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Michigan.gov/MiProcurement
BIDDER QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Direct Solicitation (DS) 250000000012 Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Business Requirements Gathering and Market Research Process Improvement Support
| Q# |
| Document and Section |
| Page # |
| Bidder Question |
| Answer |
| 1 |
| Proposal Instructions |
| 1 |
| Please confirm whether a Tier-One Operational Consulting Contract is required to bid on this Tier-Two Solicitation for Business Requirements Gathering and Market Research Process Improvement Support. |
| Yes, a Tier-One Operational Consulting Contract is required to bid on Tier-Two DS 250000000012. |
| 2 |
| Proposal Instructions |
| 1 |
| What is the preferred start date, time frame, and anticipated finish date, for this consulting effort? |
| See page 1 of proposal instructions for Anticipated Contract begin Date of August 15, 2025. See Schedule A, 2., 2.1 Timeframes. All contract activities must be delivered within 12 calendar months |
| 3 |
| Proposal Instructions, 6. Evaluation Process |
| 3 |
| How will price be taken into consideration regarding Best Value for those vendors that meet the minimum 80-point technical threshold. |
| See Proposal Instructions, Section 6. Evaluation Process for how proposals will be evaluated. |
| 4 |
| Vendor Questions Worksheet, Questions 1. |
| 11 |
| Has MDHHS and/or DTMB had any third-party help in preparing this solicitation? If so, please identify the individual or firm and indicate if they will be allowed to bid on this solicitation. |
See Vendor Questions Worksheet, Question 1, bidder response: “If you enter “YES”, you are not eligible for contract award or to work as a subcontractor for the awarded vendor.”
| 5 |
| Schedule A Statement of Work, Background |
| 15 |
| Have there been any previous efforts to conduct improvement in these agencies’ work processes? If so, what was the effort, when was it done, who performed the effort, and what was the outcome? |
| To the extent that this information exists, the State will share the information with the selected Contractor as a function of discovery during Contractor onboarding. |
| 6 |
| Schedule A Statement of Work, Background |
| 15 |
| Can the project be completed completely remotely? |
| Yes, the project can be completed remotely. |
| 7 |
| Schedule A Statement of Work, Background |
| 15 |
| Will the consultant be developing written training materials, conducting training classes, or both. |
| Yes, see Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 1. Requirements. |
| 8 |
| Schedule A Statement of Work, Background |
| 15 |
| If a vendor participates in this project, will that vendor be prohibited from engaging in future solicitations that utilize the outputs from this project? |
| Please refer to section Schedule A, 1.1 “General Requirements,’ subsection C.1. |
The selected Contractor will not be considered an eligible vendor for any MDHHS IT solicitations where Contractor is piloting revised business requirements gathering and market research tools, processes and roles and responsibilities.
| 9 |
| Schedule A Statement of Work, Background |
| 15 |
| Can the State provide an approximate breakdown or percentage of past IT procurements initiated by MDHHS or DTMB that resulted in custom-built solutions versus commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) or SaaS purchases? |
| The State estimates that there have been approximately 26 completed solicitations over the past five years: 12 were COTS/SaaS and 14 were Custom development that DTMB handled for MDHHS. |
| 10 |
| Schedule A Statement of Work, Background |
| 15 |
| Can you describe the systems, tools, processes or applications that currently support MDHHS IT procurement activities? |
| The State will share this information with selected Contractor as a function of discovery during Contractor onboarding. |
| 11 |
| Schedule A Statement of Work, Scope |
| 15 |
| What procurement software is the State currently using? |
| The procurement software that the State is currently using is not within scope of this solicitation. |
| 12 |
| Schedule A Statement of Work, Scope |
| 15 |
| Is the State looking to improve the path to IT procurement, or the processes of ordering and receiving and paying for purchases, or both? |
| See Amendment 1 to DS 250000000012, Schedule A Statement of Work, Scope. The State is seeking to improve business requirements gathering and market research as pre-procurement activities. The subsequent IT procurement process managed by DMTB Financial Services and Central Procurement is out of scope. |
| 13 |
| Schedule A Statement of Work, Scope |
| 15 |
| How many standardized processes do you envision the consultant addressing (based on the answer to question 12 above)? |
| The State expects this to be determined at project kickoff or discovery sessions with the awarded Contractor. |
