Final Questions and Answers_ADS.xlsx
XLSX spreadsheet 82 KB Posted
- Attached to
- FDIC Architecture & Design Support Services
- Solicitation number
- CORHQ-24-R-0437
- Issued by
-
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
About this file
This document contains questions and answers related to a federal contract opportunity for Architecture & Design Support (ADS) Services with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
The key details are:
- The opportunity is for a new contract to provide a range of ADS services to support all FDIC Divisions and Offices, including enterprise architecture, strategic planning, cloud cost management, and business analysis.
- There are incumbents that provide portions of the required scope, but not the full scope outlined in the solicitation.
- The contract will have a base period starting January 1, 2025 and up to 4 option periods, with a maximum period of performance through December 31, 2029.
- The solicitation does not include any small business set-asides.
- Offerors may use subcontractors and must provide a pricing proposal for Agile teams ranging from 2 to 10 full-time equivalents.
- The FDIC will evaluate past performance, staffing, management approach, technical capability, and pricing.
View the file
Other files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| CORHQ-24-R-0437-P0001.pdf | ||
| FDIC TSA Slides - public.pdf | ||
| Revised ADS Pricing Workbook.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| 2027 Target State Architecture v1.1 2023-09-01.pdf | ||
| f3700-46.pdf | ||
| f3700-46A.pdf | ||
| CORHQ-24-R-0437.pdf | ||
| Question Form.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| ADS Pricing Workbook.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet |
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Questions
| Architecture & Design Support Services Solitication CORHQ-24-R-0437 Questions & Answers | ||||
| Question | Applicable Document | Page # | Question | Response |
| 1 | Is there an incumbent on this contract? If so, please provide the incumbent name, current contract number, Period of performance , value of the contract. | Yes, there are incumbents for portions of the work. However, the incumbents do not provide support for the full scope of FDIC's requirement as outlined in CORHQ-24-R-0437. The incumbents are CITIZANT, INC. with Task Order No. CORHQ-21-G-0340-0006 and IT HUB INC. with Contract No. CORHQ-23-C-0360. The contract values and period of performances are not being shared. | ||
| 2 | SOO | 10-11 of 87, para 4 | What tools are being used to develop and publish EA artifacts, data, reports, dashboards, etc.? | FDIC is currently using the following tools: |
Ins-Pi ServiceNow SharePoint Adobe AEM Custom web pages and applications
| 3 | SOO | 10-11 of 87, para 4 | Is ADS interested in conducting training activities to improve the maturity of the EA program within FDIC? If so, what departments of ADS could training be delivered to? Iterative training strategies that grow in scope over time to all key contributors to EA data is the recommended approach. | Though training to improve the maturity of the EA program is not an objective included in the SOO and, therefore, not a specific requirement for this solicitation, ADS is interested in training opportunities that improve the maturity of the EA program. The training would need to be provided within the fixed price Agile Team ordered by the FDIC. |
| 4 | SOO | 10-11 of 87, para 4 | How are Enterprise Architecture products being leveraged today for Program Management Support, especially in regards to driving reporting, quarterly/yearly planning meetings and presentations, and work execution | FDIC enterprise architecture products are currently supporting program management by: |
- Providing architecture governance
- Managing roadmaps used for investment planning
- Reporting technical capabilities
- Delivering consistent analyses of alternatives
| 5 | SOO | 10-11 of 87, para 4 | How are Enterprise Architecture products being leveraged today for Operational Support, especially in regards to driving reporting, quarterly/yearly planning meetings and presentations, and work execution | FDIC enterprise architecture products are currently supporting operations by reporting technical capabilities and maintaining application inventory, governance. |
| 6 | SOO | 10-11 of 87, para 4 | Is the contract written intending for the contractor to also provide EA application installation and maintenance support or licensing purchases and provisioning? | ADS does not anticipate requiring support for purchasing or provisioning licenses, but we may require support for developing and maintaining reference applications, and provide support for usage of EA tools. |
| 7 | SOO | 10-11 of 87, para 4 | What is the organizational structure of the current EA COE at ADS in FDIC? Does this group have any formalized operations such as an Architecture Review Board? | FDIC does not currently have a COE per se. |
The hierarchy of the organization of which ADS is a part is:
Chief Information Officer Organization (CIOO) Division of Information Technology (DIT) Deputy CIO - Technology, Chief Technology Officer (DCIO-T/CTO) Enterprise Strategy Branch (ESB) Architecture & Design Section (ADS)
ADS chairs the Security and Enterprise Architecture Technical Advisory Board which is the current formal governance board.
