Attachment_J-6_Question_and_Answers.xlsx
XLSX spreadsheet 29 KB Posted
- Attached to
- Health Care Quality Information Systems (HCQIS) Infrastructure and Data Center Support (HIDS)
- Solicitation number
- CMS-150209
About this file
Response to Additional Questions
View the file
Other files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| RFP-CMS-2015-8A-00209.pdf | ||
| Attachment_J-6_Question_and_Answers.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| RFP-CMS-2015-8A-00209.pdf | ||
| J-1_HIDS_SOW_06-30-14.docx | DOCX document | |
| J-6_Question_and_Answer_Template.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| J-2_Schedule_of_Deliverables_4-29-14.pdf | ||
| RFP-CMS-2015-8A-00209.pdf | ||
| J-4_Consent_to_Subcontract.pdf | ||
| J-3_Award_Fee_Plan_4-29-14.pdf | ||
| J-5_Non_Disclosure_Statement.docx | DOCX document | |
| J-7_CMS_Guide_Incident_Reporting.pdf | ||
| J-1_HIDS_SOW_04-21-14.docx | DOCX document | |
| HIDS_SOW_4-21-2014_DRAFT.docx | DOCX document |
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Additional Q&A No. Document Name Page Section Question/Comment/Suggestion CMS Response
| 1 | 1. The initial RFP refers to "transition-in", and "Data Center Migration". These are two very different things with very different cost associated with each. We would expect to transition-in the work from the current contractor and to provide the Government an estimate of the cost associated with transition. In advance of Amendment 1, our read of the solicitation artifacts was that the methodology for the data center migration was to be outlined in our technical response, but not included in the bid price. The only cost requested was for the Transition in. After review of the Q&A, our interpretation seems to be in conflict and additional clarity is needed. Please confirm whether migration to the new data center (move of government IT assets/workloads from the Warrenton data center to our data center) should be priced in the Base Period. | The Transition and Migration are expected to occur within the Base Year of the contract. The Migration effort should be priced in the Base Period. | |||
| 2 | In the Q&A, question 111, in answer to a question “What percentage of Growth is anticipated on a yearly basis (hardware, software and services)?” government stated that the number is 20%, and then referenced Appendix C.C. A read of Appendix C.C details 20% growth for storage but does discuss other components such as processors, virtual guests and network etc. Please confirm that the 20% is limited to storage or does it encompass servers and networking gear as well. | Offerors should estimate 20% growth in capacity needs for all infrastructure. | |||
| 3 | The Government response to Q-264 “CMS expects that the bidder will leverage current equipment (where possible) as a part of the transition but also that they will provide recommended solution to support a successful transition. This may or may not include the need for additional HW/SW and be identified by the bidder as a part of their recommendation.” Will the Government permit a site visit to allow for contractors to assess the viability of current equipment in order to support the development of pricing? | Please refer to Asset Inventory in the most current RFP posted. All equipment is operational and under maintenance and is therefore "viable". The referenced statement from the RFP recognizes that a bidders transition strategy may require an investment in "seed" HW and SW to reduce the impact of transition. Offerors should include the cost of such assets in their proposal. | |||
| 4 | RFP-CMS-2015-8A-00209 | 2 and Attachment J-3 | B.5, Determination of Award Fee | Section B provides for a Cost Plus Award Fee contract. There is no provision for a base fee, and the award fee determination is performed on an annual basis. This structure will put undue hardship on the cash flow and financials of all small business prime contractors on this set-aside contract as all fee will be collected only once per year. Cost Plus Award Fee contracts are typically issued to large businesses who can easily accommodate the unique cash flow implications. Allowing a base fee in addition to the award fee will enable small businesses to effectively manage the financials and provide a steady cash flow while maintaining the incentive provisions of the award fee contract. The current contract includes a base fee provision, so there is a precedent for this fee. In addition, Section B states that alternate contract types will be considered. While this is the same contract type, will CMS add a base fee provision to the award fee structure such that the small business can collect a portion of the overall fees via the monthly invoice? | Offerors may propose an fee structure that combines a base amount and an award amount. By defininition, a Cost-Plus-Award-Fee contract is a cost-reimbursement contract that provides for a fee consisting of (a) a base amount (which may be zero) fixed at inception of the conract and (b) an award amount. See FAR 16.305 Cost-Plus-Award-Fee Contracts. |
| 5 | RFP-CMS-2015-8A-00209 | 62 | L.2, Solicitation Provisions Incorporated by Reference | Section L.2 lists FAR Clause 52.222-46 EVALUATION OF COMPENSATION FOR PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYEES (FEB 1993). |
1. Please clarify if a Total Compensation Plan is required with proposal submission and specify the volume in which it should be included.
