ArmyIgnitED RFI - Continued Capability Support_06172024_Clean_2July2024.pdf

ArmyIgnitED RFI

June 2024

ArmyIgnitED

Continued Capability Support Services

Request for Information

(RFI)

June 2024

Prepared By: Keith Baylor, Product Lead, i

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ii

Table of Contents

1.0 Introduction

2.0 System Description

2.1 ArmyIgnitED Description

2.2 ArmyIgnitED Technical Overview

3.0 Information Requested

3.1 Company Profile

3.2 Projects

3.3 Technical Response

3.3.1 SAFe Agile development and capability support

3.3.2 Knowledge of, and experience with, ArmyIgnitED Education Services

3.3.3 Experience with ArmyIgnitED

3.3.4 Capability Support

3.3.5 Help Desk

3.3.6 Cyber Security

3.3.7 Training

3.3.8 Testing

Special Requirements

4.0 Instructions

1.0 Introduction

The Army Contracting Command – Rock Island (ACC-RI), on behalf of the Project Management Office Enterprise Information Systems (PEO EIS), Project Manager, Defense Integrated Business Systems (PM DIBS), is seeking information from vendors on their ability to provide continued capability support services to the ArmyIgnitED system. Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Information received in response to this RFI shall be safeguarded adequately from unauthorized disclosure.

Disclaimer: This is not a “request for proposal (RFP)” to be submitted. It does not constitute a solicitation and shall not be construed as a commitment by the Government. Responses in any form are not offers and the Government is under no obligation to award a contract because of this announcement. No funds are available to pay for preparation of response to this announcement. Any information submitted by respondents to this technical description is strictly voluntary. Responses will not be returned to the responder. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on www.SAM.gov. It is the responsibility of potential offerors to monitor the www.SAM.gov for additional information pertaining to this requirement.

2.0 System Description

2.1 ArmyIgnitED Description

ArmyIgnitED is the Army's enterprise voluntary education portal that allows eligible Soldiers, Cadets and Army Civilians to request financial assistance for classroom and online learning courses anytime and from anywhere. ArmyIgnitED is a dynamic online system that automates many of the paper-based processes historically conducted in-person at Army Education Centers. The ArmyIgnitED system includes an automated registration tool that enforces Tuition Assistance (TA) and Credentialing Assistance (CA) policies and procedures, provides for automated financial transactions, tracks progress within the system and allows visibility of financial management and regulatory compliance of enrollment processes. ArmyIgnitED streamlines end-to-end TA and CA processes; eliminates capability gaps of legacy systems; provides a role-based user interface that is intuitive and easy to use, requiring minimal specialized or formal training to operate; and provides global user access via its web-based application.

ArmyIgnitED is a Business Category II program that supports 175,000 Soldiers, 14,000 Cadets, 175,000 Civilians and 150,000 education centers, schools, and vendors.

Education Counselors, the Defense Finance Accounting Service and academic institutions access the ArmyIgnitED solution to facilitate the financial management of funds available for Army Soldiers, Civilians and Cadets. ArmyIgnitED’s top priority is to help Soldiers, Civilians and Cadets achieve their educational and career goals with world-class tuition and credentialing assistance capabilities.

Soldiers use ArmyIgnitED to request TA to pursue their post-secondary education goals and request CA to earn industry-recognized professional and technical credentials.

Cadets use ArmyIgnitED to manage their scholarship benefits and submit Cadet Payment Requests (CPR). Army Civilians use ArmyIgnitED to request professional development and academic degree training. Army Education Counselors use ArmyIgnitED to document education guidance and respond to Soldier requests for educational assistance. AIs provide information on courses and degree programs for Soldiers, process credit-bearing enrollments, submit course grades and degree completions, and submit invoices for payment in the system.

