as a backup/failover solution? | TA3 | Reassigned to TA3. |
| 87 | Task Area 3: In Task Area 3, (c), 3) – Information Security Engagements, what investigation, clearance, and citizenship requirements are anticipated for contractor staffs? Are there similar requirements in other Task Areas? | TA3 | AMD answer |
| 88 | Task Area 3: In Task Area 3, (d), how much onsite support is required for software administration or will offsite support be considered? | TA3 | The current software administration support for FSA is 100% onsite. We will take this suggestion under advisement. |
| 89 | Ref. PWS TASK AREA 3 – Strategic Planning/Enterprise Architecture, b) FSA’s System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) Support, c) Architectural Engagement Support: What is meant by IB’s wikis, SDLC framework, FSA Integrated IT Governance Framework (IITGF) and Reference Architecture as a platform and how the IITGF aligns with FITARA? | TA3 | Information on the FSA SDLC is available at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/SDLC |
Information on the USDA IITGF is available at http://www.ocio.usda.gov/about-ocio/information-resource-management/integrated-information-technology-governance-framework FSA is currently in the process of tailoring the USDA IITGF for FSA needs. THis information is in draft and not currently available.
| 90 | Ref. PWS TASK AREA 3 – Strategic Planning/Enterprise Architecture, c) Architectural Engagement Support: Please describe what type and level of technical support and guidance to the MIDAS Security Officer on SAP security issues is required? | TA3 | Specific support requirements will be defined at theTask Order level. |
| 91 | Does an enterprise style guide exists today that the offeror must adhere to ensure consistency? | TA3 | FSA is currently revising the enterprise style guide in collaboration with the Department. |
| 92 | Will the RFP include information on the EA frameworks in use, such as FEA, Zackman, etc. at the FSA? | TA3 | Reassign to AMD |
| 93 | Can the government provide information the review gates for all CPIC investment projects? Are these review gates aligned with the FSA SDLC? | TA3 | Requirement may vary and will be specified at TO level. |
| 94 | Portfolio Management generally refers to the application of systematic management techniques to manage a set of investments. This section appears to only address maintaining and publishing a repository and its associated inventory. To improve clarity in these requirements, recommend either retitling this section to be FSA EA Repository support to avoid confusion with other task area support services, or broadening the scope of this task commensurate with portfolio management methods. | TA3 | FSA will take into consideration. |
| 95 | Solution Architecture generally refers to the development of architecture for a specific solution, system, or service to address a specific mission or business requirement. Domain architectures are generally broader in scope, support multiple mission or business outcomes, and are often at a higher level of detail. Please clarify the type of support required for this area. Recommend this section be retitled "Domain Architecture", and that a Solution Architecture section be included in the SOW. | TA3 | FSA will take into consideration. |
| 96 | The Task Area Title includes Strategic Planning, however; there appears to be no subtask outlining the Strategic Planning support services needed. Recommend including a sub-section that defines these requirements. | TA3 | FSA will take into consideration. |
| 97 | Recommend creating a separate section after a) Enterprise Architecture Support labeled "Governance Artifact Support". The new b) Governance Artifact Support would contain: |
Assist in coordinating, researching, and developing or updating artifacts for each IITGF, SDLC, CPIC, or EA phase and gate.
| TA3 | FSA will take into consideration. |
| 98 | - Recommend broadening requirement by deleting the term "development" in development organizations. This would then include all organizations. |
- Recommend deleting the work "congressional" and rewording to state "…and supporting oversight entity responses including congress, GAO, OMB, and the IG."