| 14 |
| Schedule A Statement of Work, Scope |
| 15 |
| What are the State’s issues, concerns, or challenges with the current process to IT procurement? |
| See Amendment 1 to DS 250000000012, Schedule A, Background and Scope. The State will share additional details with the selected Contractor as a function of discovery during Contractor onboarding. |
| 15 |
| Statement of Work - Scope |
| 16 |
| In addition to training and implementation plan support, are you looking for support in planning and/or execution of organizational change management more broadly to support adoption? |
| No, see Amendment 1 to DS 250000000012, Schedule A, Statement of Work, Scope. |
| 16 |
| Schedule A Statement of Work – Scope |
| 16 |
| Regarding following line items from Scope, "Contractor activities will include collecting, documenting and managing the requirements that define the features and functionalities of a system or application in support of procurement activities and the assessment of available technologies and vendors that should be evaluated as potential bidders," is the State expecting to potentially procure a system solution to support through the awarded vendor? |
| No, see Amendment 1 to DS 250000000012, Schedule A, Statement of Work, Scope. |
| 17 |
| Schedule A Statement of Work 1. Requirements |
| 16 |
| Are there existing tools or templates currently used by MDHHS or DTMB to capture business requirements? |
| Yes, the State currently uses some templates and tools. The State will share materials with the selected Contractor as a function of discovery during Contractor onboarding. |
| 18 |
| Schedule A Statement of Work 1. Requirements |
| 16 |
| Are there specific tools or systems that the tools must be compatible with, that are expected by the State, to be used to support the implementation of business processes? |
| See Schedule A, Statement of Work, 1.1 General Requirements, A, yes, tools and systems should be compatible with technology supported by DTMB. The State is open to recommendations and will consider options that may be integrated by DTMB into the technology stack. DTMB technology stack compatibility requirements can be discussed with the selected Contractor as a function of discovery during Contractor onboarding. |
| 19 |
| Schedule A Statement of Work, Scope |
| 16 |
| Could you clarify requirements for market research, is MDHHS looking to update the process to meet industry best practices, peer state benchmarking, both? |
| See Schedule A, Statement of Work 1.1 General Requirements, A.-G. The State is looking to update its market research best practices to ensure completeness, accuracy, and representativeness, based on industry standard practices. This will ensure that recommended technology solution paths are responsive to business needs based on what may be available on the open market. |
| 20 |
| Schedule A Statement of Work 1. Requirements A. |
| 16 |
| Can you provide an org chart with specified roles that are currently responsible for requirements gathering & market research processes? |
| See response to Question 10. |
| 21 |
| Schedule A Statement of Work 1. Requirements A. |
| 16 |
| Currently, what roles support development of business requirements within the agency (i.e., Healthcare SMEs, Data architects, etc.)? |
| See response to Question 10. |
| 22 |
| Schedule A Statement of Work 1.1 General Requirements |
| 17 |
| Will the Contractor have direct access to end users (e.g., program leads, analysts, procurement staff) during the discovery phase, or will all access be coordinated by MDHHS and DTMB? |
| The State will assist with connecting Contractor to key informants (including end users). |
| 23 |
| Schedule A Statement of Work 1.1 General Requirements |
| 17 |
| Please identify the internal and external stakeholders and indicate which ones we will need to interview. |
| See response to Question 10. |
| 24 |
| Schedule A Statement of Work 1.1 General Requirements |
| 16-17 |
| Within the Scope of Work, General Requirements lists a number of things that must be accomplished, most of which seem to be listed generally in the chronological order in which they would be accomplished. We wanted to ask about 1.1(A). Some of the activities in 1.1(A) seem like they would come chronologically after some of the subsequent sections. For example, the recommendations would not be generated until 1.1(B) and tested even later so the 2 briefs mentioned in 1.1(A) would be accomplished section (B). To summarize my question, we would like to confirm that Section 1.1(A) does not need to be accomplished prior to other sections of the General Requirements. |
See Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 1. A. 2. General deliverables may include but are not limited to developing project plans to specify timelines and milestones for initiatives. The bidder must describe how they will comply with the above requirements.