| 8 | Can a US Veteran owned small business reply that has not worked with FDIC before? | Yes. However, this solicitation does not include specific small business set asides. | ||
| 9 | pg. 13, item 10 | CONTRACTOR STAFF BENCH - Do you have some clearance requirements. While we are cleared company for the DoD we are not a cleared company for FDIC. Must we be one in order to be responsive on day 1 of the contract? | Please see 7.5.2-03 - Background Investigations (January 2023). The extent of the background investigations conducted will be in direct relation to the risk level assigned in clause 7.5.2-08, Risk Level Designation (Functional Responsibility). | |
| 10 | SOO | N/A | Can the FDIC provide the name of the incumbent if one exists? | There are incumbents for portions of the work. However, the incumbents do not provide support for the full scope of FDIC's requirement as outlined in CORHQ-24-R-0437. The incumbents are CITIZANT, INC. and IT HUB INC. |
| 11 | SOO | 9 | In the SOO, in section 3.1, one of business objectives is "Assist in establishing and maintaining architecture practices, centers of excellence and governance structures". |
1) Can the FDIC share high level details on the established Centers of Excellence (COE) and Governance structures?
| 2) Can the FDIC share high level details on any known target COE and Governance structures that it desires to have established? | ADS does not currently have a COE per se. See the response to Question 7 regarding existing Governance structure. FDIC has no high-level details to share on desired COE or Governance. | ||||
| 12 | SOO | 14 | In the paragraph for item #15, the FDIC discloses that services included within this contract creates the possibility of organizational conflicts of interest (OCI). |
| Would the FDIC consider the submission and evaluation of an OCI mitigation plan during execution of the contract for vendors currently delivering services to the FDIC to alleviate the OCI? | Yes. Please include any OCI mitigation plan in Volume IV. | |||||
| 13 | SOO | 42 | Clause 7.5.5-01 excludes the base year in the period of performance listed. Can the FDIC confirm that the period of performance starts in 2025? | Yes, the period of performance is anticipated to start January 1, 2025 for the base period. See clause 7.3.1-12 - Period of Performance - July 2023 which states "the Initial Period of Performance begins on January 1, 2025 and expires on December 31, 2025. If all option periods are exercised, the final expiration date is December 31, 2029. "See clause 7.5.5-01, Option Period. |
Clause 7.5.5-01 only is used to reference the option periods/years.
14 SOO 73, 79 On page 73, in Clause 7.3.2-16 item (d), the FDIC indicates that a commercial past performance can be submitted.
However, on page 79 titled "Overview of Two-Phased Approach", in the "Content" cell for the "II - Past Performance" row, the FDIC only lists content tailored to Federal past performance.
| We ask that the FDIC consider eliminating the use of CPE/CPARS or other Government systems for Commercial past performance and utilize the past performance questionnaire for Commercial contracts. | While CPE/CPARS and other Government systems may be queried (7.3.2-20), the FDIC would consider the PPQs and offeror narratives that would be submitted under 7.3.2-16. | |||||
| 15 | Evaluation Criteria | Will the FDIC consider classifying this solicitation as a small business set aside? | No. | |||
| 16 | Is this a new solicitation or a recompete? Who is the current incumbent performing these services today? | This is a new solicitation, however there are incumbents for portions of the work. The incumbents do not provide support for the full scope of FDIC's requirement as outlined in CORHQ-24-R-0437. The incumbents are CITIZANT, INC. and IT HUB INC. | ||||
| 17 | SOO | 8 | Section 2 - Scope - can the FDIC elaborate on the existing architecture environment in an addendum for context? | FDIC uses a number of implementation and hosting platforms both on cloud and on premises. We also use legacy platforms, e.g., the mainframe that is targeted for retirement. Please see the additional documents, "FDIC TSA Slides" and "2027 Target State Architecture" included with Amendment 001 of this solicitation. | ||
