FBO_Q&As1.pdf

Q & A’s

1) Whether companies from Outside USA can apply for this? (like, from India or Canada) Yes we would consider foreign companies, however I believe the awarded vendor will need to be onsite for at least the beginning and the end of the project. The middle could likely be performed VPN, so long as USDA IT Security standards are met.

2) Will there be government supplied equipment? Yes, due to IT Security requirements the awarded vendor will either need to work on our computers in house or be issued a government laptop for VPN into our server. This is why it is a requirement the applying vendors must be able to pass all IT Security standards, fingerprinting, and a Federal Background check.

3) Can you ballpark estimate a budget for this project? The government will not be making an estimate; we are awaiting Best and Final Quotes from vendors and will use those as one factor among several for award.

4) Can you tell me what is driving the timeline for this project? The timeline was set by the end user.

5) To clarify you mentioned - A table of tasks and a timeline for total project completion date No Later Than 1 July, 2017. Is the project scheduled for completion on July, 2017 or is that the deadline to submit a table of tasks? Project completion date is 1July2017. We will need a table of tasks and timeline, to know how you realistically intend to meet that completion date.

6) Who are the main stakeholders involved in the website? The stakeholders would be the unit that this webpage belongs to and ARS as a venue to display their research, myself as the contract specialist, and the public users that may access this information. This may include anyone from other Scientist, to students, to farmers, to the general public that may have an interest in animal taxonomy.

7) Are you willing to go through the discovery and strategy process? We would welcome a discovery process, so that the awarded vendor will have a full understanding of the needs and vision of the end user.

8) A database redesign was mentioned briefly - The USDA, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) requires a redesign of the National Animal Germplasm Program (NAGP) database. Is modifying the database a requirement for the project? The database redesign is the whole project. While the data will not change, redesigning the webpage and making the information already stored in the database more easily accessible is the goal.

9) The current site has a Public area and a Member Access Area, is this a requirement for the project? Since we do not have member access, is there a significant functionality difference between the two? Yes, the new site will incorporate all of the current information; therefore will need all of the same links and pages. Member’s access is reserved for local staff; they would have access to more information than public site.

10) Another requirement mentioned is to maintain and enhance drilldown concept in the utilized in the existing webpages. When you mention enhance, are the drilldown sections redesigned and interactive? Or do you intend to keep the current functionality and design for the “Collection Overview” section, “Tools for Decision Support” and the remaining drilldown links. The drill down section is not currently redesigned, as the whole thing is 10 years old. We want to keep the drill down approach, but open to a complete redesign.

11) Is there a file format you would prefer for the storyboard rendering, the design and user documentation? (.pdf, .docx) No preferred format. I can easily change back and forth from either .pdf or docx.

12) Do you have any specific template for providing quotes? No specific template.

13) This will still be pages for the US and Brazil, correct? Yes. Additionally, there are Canadian pages.

14) As far as the Portuguese content and query results, is a translator used for conversion, or is there Portuguese data in the database? The Brazilian (and Canadian) counterparts on this project are responsible for their portion of the pages, and translation, etc.

15) Am I correct in saying that there are approximately 15 pages per country for a total of 30 pages?

Yes, however the Brazilian (and Canadian) counterparts on this project are responsible for their portion of the pages, and translation, etc. So you would only complete the USA pages.

16) Do you know what was used to create the graphs in the results? The end user is unsure of the original program, but states we would like a complete redesign of this.

To reiterate: the Best and Final Quote should be to me no later than 1/22/2017@1700MST.

It is very important your quote addresses ALL of the requirements listed in the solicitation.