In addition, see Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 5.1 Project Work Plan. Within 10 business days of the Effective Date, the Contractor must submit a final project work plan to the Program Manager for approval. The work plan must include: (a) the Contractor's organizational chart with names and title of personnel assigned to the project, which must align with the staffing stated in accepted proposals; (b) the project breakdown showing sub-projects, tasks, timeline, and resources required; and (c) all project workplan content required in Schedule A, Section 1 “Requirements.” Bidder must submit its project plan as described.
| 25 |
| Schedule A Statement of Work 1.1 General Requirements |
| 16 |
| Please confirm this DS ultimately envisions a process that reliably gathers and then revises business processes and then researches through discovery methods what is (or may be) available in the marketplace. This envisioned process would have an output of robust IT application requirements that would meet business needs and dependably provide an analysis of the market’s potential to meet those needs. This output would become an input into the RFP development process, which will, in turn, initiate the procurement system to satisfy DHHS’ stated business need (with its requirements itemized and described). |
Put another way, we are confirming with you that you do not want meta (or ERP, or high-level) type IT application (software) to accomplish this pre-procurement list of program requirements and market-informed capabilities. Rather you want a reliable and quality assured process to produce this precondition of robustly knowing what the business needs are and what the market may offer in the way of Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS), Software as a Service (SaaS), or the capacity to create custom developed software. Do we have a correct understanding?
See Amendment 1 to DS 250000000012, Schedule A, Statement of Work, Scope, “[…] the State seeks to procure an impartial Contractor to make process improvement recommendations based on industry standard best practices that will address the challenges that the State is currently experiencing. […] The Contractor must develop, document and optimize a set of standardized process and procedures for gathering business requirements and performing market research to support the procurement of IT applications that may include Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS), Software as a Service (SaaS) or custom developed software.”
| 26 |
| Schedule A Statement of Work, Scope and 1.1 General Requirements |
| 16-17 |
| Will the Contractor be responsible for any post-procurement analysis or is the scope strictly pre-procurement? |
No, the Contractor will not be responsible for any post- procurement activities.
| 27 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 1.1 General Requirements |
| 17 |
| Did a previous vendor assist with developing or executing the currently utilized processes/tools the state is using for business requirements gathering or market research? If so, which vendor? |
| No, a previous vendor did not assist with developing or executing the currently utilized processes/tools the state is using for business requirements gathering or market research. |
| 28 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work Section 1.1 General Requirements, A.2. |
| 17 |
| Regarding Scope Section 1.1 General Requirements A.2, does the State have any current process documentation around business requirements gathering and pre-procurement processes? Does the state use any market research tools currently? |
| See response to Question 17. |
| 29 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 1.1 General Requirements, A.2. |
| 17 |
| How is the State currently documenting business requirements, in regards to the process, tools, and staff involved? |
Can the State provide any related documentation to the awarded vendor at contract start for initial review?"
See response to Question 10.
| 30 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 1.1 General Requirements, A.2. |
| 17 |
| How is the State currently performing market research, regarding the process, tools, and staff involved? |
Can the State provide any related documentation to the awarded vendor at contract start for initial review?