| TA3 | FSA will take into consideration. | ||
| 99 | Although this subtask is called SDLC support, it focuses on the IITGF, which appears to be a higher level governance framework that encompasses the SDLC. We suggest renaming this task to IITGF Support. Additionally, please clarify the type of support required for improvement or formulation of the IIGTF consistent with the first sentence of this section. | TA3 | FSA will take into consideration. |
| 100 | Please define acronym IB. | TA3 | Information Bulletin |
| 101 | Request that Solutions Architect labor category have levels I, II, & II applied to it to allow for varying skills and capabilities to be applied to the specific size and scope of the effort to be solutioned. | TA3 | FSA will take into consideration. |
| 102 | Some labor categories have levels I, II, & III, while others use an adjective like "Senior.” Please clarify the distinctions between these "experience" levels for the labor categories. Recommend a consistent methodology to do this, for example the labor category description describes the skills and work to be performed, and the level describes the educational and experience requirements for the labor category. | TA3 | FSA will take into consideration. |
| 103 | Request inclusion of an Enterprise Architect I labor category. | TA3 | FSA will take into consideration. |
| 104 | Section D.1 (“Maintain and enhance FSA's custom Web Enterprise Platform”) would be a better fit under Task Area 7 (IT Operations and Maintenance). Also suggest developmental labor categories move to Task Area 7 and Task Area 5. | TA3 | FSA will take into consideration. |
| 105 | This subtask area appears to involve hands on configuration and maintenance of a system within the FSA IT architecture. These support requirements may fit better within Task Area 5. | TA3 & 5 | FSA will take into consideration. |
| 106 | Performing application security scans, etc.. Appears to also be included in Task Area 6. Please clarify if there are differences in the support requested for this within this Task Area in comparison to Task Area 6. | TA3 & 6 | FSA is reviewing potential overlaps of task areas. Some overlaps are anticipated and will be clarified in any potential RFPs. |
107 Is this operations and maintenance of FSA software platforms? Does Task Area 7 provide any overlapping support, and/or is there a requirement for transition to Task Area 7? TA3 & 7 Not sure what this is referring too .. FM comments … That is correct , it is operations and maintenance of FSA Software platforms and some COTS platforms are also supported. I do not know how to answer the second part of the question
108 How are development activities for Task Area 12 differentiated from previous task areas (i.e. SDLC in Task Area 3)? TA3, 10 & 12 Please refer to SDLC materials which are available online at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/sdlc
FSA is reviewing potential overlaps of task areas. Some overlaps are anticipated and will be clarified in any potential RFPs.
SDLC process and procedures are defined and maintained via task area 3. Other task areas are expected to follow the SDLC processes and procedures.
109 Ref. PWS TASK AREA 4 – Program and Project Management , a. Enterprise Program Management Office Support “What does the government mean by Mature Compliance with Section 508? How does the government define "mature compliance with Section 508?
TA4 The vendor will assist FSA in the definition and implementation of 508 compliance such that we meet the following requirement:
Unless specifically exempted, including exemption located at FAR 39.204, all FSA software applications shall comply with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998 to ensure IT accessibility to disabled persons. Only in situations where an approved exception to Section 508 is provided by the CIO of the requiring agency/organization will an issue that exempts the application from complying with Section 508 requirements contained.
110 Ref. PWS TASK AREA 4 – Program and Project Management , a. Enterprise Program Management Office Support, 5) e. 2. In discussion of SDLC processes of software development, User Stories and velocity metrics development are mentioned. These are used in conjunction with agile development. Does the government intend to perform SDLC software development in agile methodology versus waterfall, or hybrid approach as other agencies within USDA are pursuing? Does the government intend to implement an agile development methodology for cloud based solutions? Is agile methodology the future direction of FSA for SDLC software development? Has the FSA purchased Power Steering business process and portfolio management (PPM) Software? TA4 FSA intents to incorporate modular development into it processes and procedures. Specifics around this have not been determined and the task orders issued under this task area are anticipated to include work items to help FSA mature this area.
FSA has not purchased Power Steering business and portfolio management (PPM) software.
