Draft_IDIQ_PWS_AG-3187-S-14-0005_04_Feb_2014.docx

HR Technology Implementation and Advisory Services Support

Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity Umbrella

Performance Work Statement

Forest Service

February 5th, 2014

1. INTRODUCTION

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service (FS) seeks qualified Contractors with expertise in human resources and application development and management to assist with application implementation in the Human Capital Management (HRM) Enterprise. In addition to supporting FS, Contractor services may be requested by any USDA agency or office.

2. BACKGROUND

Established in 1905, FS is a federal agency that manages public lands in national forests and grasslands under a founding principle, "To provide the greatest amount of good for the greatest amount of people in the long run". The agency’s mission is to “sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations”. The FS has the responsibility for stewardship of more than 193 million acres of the nation’s forests and grasslands; for developing and communicating scientific knowledge through research and development that leads to informed natural resource decision-making; for delivering technical assistance through state and private forestry programs; and for sharing knowledge and experience with others in the global community through international forestry.

FS will serve as the agency lead for this IDIQ, and is anticipated to be the primary user of USDA agencies and offices. However, other USDA agencies may use the IDIQ and will serve as task order leads for their respective task orders. Within FS, Human Capital Management (HRM) provides comprehensive human resource (HR) services to nearly 40,000 full-time and seasonal employees. HRM services include labor management and employee relations, employee development, staffing, classification, Equal Employment Opportunity, and other related functions. In providing support across FS, HRM uses online tools and applications to streamline requests and responses to HR services. Previous contractor support has assisted FS in managing and implementing HR Information Systems (HRIS) applications within the HRM Enterprise. Currently, seven applications have been implemented to-date with five additional applications being implemented in FY2013.

3. CONTRACT OBJECTIVES

Through Contractor support, FS expects to achieve:

Professional project management that establishes and adheres to a roadmap, plan, and schedule for implementing HRIS.

Accurate identification and documentation of technical requirements necessary to achieving a successful implementation effort.

Compliance with regulatory and oversight authorities regarding capital planning, budget planning and execution and contract management activities.

Effective development of strategies, standard operating procedures and processes to address data integrity, communications, data governance, operational processing, etc.

Timely identification, mitigation and monitoring of potential and actual project risks.

Technical subject matter expertise and advice during the planning and performance of technical phases, such as design, implementation, testing, demonstration, and re-implementation.

Thorough identification and recommendations for cultural changes necessary to support HRIT implementations.

Knowledge transfer and training that equips Government personnel to expertly use and maintain HRIS.

4. SCOPE

Contractors shall provide services under the following Task Areas as requested in subsequent task orders. Each Task Area includes a high-level summary of tasks that may be required. Task Area summaries are representative of potential support requirements. Task Areas include:1. Project Management2. Risk Management3. Issue Management4. Strategy Development5. Design6. Build7. Testing, Development, Coordination and Oversight8. Deployment Phase Development, Coordination, and Oversight9. Post-Production Phase Coordination and Oversight10. Change Management 11. Knowledge Transfer and Training12. Capital Planning, Budgeting and Procurement Support13. Advisory Services14. Transition Services

4.1 Task Area 1 – Project Management

The Contractor shall be responsible for project management in all task orders to ensure it delivers high quality products and timely and efficient support. This Task Area includes both the Contractor’s management of its project as well as overall project management services for FS initiatives. Tasks within Project Management include, but are not limited to:

4.1.1 Development and execution of the Contractor’s Project Management Plan (PMP) that outlines project management-related information, such as the approach; a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) to executing tasks; a detailed project schedule including key milestones, resources required to accomplish the elements of the plan; quality assurance; identified risks; etc.

4.1.2 Updates to the PMP upon request.

4.1.3 Preparation and submission of status reports, which may include major accomplishments made during the period, as well as any issues encountered.

4.1.4 Development and monitoring of a detailed project budget for Labor Hour or Time and Materials task orders. The project budget shall detail actual and projected hours and costs per month, for the overall project, as well as each task area.

4.1.5 Assistance to the Government during the course of the project, by performing various project management-related tasks in coordination with, and on behalf of the Government.

4.1.6 Identification, tracking and management of critical milestones, which affect go/no-go decisions by the Government and alter the task dates.

4.1.7 Assistance in creating a Project Management Strategy Document. The strategy shall cover project management-related topics, such as the project management process; roles and responsibilities of the Project Management Office (PMO); establishing the Project Governance Board and Business Owners; constraints and assumptions; issue management; risk management; change control; and status reporting to the FS Leadership Team.