See response to Question 10.
| 31 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 1.1 General Requirements, A.2. |
| 17 |
| Can the state clarify what all entails "Government-Furnished Information (GFI)"? |
| Government-furnished information (GFI), means information in the possession of, or directly acquired by, the Government and subsequently furnished to the Contractor for performance of a contract. |
| 32 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 1.1 General Requirements, C. |
| 18. |
| Will the State assign a specific initiative to pilot, or are we responsible for identifying? Is there criteria to be used to identify the pilot? |
| The State will assist in identifying a pilot. See Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 1.1 General Requirements, Item C The pilot will support testing of the tools, processes, and roles and responsibilities matrix as applied to a business requirements gathering and market research to support a public health IT procurement. |
| 33 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 1.1 General Requirements, C. |
| 18 |
| Does the State have a targeted IT procurement type that would be the result of the Pilot Test and when it would be ready to start within the one-year project timeline (considering that the awarded vendor is excluded from bidding)? |
| No, the State has not identified the IT procurement type to be piloted. |
| 34 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 1.1 General Requirements, C. |
| 18 |
| To confirm, do the Pilot Test activities go through full build of an RFP document -- or just through compiling business requirements and market analysis? |
| See Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 1.1 General Requirements, Item C. The Contractor must conduct at least one pilot test of the revised business requirement gathering and market research tools, processes and roles and responsibilities as applied to an MDHHS IT procurement. |
See Schedule A. Statement of Work, Section 1.1. General Requirements, Item D. The Contractor must validate the performance of the revised business requirements gathering and market research tools, processes, roles and responsibilities and document pilot findings. The Contractor must evaluate the success of pilot activities by measuring outcomes, capturing participant feedback, and identifying previously unknown challenges.
| 35 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 1.1 General Requirements, C. |
| 18 |
| Can the State confirm that the pilot test does not include gathering technical requirements? |
| See Schedule A. Statement of Work, Section 1.2 Other Considerations, Item N. The Contractor must focus specifically on business requirements gathering and not solution technical requirements development which, as a derivative set of processes that occurs after a procurement has been executed, is out of scope of this work. |
| 36 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 1.1. General Requirements, C.1. |
| 18 |
| Regarding Scope Section 1.1 General Requirements C.1, Can the State confirm that the Contractor is only ineligible for solicitations using the new process during the pilot period? i.e. post-pilot period and project completion, the Contractor would not be precluded from bidding on procurements using the new process once the Contractor engagement is complete. |
| Yes, see the response to Question 4. |
| 37 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 1.1. General Requirements, B. |
| 18 |
| Are there specific methodologies (e.g., Agile, Lean Six Sigma, HCD) that the State favors or discourages for process redesign? |
| No, the State does not favor or discourage specific methodologies for process redesign. It is recommended that bidders consider proposing a methodology that they believe fits the needs and include examples of staffing expertise and past experiences that reflect the same or similar scope of effort. |
| 38 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work Section 1.1. General Requirements |
| 18 |
| Based on the proposed project milestone plan, it looks as if bidders are piloting new processes and tools in Month 4. Given that timeframe, have you already identified projects that would be ready to execute the piloted processes and tools for? |
| See response to Question 33. |
| 39 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work 1.1 General Requirements |
| 18 |
| Can the State please clarify what they are looking for in terms of the organization of the response, specifically Schedule A – Statement of Work. Should all individual requirements include a description of Bidder compliance, even if they lack a designated box in the RFP? |
| See Schedule A, Statement of Work, page 15. The Contractor must respond to each requirement or question and explain how it will fulfill each requirement. Attach any supplemental information and appropriate reference within your response. |
IMPORTANT NOTE TO CONTRACTORS/BIDDERS: There are specific requirements for which acceptance must be simply acknowledged through a checkbox(es), and others that require further explanation. Click the appropriate checkbox and complete the entries as appropriate.