111 Ref. PWS TASK AREA 4 – Program and Project Management , a. Enterprise Program Management Office Support, 5) h. 2. “Facilitate translation and implementation of IT Portfolio Repository (ITPR) requirements to the FSA IT Investment Portfolio”. Please explain government's intent/objective.
| TA4 | Not sure how the answer this one | ||
| 113 | Is it acceptable for interested vendors to target specific areas of expertise or are they required to address the entire Task Area when responding? | TA4 | It is anticipated that a vendor will need to qualify for the entire task area. |
| 114 | Considering the depth of Task Area 4, will FSA consider grouping services by specific areas of expertise and consolidate similar tasks? For example: |
a. Enterprise Program Management Support #4 - Assist in the management and tracking of IT investments. Can all of this be combined with 6b. Portfolio Management?
#6.c – Program/Project Management Support. 7th bullet – Track earned value management. Can this be combined with Key Focus area i. Earned-Value Management?
h. Program, Project and Portfolio Tool Administration and Management. See #5 – Support Requirements gathering, analysis, and implementation…Should we group #5 with e. Requirements Management Support?
g. Support for Business Case Development and Investment Management includes cost Analysis – Should this be combined with k. Cost Benefit Analysis?
| TA4 | FSA will take into consideration. |
| 115 | Is it possible to use Capital letters, Numbers, and Lowercase alphabets when numbering the tasks to eliminate redundancy in #s and letters? For example: |
i. A. Enterprise…
1. Key focus area:
a. Focus area 1
b. Focus area 2
ii. B. Portfolio Management…
1. Key focus area:
a. Focus area 1
b. Focus area 2 C. Program/Project Management Support…
| TA4 | FSA will take into consideration. | |||
| 116 | Does the government desire to reduce the number of physically dispersed hosting sites through consolidation or movement to the cloud? How many hosting sites exist today and where are they located? | TA9 | Task Area 9 answer | |
| 117 | Does the government have a plan to address fluctuating budget needs for applications or requirements moved to the cloud, for example, costs associated with providing additional resources to address scalability requirements to meet SLAs due to increasing workload. | TA4 | It is anticipated that task orders under task area 4 and task area 9 would help FSA determine the requirements to support cloud computing. | |
| 118 | Is an EVMS currently being used on this program? If yes, what EVMS tool is used? | TA4 | FSA currently reports EVMS on some of its investments. We are currently determining the appropriate processes and procedures to support EVMS reporting requirements. We have not selected an official EVMS reporting tool. | |
| 119 | Does FSA currently leverage any Agile methodologies? | TA4 | Some of the Application Development Center projects are utiliziting aspects of Agile. Additional work is needed to fully implement modular programming into all aspects of FSA's processes and procedures. | |
| 120 | In addition to metrics listed in 6), is the FSA using any industry standard metrics to benchmark FSA development programs, e.g., defects per function point and defect removal efficiency? | TA4 | The purpose of this task is to help FSA mature this area. The metrics listed do not imply that we are currently tracking or capturing them. | |
| 121 | Would FSA consider requiring a CMMI Maturity Level 3 assessment as evidence of a company's ability to manage repeatable and consistent SDLC driven IT projects and programs? | TA4 | FSA will take into consideration. | |
| 122 | Please clarify the use of program and project as they appear to be used interchangeably in the opening to this task. The scope and approaches are significantly different and unique. A number of the challenges cited in the intro can be addressed differently depending on the contest of program or project. Migrating to the cloud and addressing scalability to meet increasing client demand are two in particular. Requirements should be clearly addressed or identified within the specific context to elicit the desired response. | TA4 | FSA will take into consideration. | |
| 123 | Sub section two appears to address both project and service management activities. Specifically, Item 2.b (release) and 2f (change management) may be better addressed in service management transition planning. In all sections please validate that PMO, whether program or project, is clear so responses address FSA's intent. | TA4 | FSA will take into consideration. | |
| 124 | Consider extending and further differentiating section across Program, Project, Development, and Service Delivery contexts. Request specific requirements to provide an elaboration of an appropriate risk management framework for overall program lifecycle management. | TA4 | FSA will take into consideration. | |