| 18 | SOO | 8 | Section 2 - Scope - does the FDIC have a tentative list of office departments identified to support the identified enterprise architecture elements? | The scope relates to ADS providing support for the entire Corporation. A listing off all FDIC Divisions and Offices is available here: https://www.fdic.gov/contact/headquarters-directory/ | ||
| 19 | SOO | 9 | Section 3.1. Business Objectives - does the FDIC leverage / utilize any special or unique architecture modelling templates that need to be used to fulfill and support the architecture and design activities and deliverables? | No, FDIC does not use special or unique architecture modelling templates. The contractor is expected and encouraged to suggest new templates, models, formats, etc. that would enhance FDIC design activities and deliverables. | ||
| 20 | SOO | 9 | Section 3.2. Technical Objectives - what is the current application inventory platform in use today? | ServiceNow | ||
| 21 | SOO | 9 | Section 3.2 - Technical Objectives - what enterprise architecture tools are currently deployed today? | FDIC is currently using the following tools: |
Ins-Pi ServiceNow SharePoint Adobe AEM Custom web pages and applications
| 22 | SOO | 9 | Section 3.2 - Technical Objectives - does the FDIC anticipate replacing any of the existing enterprise architecture tools as part of this solicitation? | No. |
| 23 | SOO | 10 | Section 4.2. Anticipated Deliverables - "Newsletters and enterprise-wide communications, FAQs, and white papers" - can the FDIC confirm the contractor will be responsible for developing and maintaining said Newsletters and enterprise-wide communications, FAQs, and white papers? | Confirmed, as stated in the SOO, Deliverables will be submitted by the Contractor to the project managers/leads and FDIC Technical Monitor. |
| 24 | SOO | 13 | Section 10 Contractor Staff Bench - for any unforeseen bench staff team member swap out - what is the expected / required time for the FDIC to fulfill the following items: |
* clear the bench staff swap by FDIC’s Security and Emergency Preparedness Section (SEPS)
* obtain a FDIC PIV card
* issue an FDIC laptop that is current with mandatory security and other patches
* provision FDIC network access and other common services including relevant SharePoint repositories, GitHub, Microsoft Team Foundation, Server (TFS), ServiceNow, and other necessary development tools?
| * grant access to the development, quality assurance, and other environments used by the team(s)? | While the length of time to clear and provision access for a contractor resource can vary, it typically takes 6-8 weeks to complete the activities listed. | |||||
| 25 | SOO | 27 | Section 7.5.2-08 - Risk Level Designation (Functional Responsibility) - November 2014 - does the FDIC anticipate any security clearance requirements as mandatory to fulfill and support this solicitation? | Please see 7.5.2-03 - Background Investigations (January 2023). The extent of the background investigations conducted will be in direct relation to the risk level assigned in clause 7.5.2-08, Risk Level Designation (Functional Responsibility). | ||
| 26 | SOO | 50 | Section K - Representations, Certifications and Other Statements of Offerors - can the FDIC confirm said Representations, Certifications and Other Statements of Offerors is to be included in Phase II submission or before? | This should be included in the Phase II proposal submission. | ||
| 27 | The solicitation discusses the design of the FDIC environment. Are there any additional technical details about the buildout and/or sustainment? | No. | ||||
| 28 | Is the quote only for the 6-person team outlined in the spreadsheet or should each of the teams be filled out separately? | Please see the instructions in the Pricing Workbook. Rows 4-12: Offeror shall enter biweekly charges per Team Size (2-10 Full-Time Equivalents) across the contract Base and Option Periods. |
Rows 19-55: Offeror shall also enter anticipated roles per Agile Team size. Not all roles must be full time, however, the total FTE count must sum to the requested Agile Team size.