| 40 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work Section 1.1 General Requirements |
| 19 |
| After item F on page 19, the next item is D. Should this be item G or is there anything missing? |
| See Amendment 1 to DS 250000000012. |
| 41 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work Section 1.1 General Requirements |
| 19 |
| Page 19, item F, is the sentence beginning with “In the implementation plan …”, should this be a separately numbered paragraph, or part of the Item F paragraph? |
| See Amendment 1 to DS 250000000012. |
| 42 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work Section 1.2 Other Considerations, A |
| 19 |
| Is there an incumbent contractor that supports / operates your current requirements & market research processes? Would you be able to share who? |
| No, the State does not have a current contract that supports/operates its current requirements and market research processes. |
| 43 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work Section 1.1 General Requirements |
| 17-18, 20 |
| Bidders are instructed to discuss how we will address items A and B directly on page 18. However, in section 1.2, items C and D, bidders are asked again to discuss how we will meet these requirements. Can you explain any differences in what you might be looking for in these two sections? Or are these sections redundant? |
| See DS 250000000012 Schedule A Statement of Work, Section 1.1 General Requirements. The bidder must indicate the process and methods by which they will achieve two briefs and development of supporting tools, processes, and roles and responsibilities in Section 1.1, subparts A and B. In Schedule A, Section 1.2, subparts C and D the bidder needs to represent their commitment to ensuring key constituent components are represented in the output derived from the process and methodology described in all of Section 1.1. |
| 44 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work Section 1.1 General Requirements A-D., and 1.2 C-J |
| 20 |
| Questions in Section 1.1 General Requirements A-D seem to be similar to the questions asked in Section 1.2 Other Considerations C-J. Can the State confirm if these questions are intended to be similar questions answered in more detail or if the State expects different responses? |
| See response to Question 43. |
| 45 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work Section 1.2. Other Considerations |
| 20 |
| Can you share the readout report from the current state assessment? If not, could share the top three issues/learnings? |
| There is no current state assessment readout report. |
| 46 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work Section 1.2 Other Considerations, F |
| 21 |
| What KPIs exist currently to measure the requirements gathering and procurement process? |
| See response to Question 10. |
| 47 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work Section1.2 Other Considerations, F. |
| 23 |
| Regarding Scope Section 1.2 Other Considerations F.1, what do the existing IT readiness and procurement readiness materials include? (e.g. checklists, procedures, process flows). |
| See response to Question 10. |
| 48 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work Section 1.2 Other Considerations, K. |
| 23 |
| The DS states, "The Contractor should develop an IT product categorization methodology that enables a clear representation of the joint MDHHS-DTMB IT product portfolio that can subsequently be used in support of market research with MDHHS business units". Can the State clarify what they expect this methodology to include? And if by categorization methodology, we are interpreting this correctly as a system for organizing and classifying IT products and services into logical groups based on various criteria like product type, functionality, or intended use? |
| See DS 250000000012 Amendment 1, Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section1.2 Other Considerations, Item K. 3. and 4. The State is asking for the development of a product and services catalogue that is logically categorized by various criteria and assists in business unit awareness and market research pre-procurement activities. This catalogue should also be designed and implemented in a manner that is easily maintained by the State, after project close-out. |
| 49 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section1.2 Other Considerations, M. |
| 23 |
| Section 1.2 Other Considerations M mentions visibility of review and approval routing at DTMB. Does this refer to review and approval of the business requirements or of the procurement status? |
| See Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section1.2 Other Considerations, Item M. This refers to review and approval of business requirements. Bidder must describe how they will comply with the requirement. |
| 50 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 1.2 Training |
| 25 |
| It looks like the section numbering repeats starting with 1.2 Training on page 25. Should the vendor refer to sections as is? |
| See Amendment 1 to DS 250000000012, Schedule A Statement of Work, for revised Sections 1.3 through 1.8. Section 1.4 Training is now the correct reference. - |
| 51 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 1.2 Training |
| 25 |
| To help inform the training and knowledge transfer needs, how many people are involved in defining business requirements gathering and market research activities? What roles? |
| See response to Question 10. |
| 52 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work Section 1.2 Training |
Regarding Section 1.2 Training, what format is currently used for training?