4.1.8 Assistance in the creation and management of Government PMPs, including merging of the Contractor’s PMP into the Government’s PMP to ensure on-time, coordinated efforts.

4.1.9 Draft meeting materials including presentation decks, white papers or other types of management and/or budget information analyses,.

4.1.10 Attend and participate in meetings, which may include presenting, facilitating and meeting support services.

4.1.11 Develop an annual report of all task orders active during the period of performance, including task order number, COR, modifications and modification purposes, initial completion date and final completion date, and original estimated value and actual value for the period.

4.2 Task Area 2 – Risk Management

The Contractor shall:

4.2.1 Assist in the development of a Risk Management Plan. The plan shall document the project’s risks and assumptions associated with the risks. It shall also document the risk management process for identification, analysis, mitigation, management, and monitoring of project risks.

4.2.2 Assist in documenting, tracking, and reporting on any risks identified in the Risk Management Plan and/or risks identified by the Government. Tracking of risks shall include open dates, due dates, updated dates, and comments. If risks need to be escalated or any of the critical milestones are in jeopardy, the Contractor shall escalate the information to the appropriate parties.

4.3 Task Area 3 – Issue Management

The Contractor shall:

4.3.1 Assist the Government in identifying, documenting, tracking, and reporting on any issues identified by the Contractor or the Government. Tracking of the issues shall include open dates; due dates; updated due dates; and comments. If issues need to be escalated, the Contractor shall inform the appropriate parties.

4.4 Task Area 4 – Strategy Development

The Contractor shall formulate and articulate business and technology strategies for each initiative under consideration as well as the overall integrated services platform. The focus of this Task Area is to develop an integrated set of strategic actions aimed at securing an effective and sustainable solution. The Contractor shall:

4.4.1 Identify and document the Business Owners, Key Stakeholders, Implementation Team, and Other Interested Parties that are required to participate in the implementation and management activities and/or deliverable reviews and information gathering.

4.4.2 Assist in developing an Implementation Roadmap for each application that shall span all project stages, from initiation through development, to the transition and operations, which shall include, but not be limited to the following types of information:

List of key milestones and activities for the project Details regarding the basis for project governance, approval, and measurement—including definition of roles, accountabilities, policies, standards, and associated processes Definitions of the desired business outcomes (end states), benefits, and value—the business measures for success and overall value proposition Process for monitoring the project’s progress, Stakeholder’s commitment, Governance Board expectations, and results achieved Processes to be used for measuring the outputs, outcomes, benefits, and value—against both the plan and measurable expectations Information pertaining to the relationships between all internal and external groups associated with the project Ideas for how the Government can enable the project, through resourcing of staff and consultants, harnessing and managing business support and the provision of the governance resources Methods for the Government to use to control the scope, contingency funding, and overall project value Guidance for steering the project into the organization, removing obstacles, managing the critical success factors, and remediating project or benefit-realization shortfalls Description of the proper flow of information regarding the project to all Key Stakeholders, Business Owners, Implementation Team Members, Interested Parties, etc.

Practices to use to ensure that all required approvals and direction for the project are obtained at each appropriate stage of the project Definition of a mechanism to assess the compliance of the completed project to its original objectives System for accurate upward status and progress reporting Process for managing and resolving issues that arise during the project Process for recording and communicating risks identified during the project Standard for quality review of the key documents and project deliverables

4.4.3 Devise strategies concerning the Operational Processing Model, which shall be utilized after the application goes live and document the information in an Operational Processing Model Document. The model shall include, but not be limited to: responsible personnel; definition of controls; operating procedures; and Service Level Agreements (SLAs)/metrics for the services.

4.5 Task Area 5 -- Design

The Contractor shall perform tasks that create a foundation for developing the to-be state in terms of processes, technology, and organization during this phase.

4.5.1 Review and refine any business processes which may impact the use of the HRIS application. Activities may include, but not be limited to the following:

Reviewing the business processes that were created for the system with the Business Owners for each group of the HRM organization.

Identifying any changes that need to be made to the business processes in relation to the system. For example, any process that has managers and/or employees performing an action in the system will need to be changed.

The Contractor shall modify any applicable processes to incorporate any changes to the business processes in separate Updated Business Process Workflow Documents for each process that has been updated.

4.5.2 Review and refine any Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) which may impact the use of the system. Activities may include, but not be limited to the following:

Reviewing the SOPs that were created previously with the Business Owners for each group of the HRM organization.