OR
| 2. Confirm if the requirements in Section L for the Business Proposal satisfy the requirements as defined within this FAR clause. Section L requires offerors to comment on price reasonableness and provide the rationale for the specific labor categories proposed, the fringe benefit % as part of the indirect rate applications, and the basis and analysis for the specific labor rates proposed for each labor category. Based on these specific RFP proposal instructions, please confirm this satisfies the submission requirements as defined within this FAR clause as part of the offeror’s overall response and that the government will consider such submission compliant with the terms of this clause. | Yes, the requirements in Section L for the Business Proposal satisfy the requirements as defined within the FAR clause. | |||||
| 6 | RFP-CMS-2015-8A-00209 | 70 | L.10(b), When/Where/How Many Proposals to Submit | Section L.10(b) requires an "original copy of the combined proposal." Please clarify what is meant by "combined proposal." Section L.11(b) requires each volume to be separately labeled, so we assume the Section L.10(b) statement does not mean the government wants all three volumes combined in one binder. | The three volumes shall be in separate binders. | |
| 7 | RFP-CMS-2015-8A-00209 | 73 | L.11(b).3, Formatting | Will the government allow the use of 11x17 inch pages for the staffing table? The information required in the project staffing plan table per Section L.12, Chapter 5, Section 4, cannot be presented effectively on 8.5x11 inch pages. | Yes | |
| 8 | RFP-CMS-2015-8A-00209 | 74 and 76-77 | L.12, Chapter 2, Section 1, Program Management; | |||
| L.12, Chapter 4, Section 2, Program Management Approach | The Section L requirements for Chapter 2, Section 1, Program Management, are identical to the requirements for Chapter 4, Section 2, Program Management Approach. Please remove the duplicate section. | Please refer to the most recent RFP document. | ||||
| 9 | RFP-CMS-2015-8A-00209 | 78 | L.12, Chapter 5, Management Plan, Paragraph 4 | Please clarify that the project staffing plan table, which will require a significant number of pages, can be included as an appendix and will not be counted against the page limit. | The project staffing plan table can be included as an appendix and the page count will not count against the established page limits. | |
| 10 | RFP-CMS-2015-8A-00209 | 85-86 | M.2, Chapter 4, Section 1, Contractor and Subcontractor Key Personnel | Section M.2, Chapter 4, Section 1, item c indicates that key personnel will be evaluated based on the interpersonal and communication skills demonstrated in Oral Presentations and other interactions during the evaluation period. Is the government planning to conduct oral presentations? | The government will not be conducting oral presentations. Please see the revised RFP under this section for the correction | |
| 11 | RFP-CMS-2015-8A-00209 | 86 | M.2, Chapter 4, Section 2, Staff Experience and Qualifications | Section M.2, Chapter 4, Section 2, Staff Experience and Qualifications, does not map to any proposal section stipulated in Section L. According to Section L, Chapter 4, Section 2, is Program Management Approach. Please clarify the discrepancy. | Please refer to the most recent RFP document. | |
| 12 | RFP-CMS-2015-8A-00209 | 86 | M.2, Chapter 5, Management Plan, Paragraph 4 | Please clarify the difference between the Supplier/Vendor Agreements to be submitted as Appendices to the Technical Proposal and the Subcontract Agreements to be submitted in the Business Proposal. | Supplier/Vendor are considered parties that provide items such as materials and miscellaneous services. Subcontractors are considered parties which provide major support and services that directly impact the operation of a data center. | |
| 13 | RFP-CMS-2015-8A-00209 | 78 and 86 | L.12, Chapter 5, Management Plan, Paragraph 5 | |||
| M.2, Chapter 5, Management Plan, Paragraph 4 | Reference Section L: 5. Responses shall describe the Offeror’s subcontracting and supplier/vendor management practices and demonstrate that the Prime Contractor’s agreements with externally obtained data sources and teaming partners will be in place upon award of a contract between the Prime Contractor and CMS. |
Reference Section M: 4. Offeror’s plan for furnishing external data sources for supplementary verification of CMS provider enrollment data. CMS will evaluate the Offeror’s Supplier/Vendor Agreements submitted as Appendices to the Technical Proposal.