| 125 | Consider extending overarching requirements to "facilitate delivery of requirements support continuous integration (CI) through automation and tool integration working across technical teams. | TA4 | FSA will take into consideration. | |
| 126 | Recommend adding additional language to develop, use and support knowledge management practices to support improved business process management and service delivery performance. While a section exists in TASK AREA 12 – Digital Services subsection d., the positioning of KM appears limited to this one area and should be applied across the IT organization. | TA4 | FSA is reviewing potential overlaps of task areas. Some overlaps are anticipated and will be clarified in any potential RFPs. | |
| 127 | ITIL is one service management framework that can effectively deliver increased value when delivered under the context of establishing a DevOps culture. Consider expanding this section to include requirements that support better alignment of IT resources with business priorities through the best practices adopted by organizations that embrace DevOps frameworks and practices. | TA4 | FSA will take into consideration. | Kara |
| 128 | Add net present value. This is the primary financial decision making metric per OMB Circular A-94. | TA4 | FSA will take into consideration. | |
| 129 | Recommend adding a new requirement #4. "Summarize how changes in key assumptions impact the project's net present value and other financial metrics." This can be presented in the form of a Monte Carlo based "Tornado Chart" then summarized. | TA4 | FSA will take into consideration. | |
| 130 | Under key focus area 1, consider adding a sub element requiring explicit integration with executive management and technical service reporting dashboards to deliver a single ConOps | TA4 | FSA will take into consideration. | |
| 131 | Under key focus areas, consider adding a sub element requiring collaboration with other service providers to support end to end SLA management and business aligned IT service performance dashboard. | TA4 | FSA will take into consideration. | |
| 132 | Recommend changing to Investment Analysis to accommodate both a Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) and a Cost Effectiveness Analysis (CEA). | TA4 | FSA will take into consideration. | |
| 133 | Insert a section before 5) requiring that "Prepare risk adjusted cost and benefit estimates" | TA4 | FSA will take into consideration. | |
| 134 | Insert a section before 5) requiring that a sensitivity analyses be performed on key assumptions and inputs. Preferably the results should include an "S curve" and "Tornado Chart" depicting the impact of key assumptions to the investment's net present value." | TA4 | FSA will take into consideration. | |
| 135 | Provide the net present value, ROI, and payback period. | TA4 | FSA will take into consideration. | |
| 136 | Portfolio Management generally refers to the application of systematic management techniques to manage a set of investments. This section appears to only address maintaining and publishing a repository and its associated inventory. To improve clarity in these requirements, recommend either retitling this section to be FSA EA Repository support to avoid confusion with other task area support services, or broadening the scope of this task commensurate with portfolio management methods. | TA4 | FSA will take into consideration. | |
| 137 | Some labor categories have levels I, II, & III, while others use an adjective like "Senior." Please clarify the distinctions between these "experience" levels for the labor categories. Recommend a consistent methodology to do this, for example the labor category description describes the skills and work to be performed, and the level describes the educational and experience requirements for the labor category. | TA4 | FSA will take into consideration. | |
| 138 | Task Area 8.a Project Management appears to overlap the overarching OCIO Task Area 4.c Program and Project Management. Can the Government explain the rationale? | TA4 & 8 | FSA is reviewing potential overlaps of task areas. Some overlaps are anticipated and will be clarified in any potential RFPs. |
Program management tasks in Task Area 4 are to support the Enterprise processes and procedures. Program management in other task areas is intended for the vendor to manage the work within that specific task area.
139 Is there an overlap in responsibility / reporting between the Project management functions of Task Area 4 and Task Area 8? TA4 & 8 FSA is reviewing potential overlaps of task areas. Some overlaps are anticipated and will be clarified in any potential RFPs.