Identifying any changes that need to be made to the SOPs in relation to the system. For example, any process that has managers and/or employees performing an action in the new system will need to be changed.

Modifying any applicable SOPs to incorporate any changes to the SOPs in separate Revised Standard Operating Procedure Documents for each SOP that has been updated.

4.5.3 Develop a Requirements Management Plan that details how the Contractor plans to help the Government gather, analyze, identify, prioritize, track, trace, and manage requirements in support of the project.

4.5.4 Schedule and conduct Requirements Gathering Meetings with Business Owners, to obtain the System, Testing, and Training Requirements for what is required to implement the system.

4.5.5 Develop a Requirements Specification Log, in accordance with the Requirements Management Plan, which shall be populated with the requirements gathered by the Contractor.

4.5.6 Upon finalization of the requirement, schedule and conduct Functional Design Session meetings with vendors, at which the Government will clarify any questions related to the requirements.

4.5.7 Based upon the information obtained during the Functional Design Session Meetings, the Contractor shall develop the Functional Design Documents for the effort.

4.5.8 Develop a Conference Room Pilot (CRP) Scenario which shall detail the business scenario that will be demonstrated in the Conference Room Pilot which will be developed by the vendor. The document should contain, but not be limited to information such as the major processes to be provided; description of what the demonstration will entail; logistics for the demonstration, including points of contacts; etc.

4.6 Task Area 6 – Build Phase

During the Build Phase, the vendor will be developing/configuring the system, utilizing the requirements collected by the Contractor during the Design Phase. The Government may require the vendor to provide a Conference Room Pilot (demonstration) of the capabilities provided by the vendor in relation to the implementation of the system. The pilot shall demonstrate the major processes that the system shall provide. In support of the Build Phase, the Contractor shall:

4.6.1 Review the Technical Design Documents to validate that the Requirements are fulfilled.

4.6.2 Work with the Government and the vendor to resolve any issues in the designs.

4.6.3 Conduct Technical Design Document Reviews to finalize and approve the Technical Design Documents.

4.6.4 Obtain the signatures of the meeting attendees to document their approvals for the Technical Design Documents.

4.6.5 Upon approval of the functional designs, serve as a liaison between the Government and vendor to coordinate the Conference Room Pilot efforts and ensure the pilot being developed by the vendor meets the requirements.

4.7 Task Area 7 – Testing Phase Development, Coordination, and Oversight The Testing Phase will verify and validate the system works as designed, in compounding stages. In order for the Government and the vendor to move to the next sub-phase of testing, the Government and the vendor need to review and assess the results found in each sub-phase of testing.

4.7.1 Develop a Testing Strategy in conjunction with the Government Governance Board, Business Owners, HRIS personnel, and vendor personnel. The Testing Strategy shall cover topics including, but not limited to the following:

Scope and approach for each sub-phase of testing Testing timelines Passing criteria/metrics for each sub-phase of testing Roles and responsibilities Defect management Information related to the environment established for each sub-phase of testing

4.7.2 Develop a Defect Management Plan, which shall discuss how the Government and the vendor will escalate system defects; define priorities for each defect; and indicate how long it will take to rectify each defect.

4.7.3 Oversee the Unit Testing that will be performed by the vendor to validate that all system requirements work properly, as provided in the requirements.

4.7.4 Upon the Vendor’s completion of the Unit Testing, deliver a Unit Testing Results Report that documents the results of the Unit Testing to the Government.

4.7.5 Oversee Conversion Testing, which will be performed by the vendor, with participation from the Government. The purpose of Conversion Testing is to validate that the data converted from legacy systems is accurately reflected in the new vendor application.

4.7.6 Oversee the Quality Assurance (QA) Testing which will be led by the vendor, with participation from the Government, in order to validate that the functionality of the system meets the requirements specified.

4.7.7 Oversee the User Acceptance Test which will be conducted by the Government, including Business Owners and Key Stakeholders. This testing is necessary to ensure that the system works as specified in the Functional Design Documents, including all interfaces.

4.8 Task Area 8 – Deployment Phase Development, Coordination, and Oversight

The Contractor shall:

4.8.1 Oversee the Deployment Phase in order to guarantee that the Government is ready for deployment, by comparing the established criteria and thresholds created by the Government and the vendor.