It is unclear what external data sources are required, as the HIDS contract does not include requirements to provide supplementary verification of CMS provider enrollment data. Please clarify the requirement to furnish external data sources and what agreements are required with externally obtained data sources. The statement from Section L stands. The phrase "external data sources" may not apply to all Offerors and loosely refers to any external source of data referenced in the Offeror's response.
Offerors should disregard the referenced RFP statements from Section M referring to "external data sources for supplementary verification of CMS provider enrollment data."
| 14 | RFP-CMS-2015-8A-00209 | 79 | L.13 VOLUME II: BUSINESS PROPOSAL CONTENT | Please clarify the statement: "The offerors shall submit the following information in its written business proposal to support the proposed costs, award fee, and fixed price." Please clarify which elements of pricing are fixed price as this is a cost plus contract. | Please refer to the most recent RFP document. | |
| 15 | J-1_HIDS_SOW_04-21-14 | 80 | C.6.2 Outgoing Transition Plan | Paragraph C.6.2 states: "The Contractor shall submit a transition plan that provides support for up to 12 months of transition with this proposal.... In any case, the transition shall be completed within 90 days of incoming Contractor’s contract start date." | ||
| Please clarify what is intended by support for up to 12 months of transition and completing transition within 90 days. Is the transition out period 12 months or 90 days? | The Transition Plan is required to be developed and submitted for approval within 90 days of award. The actual transiston is expected to take up to 1 year after award. | |||||
| 16 | J-1_HIDS_SOW_04-21-14 | 80 | C.6.2 Outgoing Transition Plan | The SOW requires offerors to include estimated transition out costs in the transition out plan. |
1. Does the government want offerors to include transition out costs in the transition out plan, which is submitted as part of the Technical Proposal, or should offerors include these costs in the Business Proposal?
2. As there is no CLIN for transition out, should offerors price a portion of Option Period 9 as the transition out period?
3. Alternatively, is the requirement to provide estimated costs for transition out intended to be for the contractor to provide when requested by the government during performance of the contract? 1) Business Proposal
2) Yes include as part of Option Period 9.
3) Offerer should expect to provide an updated cost for transition out when requested by the government.