Key Stakeholders for ArmyIgnitED include:

• U.S. Army Combined Arms Center (CAC)

• Army Credentialing and Continuing Education Services for Soldiers (ACCESS)

• Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC)

• Civilian Human Resources Agency (CHRA)

• United States Army Civilian Career Management Activity (ACCMA)

• United States Army Cadet Command (USACC)

• Army Deputy Chief of Staff, G-8 Programs (G8) ArmyIgnitED uses workflows unique to the Stakeholder and type of request to validate, route, and approve requests based on applicable Laws, Policies, Regulations, and Directives (LPRD).

ArmyIgnitED is in the process of migrating to the Air Force Cloud One environment as an Impact Level 4 service and will obtain its own ATO. The migration to Cloud One is expected to be completed in Q4 FY2024 and the ATO is planned for early January 2025.

2.2 ArmyIgnitED Technical Overview

ArmyIgnitED was developed to be responsive to emerging needs to include adding and/or updating functionality as requirements evolve (e.g., LPRD changes, updated / new interfaces, enterprise modernization, technology progression, new users). Key objectives of ArmyIgnitED include:

• Streamline and automate end-to-end business processes.

• Eliminate capability gaps of legacy systems.

• Minimize customization that inhibits upgrades to the established GOTS solution.

• Provide access to authoritative data sources.

• Provide a role-based user interface that is intuitive and easy to use requiring minimal specialized training or formal training to operate.

• Provide user access via web-based applications.

• Provide user Identity, Credential, and Access Management (ICAM) by leveraging Enterprise Access Management Service – Army (EAMS-A).

• Provide single sign-on capability.

• Provide a Help Desk capability to support end users in resolving issues.

• Operate in an approved Government cloud environment.

• Be Risk Management Framework (RMF) compliant with an active ATO.

• Comply with statutes and Department of Defense (DoD) and Army LPRDs.

• Adapt to continuously emerging LPRDs.

• Minimize cost of operations, maintenance, and support.

• Support financial auditability compliance requirements.

• Promote and improve efficiencies when integrating with existing automated solutions.

The following provides characteristics of the ArmyIgnitED system:

• ArmyIgnitED automates the TA business processes for each of the four different TA types (1 Civilian and 3 Military) and enforces distinct and complex business rules originating in LPRDs.

• ArmyIgnitED automates the Credentialing Assistance (CA) business process for each of the four different CA types (1 Civilian and 3 Military). Each type adheres to associated business rules related to the CA Type and LPRDs.

• ArmyIgnitED automates the Cadet Sponsorship business process for Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) and academy cadets submit requests for assistance for books and housing according to the type of Cadet and LPRDs.

• ArmyIgnitED automates the Civilian professional development and training activities in accordance with LPRDs.

• ArmyIgnitED provides funds management and accounting to track the availability of funds to include a query with GFEBS to ensure real time obligation and de-obligation of funds.

• ArmyIgnitED offers hierarchal and role/permission-based reporting capabilities.

• ArmyIgnitED user support includes training through documentation and video tutorials; Frequently Asked Questions; and Help Desk support M-F 0800-1700

EST.

• ArmyIgnitED users access the system through web portals. Soldiers, Civilians, and Cadets use the Student Portal (https://www.armyignited.army.mil/student), Administrative users access through (https://www.armyignited.army.mil/admin), and Schools use the same AI Portal as the Air Force (aiportal.us.af.mil).

• Commercial web traffic passes through a Cloud Access Point.

• CAC authentication is performed through EAMS-A and User ID/ Password with

2FA is available for non-CAC users using Mobile Connect.

• The AI portal is a shared responsibility with AFAEMS.

• ArmyIgnitED is developing and performing in the Air Force Cloud One environment.