4.8.2 Coordinate a final testing to validate the system is ready to go live.

4.9 Task Area 9 – Post-Production Phase Coordination and Oversight

The Contractor shall:

4.9.1 Provide Post-Production coordination and oversight support after the systems goes live, in order to confirm that the system is working as intended and users are effectively and efficiently utilizing the system.

4.9.2 Assist Business Owners in utilizing the system by answering questions and rectifying any issues related to processes and SOPs.

4.9.3 Coordinate with the vendor on any issues that the Government is facing in the Post-Production of the system. The Contractor shall include details of any issues presented and the resolutions provided.

4.9.4 Create, distribute, collect, and track Customer Feedback Surveys, to capture feedback from all customer input sources, including e-mail, support desk, and phone contacts. The surveys will be gathered for evaluation and included in a Customer Feedback Survey Results Report.

4.10 Task Area 10 – Change Management Support

The Contractor shall:

4.10.1 Provide support to the Management team to ensure effective implementation. Support may include assessing the organization risk and readiness; mobilizing and aligning the leaders; aligning the organization; and communicating and mitigating risks.

4.10.2 Train leaders to support change management by providing tools/guidance needed to support and implement changes across the HRM organization.

4.11 Task Area 11 – Knowledge Transfer/Training

The Contractor shall:

4.11.1 Develop and deliver a Knowledge Transfer Plan to document a formal process, including the definition of knowledge areas; a schedule for knowledge transfer; identification of knowledge stakeholders and owners; and a scorecard and sign-off process to complete the transfer of knowledge. Knowledge transfer shall occur throughout the project.

4.11.2 Execute on the Knowledge Transfer Plan to equip Government personnel with the requisite knowledge to independently manage and use the system.

4.11.3 Meet with Government stakeholders to define training needs for role-based training, such as:

Desired delivery methods Delivery timelines Training course requirements Desired training locations Numbers of employees required to attend training within each group/branch Known training restrictions, limitations, or concerns Availability of Government staff to serve as trainers

4.11.4 Develop a Training Strategy that includes detailed curriculum, in coordination with the vendor and the Government.

4.11.5 Design the instruction materials for the system Training Course(s) based on the Training Strategy. Materials to be developed by the Contractor shall include, but not limited to the following items:

Instructor’s Manual Participant Workbook Scenario-based Exercises/Knowledge Checks PowerPoint presentations Job Aids Web-Based Training Modules

4.11.6 Develop and provide train-the-trainer sessions.

4.12 Task Area 12 – Capital Planning, Budgeting and Procurement Support

The Contractor shall:

4.12.1 Prepare materials to support organizational capital planning compliance and HR IT systems budgeting tasks.

4.12.2 Assist Government program staff in performing pre- and post-award contract management activities, including preparing draft solicitation packages for internal Grants & Agreements and Acquisition Management submissions, preparing cost estimates, performing market research, preparing draft justifications and approvals, and ongoing support of contractual matters. As this work is closely related to Inherently Governmental activities, the contractor shall maintain and provide detailed backup for all work accomplished that provides full transparency of the information used to develop deliverables.

4.13 Task Area 13 – Advisory Services

The Contractor shall:

4.13.1 Provide advisory services to the Government, upon direction, to support HRM in strategic direction, including but not limited to, impact of new legislation/regulation to the organization, innovations/best practices in technology or management practices in both the federal government as well as the private sector, and strategic planning.

4.14 Task Area 14 – Transition Services

The Contractor shall:

4.14.1 Develop a transition plan for transitioning in/out as required at the task order level.

4.14.2 Coordinate with the Government and other Contractors to support an effective and efficient transition.

4.14.3 Transition data to the Government and/or other Contractors in standard formats, as requested.

5. KEY PERSONNEL

The contractor shall identify an IDIQ Project Manager (PM) who shall be the single Point of Contact that is responsible for all matters pertaining to the execution and administration of all work under the contract. The IDIQ PM shall have the full authority to obligate the contractor in all matters pertaining to the administration of the contract. Key personnel will also be identified at the Task Order level.

6. IDIQ Performance Standards

While performance standards will be included in each task order, FS will apply the following performance standards to the IDIQ. Performance against these factors will be evaluated as a past performance consideration on task order proposal requests and on an annual basis to determine if option years should be exercised.

(AQL)

Monitoring Method

7. IDIQ DELIVERABLES

8. INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

The Government will perform inspection of the IDIQ deliverable and performance standards achievement in accordance with the IDIQ Task Order. Inspection and acceptance will be defined at the Task Order level for Task Order deliverables and performance standards achievement.

Procurement Sensitive