See response to Question 10.
| 53 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work Section 1.2 Training |
| 25 |
| Will the State require multiple training formats (e.g., live, recorded, written guides) to ensure knowledge transfer? If so, which ones? |
| The State is amenable to multiple training formats as recommended by the Contractor based on best practice and expertise. |
| 54 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work Section 1.2 Training |
| 25 |
| Does MDHHS have training modality preferences, specifically between live, instructor-led courses vs. asynchronous training courses like recorded webinars or e-learning, or a blend of both? |
| See response to Question 53. |
| 55 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work Section 1.2 Training |
| 25 |
| How many people does MDHHS anticipate will be trained in the standardized and improved path to IT procurement? |
| See response to Question 10. |
| 56 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work Section 1.2 Training |
| 25 |
| If in-person training is a component of a bidder’s solution, can the bidder assume that MDHHS will provide training facilities for the sessions? If so, which specific sites will require training sessions? |
| See response to Question 53. If in-person training is proposed, the State will provide training facilities for the sessions. |
| 57 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work Section 1.2 Training |
| 25 |
| Does MDHHS have a Learning Management System in place that can be utilized to deliver the training? |
| See response to Question 10. |
| 58 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work Section 1.2 Training |
| 25 |
| What are the accessibility requirements of developed courses (e.g., Section 508 compliance). |
| Section 508 compliance is required. State of Michigan accessibility requirements will be shared with selected Contractor during onboarding. |
| 59 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work Section 1.2 Training |
| 25 |
| Is there an expectation for post-training support or office hours? If so, please elaborate. |
| Contractor may offer availability to provide training support or office hours as a training modality offered in the bidder response only to the extent that it may be needed during the contract period. Support after the period of performance is not expected. |
| 60 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work Section 4.3 Program Manager |
| 26 |
| Who will be the key person (i.e., point of contact) representing the MDHHS as its project manager and point of coordination, and having the authority to act in the MDHHS’s best interests for this consulting effort? |
| The State’s Program manager is identified in Section 4.3. The State may also appoint Project Leads who will coordinate contractor activities. |
| 61 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work Section 4. Staffing |
| Please provide the organizational structure for MDHHS and DTMB |
| See response to Question 10. |
| 62 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work Section 5. Project Management |
| 29 |
| Regarding Scope Section 5.1 Project Work Plan: Is a draft Project Work Plan required as part of this submission? |
| No, the project work plan must be submitted and approved by the State within ten (10) days of the project kickoff. See DS 250000000012 Amendment 1 Section 5.1 |
| 63 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work Section 5.3 Reporting |
| 31 |
| What tools does the State use today for reporting and dashboards? Is the awarded vendor able to utilize the already in place dashboard tool for the purposes of this project? |
| See response to Question 10. |
| 35 |
| Is there an estimated budget for this project that can be shared? |
| The budget for this project will not be provided. Bidders must not exceed the hourly rates identified in their Original Contract Schedule B – Pricing to provide a lump sum fixed price not-to-exceed amount for the tier-two SOW project. |
| 65 |
| SCHEDULE B - PRICING |
| 35 |
| Is there an established budget range or a not-to-exceed amount for this work? |
| The budget for this project will not be provided. Bidders must not exceed the hourly rates identified in their Original Contract Schedule B – Pricing to provide a lump sum fixed price not-to-exceed amount for the tier-two SOW project. |
| 66 |
| Schedule B Pricing |
| 35 |
| Regarding Schedule B - Pricing, is the vendor allowed to manipulate the provided pricing table in order to list multiple Staff/Roles per deliverable and breakout hours expected per role, per deliverable? |
| See Schedule B, for instructions. Bidders must not exceed the hourly rates identified in their Original Contract Schedule B – Pricing to provide a lump sum fixed price not-to-exceed amount for the tier-two SOW project. |
| 67 |
| Schedule B Pricing |
| 35 |
| Are we to include travel and living expenses for our consultants in the hourly rate, or list it as a separate cost? |
| See Schedule B. Item 2. |
Price proposals must include all costs, including but not limited to, any one-time or set-up charges, fees, and potential costs that Contractor may charge the State (e.g., shipping and handling, per piece pricing, and palletizing).
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