| 17 | J-1_HIDS_SOW_04-21-14 | 80 | C.6.2 Outgoing Transition Plan | The SOW requires offerors to submit a transition out plan, including a Microsoft Project Plan, with the proposal. Please clarify that the Microsoft Project Plan will not be counted against the page limit. | Microsoft Project Plan will not count against the established page limits. | |
| 18 | RFP-CMS-2015-8A-00209 | 79 and 87 | L.12, Chapter 8; M.2, Chapter 8 | The HIDS RFP requires that the offeror submit a Section 508 Product Assessment Template (PAT) with their proposal submission. Please clarify what Electronic or Information Technology (EIT) product CMS is requesting the PAT be associated with as it appears CMS is requesting a single PAT. Is the offeror expected to propose a PAT for every EIT product identified in the offeror’s proposal? If yes, this would require the submission of a minimum of 68 individual PATs (per Appendix C.A “Total # of Software Product Types”) for existing products, which does not include products that may be proposed as new to the environment. Alternatively, should the requirement be for contractors to complete a PAT for each deliverable as documentation of the 508 compliance status during contract performance? Please clarify if the 508 PAT is required with proposal submission or post award. If required with proposal submission, please clarify which EIT products CMS is requesting the PAT be associated with. | If HIDS is considered a complete system comprising of multiple applications, one VPAT would work as long as it is comprehensive of all the individual parts (applications) contained within. | |
| 19 | Question #111: The response to "What percentage of Growth is anticipated on a yearly basis (hardware, software and services)?" was "Stated in Appendix C.C: 20%". | |||||
| The 20% reference in C.C was in the context of Production Storage only. Since the question was for hardware, software, and services, please clarify if the 20% annual growth only applies to Production Storage. Also, is the 20% annual growth a simple 20% increase in the initial storage where that same increase is applied for each option year resulting in a 200% increase in storage by contract end or is the 20% compounded annually. If compounded annually, this results in more than a 600% increase in storage (and server processing if the growth also applies to servers). Please provide a near term response since the impacts of the answer have a significant impact on pricing. | Offerors should estimate 20% growth from the previous year in capacity needs for all infrastructure and services. Offerors should note that a 20% increase in capacity does not necessarily translate to a 20% increase in cost due the potential for advances in processing/memory technology or the migration to lower cost computing and network platforms. |
20 Question 167 asks if "Total Estimated Cost column in this Schedule include costs associated with the acquisition and recurring annual maintenance fee for hardware and software."
The response states that "The contractor is expected to propose the O&M cost for each performance period identified in Section B3 Schedule of Services."
Is O&M only for recurring support and does include acquisition of hardware and software which are GFE? If impacts of hardware and software acquisition is to be included, what are the expected refresh periods and hardware quantities per refresh period? Please not that the answer to the prior follow-up question regarding growth percentage is related this question and will drive O&M costs. O&M refers to only the recurring annual costs for hardware maintenance, software support and licensing.
Data Center equipment refresh periods vary greatly and equipment is replaced when technical and/or financial justification exists and funding is available. Offerors should base their estimates on the IT Asset list in the Appendix and their recommendations for replacement and strategy for accomodating growth estimates.
21 Question 282: The answer to this question states that "The BOM should include the bidders recommended IT needs to support their proposed solution for the transition of the data center and to cover any refresh cycles of the current HCQIS equipment. In addition the bidder should recommend any proposed new IT equipment." Is the Offeror required to submit a BOM of only make recommendations for proposed IT equipment. For the Offeror to create a realistic BOM, additional information about the current hardware models and age of current hardware is needed. Offerors should included all proposed costs, including HW and SW, associated with their transition plan. Offererors shall also included costs in their BOM for replacement of equipment based on the following:
Data Center equipment refresh periods vary greatly and equipment is replaced when technical and/or financial justification exists and funding is available. Offerors should base their estimates on the IT Asset list in the Appendix and their recommendations for replacement and strategy for accomodating growth estimates.
22 We assume that all the current products are in compliance with Section 508 or appropriate justification for an exception has been executed. Because a Product Accessibility Template (PAT) is specific to a piece of equipment or service we assume that a statement to the effect that we will comply or provide enhancements to ensure compliance would satisfy this requirement and that the contractor does not need to complete the PAT for submission with the proposal unless we are proposing new equipment, services or software that fall under the Section 508 guidelines? For the purposes of proposal submission, Offerors should assume that the current infrastructure is in compliance with 508 requirements or has approved exceptions.
If HIDS is considered a complete system comprising of multiple applications, one VPAT would work as long as it is comprehensive of all the individual parts (applications) contained within.
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