Q A_AG32KWS150172_Amendment01.docx

AG-32KW-S-15-0172

Amendment 01 Questions and Answers

Trofholz Technologies, Inc.

Is there an incumbent contractor currently performing this requirement?

APHIS: No there is not an incumbent contractor.

Ameex Technologies Corp

1. Can we get a sneak peek of the current NWRC Intranet portal? A test account with read-only access to the site would be great, if that is a possible option. Or snapshots of the website highlighting the major functionalities would be highly appreciated. And that would help us come with a precise estimation of efforts from our end.

APHIS: We are not able to provide access to the NWRC Intranet portal. It requires security clearance and that cannot be provided without a background check process.

2. The solicitation mentions that about 10-15 users currently post content to the intranet site. Is 10-15 the total number of Content editors/admins that would continue to use the site? Do we also have external users on the site? If so, what would be the rough count of external users? Do we have user login for the external users?

APHIS: It is estimated that amount of content editors would remain the same. There are approximately 150+ users who access the site and utilize posted content.

3. Is there any preference towards use of Out of the Box functionalities of SharePoint? Do you also have any reservations against usage of Custom modules?

APHIS: The current SharePoint site is out of the box and does not utilize custom modules. There is limited support/ability to use custom modules.

4. The current implementation is planned on SharePoint 2010 and there is a requirement that talks about the design being compatible with SharePoint 2013 (as a future plan). Are you open to upgrading the site at the moment to SharePoint 2013 to leverage the enhanced User experience capabilities of SharePoint 2013? Doing the upgrade and redesign at the same time might help save cost for the organization.

APHIS: We cannot at this time upgrade the site to SharePoint 2013 due to current guidelines in our organization. Compatibility to with SharePoint 2013 is essential as we must be able to convert to SharePoint 2013 when the NWRC migrates systems in the future.

5. Under Performance requirements, there is clause mentioned that all contractor personnel should have U.S Citizenship. As an organization, we leverage our Offshore Development teams from India in addition to the Architects and Business Analysts from the United States. Are you open to a blended model were our Development activities can be performed by our Offshore Development Team?

APHIS: It is preferred that the vendor be located within the local commuting area of Fort Collins, Colorado, to allow for face-to-face visits and meetings with appropriate NWRC technical, research, and administrative staff.

Margaret Zombori

Does the Combined Synopsis/Solicitation under solicitation number AG32KWS150172 contain requirements similar to a current contract?

APHIS: No

If possible, please provide the current contract number.

Or, is this a new requirement for the government?

APHIS: N/A

Maria Taylor

CLIN 01

1. Are there any retention and discovery related governance items that need to be factored in?

APHIS: No. The role of the governance plan is to outline the administration, maintenance and support of the NWRC Intranet Site.

1. Do SharePoint groups or Active Directory distribution lists already exists to include the users who will be subject to or participants in the governance?

APHIS: The Governance committee will include a pre-determined committee of NWRC staff. All users of the SharePoint site are subject to the governance set forth by the committee.

CLIN 02

1. What web parts are used on the interface and are there restrictions in terms of what parts can be used going forward?

APHIS: Currently the site is utilizing standard web parts that come with the out of the box SharePoint including the calendar web parts and document libraries among others.

1. Is the farm setup and do practices allow the use of Search driven web parts for surfacing content or the use of Content Query Web Parts APHIS: Yes in conjunction with use by the SharePoint site.

1. Are there non-standard (out of the box) SharePoint services/features that are part of your suite of tools that may or must be used?

APHIS: There are currently no non-standard SharePoint services being utilized.

1. How long do search engine crawls take and how frequently are they run?

APHIS: Search engine crawls are not conducted on a regular basis and thus we do not have a time frame.

CLIN 03

1. Do you currently use Content Types and the Content Type Hub?

APHIS: Yes.

1. Can you share with us your Content Type taxonomy?

APHIS: It is normal operational file types. Word documents, pdfs, excel etc.

1. Do you currently use the Term Store and if so, how extensively and consistently?

APHIS: No

1. What tools do you use for tracking site usage and at what level are you tracking?

APHIS: Site web analytics reports. Site and page level.

CLIN 04

1. Are the users impacted by this part of a union and might there be specific regulations/policies that need to be followed in addressing their training needs?

APHIS: No

· Where is site currently hosted?

APHIS: On the APHIS Server.

· Do you have a support contract in place with an external vendor?

APHIS: No

· How many SP users in total?

APHIS: Approximately 150+.

· Is there an incumbent (e.g. who implemented the current intranet?)

APHIS: This person was a staff member and has retired.

The Heurist, LLC

1. Where can we find a copy of Attachment A, APHIS Security Agreement and Rules of Behavior?

APHIS: See Attachment A

2. Are invoices submitted after each deliverable or on a time-based payment schedule (e.g. bi-weekly invoices)?

APHIS: Invoices can be submitted monthly or after each deliverable is accepted.

3. Are there restrictions on the location where members of the contracting organization can reside? In other words, are persons outside the State of Colorado (NM) able to work on this project?

APHIS: It is preferred that the vendor be located within the local commuting area of Fort Collins, Colorado, to allow for face-to-face visits and meetings with appropriate NWRC technical, research, and administrative staff.