Program management tasks in Task Area 4 are to support the Enterprise processes and procedures. Program management in other task areas is intended for the vendor to manage the work within that specific task area.
| 140 | The labor category attachments have a disconnect between the name of the file and the tab names starting with task 4. For example, Task 4 is named TA-05 on the tab. Are the categories listed correct and the tab name is incorrect? | KARA | This will be reviewed and corrected. |
| 141 | Ref. PWS TASK AREA 5 – Systems and Software Engineering, Design, Development and Integration Services, i. Mobile Application Development: What platforms will need to be supported for mobile application development? Will Blackberry Support be required? | TA5 | FSA has not finalized a solution. Options are still being discussed. |
| 142 | What percentage of engineering projects include software development / coding? | TA5 | A minimum of 90% |
| 143 | What automated testing processes and technologies are currently being used by FSA? Will FSA testing processes and technologies be provided with the SOW? | TA5 | Tools include: Junit, Stress Lab, JMeter, aXe (508 tools) |
| 144 | What are the current SLAs? Is the FSA looking to maintain current SLAs? | TA5 | Each system and business area have different SLAs. FSA will continue maintian the current SLAs. |
| 145 | Do development, test, stage and production environments already exist? Are they maintained by different groups within FSA/contractors? Please advise as to who the contractors are that support these higher environments. | TA5 | Yes, the development, test, stage and production environments already exist. Yes, they are maintained by different groups within FSA/Contractors. |
| 146 | For custom application development, what SDLC (Agile, Waterfall, Hybrid) is being used currently? | TA5 | All methods are used at the direction of FSA. |
| 147 | List potential sites for product delivery | TA5 | Washington, DC; Kansas City, MO; St. Louis, MO; and Salt Lake City, UT |
| 148 | Has the government selected tools and technologies to implement Agile delivery solutions? Are processes and procedures already in place to expedite the implementation? If so, can the government share the tools and technology and process maturity information? | TA5 | FSA has tools are in place to aid Agile delivery. FSA continually evaluates current and new options to ensure quality and timely software delivery. Examples include: Mavan and Jenkins |
| 149 | Does the government have preferred mobile devices is use? If so, please provide a list of devices. Has the government implemented BYOD? If so, please elaborate on what BYOD product has been implemented? | TA5 | Software developed needs to be mobile device agnostic. |
| 150 | Recommendation - combine the bulleted list with the elements directly following, "Key focus areas include:" to eliminate confusion. For example bullet one reads, " Requirements Analysis Phase: Gather and analyze business, functional and nonfunctional requirements to create one unambiguous set of requirements" combine it with the top of the next page"1) Requirements Analysis Phase: Gather and analyze business, functional and nonfunctional requirements to create one unambiguous set of requirements" and leave the list below it. This allows you to cover the elements in a single referenceable location for any Task Orders. | TA5 | FSA will take into consideration. |
| 151 | Requirements Analysis and Design Phases does not address the alignment with FSA's/USDA's enterprise architecture (EA). Recommend adding reference to EA data structures, architecture and other agency defined elements. | TA5 | FSA will take into consideration. |
| 152 | Recommend rewording as follows, "d. The contractor shall adhere to the SDLC in regards to promoting code from one landscape to another. The contractor shall not transfer any code, test scenarios, or test results to Acceptance Testing until after the Government has reviewed the system or process and the COR or designated Government Technical Lead has authorized the move to Acceptance Testing. | TA5 | FSA will take into consideration. |
| 153 | Recommend rewording as follows, "The contractor shall be capable of providing 24/7 operational support as directed by the individual task orders." This will remove the ambiguity of "as needed". | TA5 | FSA will take into consideration. |
| 154 | Consider using references back to Task 3 (EA) to support the relationship between solutioning and the enterprise reference model. | TA5 | FSA will take into consideration. |
| 155 | Could introduce DevOps and either provide introduction to Sub G, or combine Sub G entirely into Sub D. | TA5 | FSA will take into consideration. |
| 156 | Project Management is not called out specifically as a Sub-Task Recommend adding Project Management as a sub task | TA5 | FSA will take into consideration. |
| 157 | Recommend adding the following sub tasks |
1. Project Management
2. Forms development (OMB forms)
3. Data maintenance
4. Ad-hoc reporting requests
5. Configuration Management
6. Tech Writing (user manuals/guides, etc.) 7. Cloud Development
| TA5 | FSA will take into consideration. |
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