Table 1: ArmyIgnitED Details

Parameter Description Number of Users Military Users CONUS/OCONUS: ~500,000

DA Civilian Users: ~175,000 Cadet Users: ~14,000 Education Centers, School, Vendor: ~ 150,000

Help Desk contacts annually ~ 2700 Emails ~ 500 Phone Calls ~ 1300 Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Tickets

Connectivity NIPRNET, Commercial Internet

Domains .mil

Security Application Security, System/Infrastructure Security, Network Security, Data Security, and User Security

Privacy Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) Personally Identifiable Information (PII)

Data Format Types image, mapping, video, “flat file”

Infrastructure Production Environment 3 App Servers: 160 GB each. Total storage

= 480 GB

1 DB Server (shared with AFAEMS):

~ 11+ TB. (ArmyIgnitED usage ~ 6 TB + AWS S3 Storage Note: Scaled down Pre-Production and review environments, and development environments also exist Retention Requirements: to be determined based on data type (e.g., financial, Human Resources)

Document Formats Microsoft Suite, Adobe, .png, .jpg, .csv, .dat, .vsd, xml

Parameter Description

Requests Processes Annually Tuition Assistance Request (TAR) ~300K Credentialing Assistance Request (CAR) ~22K Cadet Payment Requests (CPR) ~ 24K Civilian Tuition Assistance ~ 20K

Number of Business Processes 386 with associated business rules

Number of Interface Partners 19

User Environment Types Full connectivity; limited connectivity

The table below identifies the completed and planned interfaces to/from the ArmyIgnitED system.

Table 2: ArmyIgnitED Interfaces

# System of Record (SOR) Status Automated

Exchange Complexity Exchange Type

Interface Direction

ITAPDB – Integrated Total Personnel Database

Complete

Yes

Low

Flat File

Inbound

E920 – Human Resources Command (HRC) data

COOL – Credentialing Opportunities Online

CCIMM – Cadet Command Information Management System

Medium

Internal File Transfer

5 DJMS / DJMA - Defense Joint Military Pay System

Yes Low File from

Outbound

ACPERS – Army Civilian Personnel System

Direct DB Connection

Bidirectional

DFAS - Defense Finance Accounting Service

No Low File emailed from

# System of Record (SOR) Status Automated

SAM – System for Award Management

No

Download from Public

Website

ACT – Army Career Tracker

GFEBS – General Fund Enterprise Business System

API

11 DCPDS - Defense Civilian Personnel Data System

Yes Medium SFTP Outbound

GIMS – Guard Incentive Management System

SFTP

PEPS – Post secondary Education Participation system

Download from Public

DANTES OSD Rates - Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Educational Support

No Low Download from Public

JST – Joint Service Transcript

16 DMDC - Defense Manpower Data Center

Yes Medium Direct DB Connection

OEMA – Office of Economic Manpower Affairs

IPPS-A – Integrated Personnel and Pay System - Army

High

API

# System of Record (SOR) Status Automated

19 AIE - Accessions Information Environment

Yes Medium API Bidirectional

3.0 Information Requested

3.1 Company Profile

Using the template below, provide the following information about your company. If submitting a team response, please include the requested information for all companies on the team.

Company Name, Address, and Country of Business

Company Representative, Business Title, Phone Number, and Email Address

Partners Team Approach Business Classification/Socio- Economic Status (e.g., large)

NAICS Code

3.2 Projects

Using the template below, provide the requested information for up to three (3) projects your company/team has performed within the past three (3) years with similar scope and size. It is preferred that one of the projects include knowledge of or experience with the ArmyIgnitED solution. Complete one table per project.

Agency/Customer

Project Name

Contract Vehicle and Task Order Number (if applicable)

Contract Value, or in the case of a Task Order, the Task Order Value (for base and options)

Contract Type (as well as incentives (if applicable))

Pricing Structure - Contract Line Item Number (CLIN) structure and breakout of cost elements

Period of Performance (base and options)

Prime or Subcontractor

% of Work Performed

Primary Software and Modules

Functional Scope

Description of Work Performed

Security Clearance Requirements (number of personnel and level of clearance and/or designation)

3.3 Technical Response

This RFI focuses specifically on the following areas.

• Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) Agile development and capability support

• Capability Support

• Help Desk Support

• Cyber Security

• Training

3.3.1 SAFe Agile development and capability support

a) Describe knowledge of and experience with using SAFe Agile development and capability support.

b) Describe how your team will be organized to develop and deploy enhancement.

c) Describe your process for breaking down and prioritizing functionality into manageable services that can be incrementally released to the user.

d) Describe your experience in using Development, Security, and Operations (DevSecOps) in your process.

e) Describe your experience using a Continuous Integration / Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipeline(s), to include managing parallel development tracks and cross pollination of similar capabilities and features. Provide diagram(s) if available.

f) Describe the documentation your SAFe Agile approach includes to support development, requirements traceability, testing, and long-term sustainment of the functionality.

g) Describe the metrics (Agile or otherwise) you will use to track the progress of the delivery of the functionality.

h) Describe the key challenges you have experienced utilizing the SAFe Agile delivery approach and how you addressed them.

i) Describe how your processes support the delivery of innovative solutions and upgrades in the future.

j) Describe your testing approach and processes to include automated regression testing.

k) Describe the issues/defect collection, tracking, and resolution process to include mean time to resolve.

l) Describe your approach to requirements decomposition.

m) Describe your process to estimate work and conduct long range Agile Sprint planning.

3.3.2 Knowledge of, and experience with, ArmyIgnitED Education Services

a) Describe your knowledge of and experience with Army LPRDs for educational services.

b) Describe your knowledge of and experience with Army business processes for the various TA/CA/Cadet types.

3.3.3 Experience with ArmyIgnitED

a) Describe your knowledge and experience with ArmyIgnitED characteristics and interfaces.

3.3.4 Capability Support

a) Describe your Capability Support model that accounts for your SAFe Agile approach.

b) Describe your approach to interface management, to include metrics and issue remediation and resolution.

c) Describe your change management and approval process.

d) Describe the tools and processes used to conduct code vulnerability scans and satisfying development level cyber security activities.

e) Describe your knowledge and experience with the Air Force Cloud One environment.

f) Describe your knowledge and experience managing multiple applications that share common capabilities, features, and data across multiple cloud environments controlled by different Branches of Service.

g) Describe the ramp-up period and transition timeline you anticipate providing effective capability support to the ArmyIgnitED system.

h) Describe your ability and process to surge resources as needed to accomplish time sensitive tasks.

3.3.5 Help Desk

a) Describe how you propose to identify, escalate, resolve, and track help desk problems.

b) Describe your experience in providing help desk support.

c) Describe your process to evaluate helpdesk tickets for the purpose of root cause analysis leading to changes in training, bug fixes, and recommended change requests

d) Describe your approach for Help Desk support, to include case management and resolution, and any associated tools.

e) Describe your approach to integrating Help Desk case management with the supported applications

3.3.6 Cyber Security

a) Describe your experience with the following cyber security activities: (1) certification and accreditation; (2) continuous monitoring; (3) continuity of operation and disaster recovery; and eMASS support.

3.3.7 Training

a) Describe your experience in providing virtual training.

b) Describe your use of technologies to enhance training.

3.3.8 Testing

a) Discuss your knowledge of and experience with Agile software testing.

Special Requirements

The Government will review market information to ascertain potential market capacity to: 1) provide services consistent, in scope and scale, with those described in this notice and otherwise anticipated; 2) secure and apply the full range of corporate financial, human capital, and technical resources required to successfully perform similar requirements; 3) implement a successful project management plan that includes:

compliance with program schedules; cost containment; meeting and tracking performance; hiring and retention of key personnel, and risk mitigation; and 4) provide services under a performance based service acquisition contract.

4.0 Instructions

Responding to this RFI will not preclude any vendor from responding to future acquisitions, either individually or as part of a team. Marketing brochures will not be considered adequate information in response to this RFI.

Limit responses to a total page limit of ten (10) pages. The font shall be Times New Roman and no smaller than 10pt with at least a one-inch margin. Please submit your responses via e-mail by 1200 Central Time 15JULY2024. Submissions should be directed to the attention of Contracting Officer Michelle Pleasant, in the mailing.

Submission should be in a Microsoft Word compatible file (.doc or .docx file extension).

Proprietary information, if any, should be minimized and MUST BE CLEARLY

MARKED.

Special Requirements

4.0 Instructions