4. If an out of State member of the contracting organization needs to travel to Ft. Collins, can a finite amount of expenses be reimbursed? e.g. 3 plane tickets from New Mexico to Colorado over the course of the project.

APHIS: No travel costs will be reimbursed.

5. Are expenses for mileage or total number of trips (driving) from Denver to Ft. Collins reimbursable? If so, should those be accounted for in the proposal as a line item separate from the scope or billed on an as needed basis?

APHIS: No travel costs will be reimbursed.

6. Are there any specific requirements for document type or formatting for submission aside from the standard forms?

APHIS: Complete blocks 30a, 30b and 30c on the Standard Form 1449, submit Price Proposal on the Schedule of Items document and Technical Proposal in accordance with FAR 52.212-2 Evaluation -- Commercial Items (Oct 2014)

7. Is it acceptable to provide a supplementary SOW/Proposal outlining how we intend to accomplish the specific deliverables?

APHIS: Yes, a Technical Proposal is required indicating how you will accomplish the deliverables.

8. Since there is the possibility of rebuilding the SharePoint 2010 Architecture, would the contractor be able to have the appropriate access to the following:

a. SharePoint SP_Admin Account (Main Admin Account for SP) APHIS: Yes

b. Server Admin Access (for any server related to the APHIS SharePoint Farm) APHIS: No

c. Access to create SQL Databases for SharePoint specific tasks APHIS: It is possible in conjunction with the SharePoint site.

d. If access cannot be granted to one, any or all of the previously mentioned how will the Contractor proceed with administering these tasks/duties?

APHIS: The contractor will be provided with the necessary access when it is possible within the rules and guidelines of APHIS and WS. The NWRC site is part of larger organizational structure and that might limit access where access to the whole site might entails access to the server.

e. If these tasks/duties are to be fulfilled by APHIS, are there available resources employed by the Federal Government to facilitate the necessary requests?

APHIS: Yes

9. Assuming that SharePoint full access would be granted to perform the required tasks are the any expectations to provide technical services for the following applications:

APHIS: In conjunction with SharePoint only:

a. Active Directory APHIS: Yes in conjunction with SharePoint

b. Exchange APHIS: Yes in conjunction with SharePoint

c. SQL APHIS: Yes in conjunction with SharePoint

d. Instant Messaging Solutions (e.g. LYNC) APHIS: Yes in conjunction with SharePoint

e. Other Hardware or Software (aside from SharePoint) not listed above APHIS: Yes in conjunction with SharePoint

10. Is there a desired number of onsite meetings per month required for this project aside from a routine, bi-weekly or otherwise noted by project need (e.g. kickoff, Governance Meeting, etc) assuming that the majority of the work would be completed remotely?

APHIS: There is not a set amount of meetings determined at this point. The meetings will be determined by work flow, project need and a schedule for routine check-ins will be established.

11. Is installing a 3rd party module for SharePoint acceptable? (e.g. CSS Template, SharePoint-based Project Management Application) APHIS: The current SharePoint site is out of the box and does not utilize custom modules. There is limited support/ability to use custom modules.

12. If a 3rd party module is required to meet one of the requested deliverables, can the expense of that module be billed separately outside the quoted total project amount if approved?

APHIS: Yes the module can be billed outside of the requested total. The installation of said module would be within the quoted project total.

13. How is the contractor expected to handle client requested changes in project scope? Or rather, what is the formal process in the event of additions to agreed upon scope?

APHIS: A bilateral modification will be issued for changes

Bravo Consulting Group

1.What is required for the response beside from the completed schedule of items? Should we submit a capability statement?

APHIS: Complete blocks 30a, 30b and 30c on the Standard Form 1449, submit Price Proposal on the Schedule of Items document and Technical Proposal in accordance with FAR 52.212-2 Evaluation -- Commercial Items (Oct 2014)

1. Do you foresee any future SharePoint Support subsequent to this contract?

APHIS: No

3. What type of resource allocation would you consider adequate for this effort? (1 FTE, 2 FTEs?)

APHIS: Your company should determine how many resources you need to accomplish the deliverables for the period of performance.

4. Is there another SharePoint contractor currently supporting the agency?

APHIS: No

ShuffleLabs

1. Under Other Requirements (extracted immediately below) there is some ambiguity in that it is “preferred” that the vendor be local to you. Can you please clarify? That is, if a non-local vendor harbored the right match and advantages, and presented the best proposal, would they be considered?

APHIS: We would prefer that the contracted vendor had personnel within easy commuting of Fort Collins, CO. We anticipate fairly close interaction with the vendor and would prefer periodic face-to-face meetings.

2. We have no specific experience working with USDA intranet-related policies and restrictions (yet). However, we do have personnel with various clearances (both Active and Inactive), and we routinely undergo training at clients sites (old and new) for specific projects – in other words, we harbor the right potentials, sensibilities, and sensitivities. (As but one example, I possess a Top Secret [Inactive] security clearance, which has been re-activated for specific projects many years after my separation from U.S. Army Active Duty service).

APHIS: Unless the vendor has current security access through USDA APHIS, they will have to undergo and pass background security checks and take APHIS specific training before they will be allowed to access the APHIS network.