| 29 | Can we work with subcontractors and provide a rolled-up rate with all contractors and sub-contractors? | Yes. Offerors shall only provide a single charge for each Agile Team Size for each period regardless of whether they plan to utilize subcontractors. Pricing will be evaluated in accordance with provision 7.3.2-22 Evaluation of Pricing. Any proposed subcontractors must be included in Offeror's Subcontracting Plan. | ||
| 30 | Checking our understanding --- The FFP is for the 6-person team working for the base period which is 1 year, correct? Options are then for additional team-years? | The FDIC anticipates awarding the contract with an initial 6-FTE FFP team. However, as stated in the SOO, this contract includes multiple options to give the FDIC flexibility for varying the number of teams and the size of any team as time passes. This could happen in the base period or option periods. | ||
| 31 | SOO | 9 | Can the Government provide the anticipated metrics that will be used to evaluate the Contractor's performance? How will "performance, velocity, quality, or other expectations" be defined and measured? | The metrics will be developed over time with the Contractor. |
| 32 | SOO | 11 - 12 | All three Key Personnel (Program Manager, Lead Enterprise Architect, and Lead Solution Architect) require "substantial experience (typically 10+ years)". Will the government count education, such as a Master's degree, as part of this experience requirement (i.e., Master's = 2 years of experience)? | No, education will not be used in lieu of experience. |
| 33 | SOO | 13 | Can the Government please clarify the expected size of the Contractor's FDIC-cleared bench staff? | FDIC expects the Offeror to provide a solution that meets the requirements of the SOO. The Contractor's bench shall be able to act as substitutes for team members who may become unavailable or be brought on in the event a team’s size needs to be increased. |
| 34 | SOO | 68 | Certified financial statements, or acceptable equivalents, for the current and preceding two fiscal years are required. Will it be acceptable to the Government if bidders provide links to their fiscal year 10k SEC filings as the equivalent of the Balance Sheet and Income Statement requirements? | No |
| 35 | SOO | 69 - 70, 72 - 74 | Phase 1 Factor A "Demonstrated Relevant Experience" requires summaries of three contracts performed within the last five years. Phase 2 Factor D "Past Performance" requires three recent contracts by the offeror and up to two recent contracts by each subcontractor/joint venture partner. Do all contracts provided need to be different (5 total) or can the three contracts provided within Factor A be expanded upon in Factor D? | They do not need to be the same. |
| 36 | SOO | General | Can the Government confirm that it is acceptable to use 8 point font in tables and figures? Are there font type and size requirements for the written summary and orals slide deck? | The minimum font size is 10 pt. |
| 37 | Pricing Workbook | 82 | Will it be acceptable to the Government if bidders can modify the pricing workbook to include additional contextual information, such as justification for alternate labor mix either in a separate tab or on one of the provided tabs? | No. Offerors may include that information in the Pricing Narrative. |
| 38 | Pricing Workbook | 82 | Within the instructions for the pricing workbook, a note is provided: "For the 2 FTE Team, Offerors may assume the Program Manager key personnel role would not be needed." For this 2 FTE team, are the other two Key Personnel (Lead Enterprise Architect and Lead Solution Architect) required? Are all 3 Key Personnel required in the other teams (3 - 10 FTE teams)? | No, the three key personnel are only required for the 6 FTE Team size. It is up to the offeror which roles to include on the other team sizes. As a result, that particular note has been removed from the revise Pricing Workbook instructions. |
| 39 | N/A | N/A | Is there an incumbent performing this work? If so, please provide the company name and contract number. | Yes, there are incumbents for portions of the work. However, the incumbents do not provide support for the full scope of FDIC's requirement as outlined in CORHQ-24-R-0437. The incumbents are CITIZANT, INC. with Task Order No. CORHQ-21-G-0340-0006 and IT HUB INC. with Contract No. CORHQ-23-C-0360. |
| 40 | N/A | N/A | Would the government consider a small business set aside for this contract? | No. |
| 41 | 8 | What is the overall maturity for the Architecture Program today? How integrated is it within governance processes? Is the program seen to add value and utilized for decision support? | Subjectively, the Architecture Program is at a moderate maturity level, with room for improvement. It is integrated with some existing governance processes, and is seen to add value to the Corporation and its decision support. | |
| 42 | 9 | What architecture tooling is currently in place? | FDIC is currently using the following tools: |
Ins-Pi ServiceNow SharePoint Adobe AEM Custom web pages and applications
| 43 | 9 | What architecture framework does the FDIC ADS use? | Our architecture framework is loosely based on The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF). | |
| 44 | 9 | How many business applications are in the inventory to get a better understanding of the scope? | Approximately 350 | |
| 45 | 9 | Regarding maintaining IT/business roadmaps, how well defined is the current As-Is and To-Be states? | Our target state architecture is well-defined at a high level. The as-is and to-be states are defined for some domains. | |
| 46 | 11 | Are there currently Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) and Analysis of Alternatives (AoA) templates in place today? | Yes. | |
| 47 | Pricing Workbook | As the Pricing sheet is looking for various team size from 2 to 10, can agency please clarify how many parallel team is the agency anticipating. | The FDIC anticipates awarding the contract with an initial 6-FTE FFP team. However, as stated in the SOO, this contract includes multiple options to give the FDIC flexibility for varying the number of teams and the size of any team as time passes. This could happen in the base period or option periods. | |
| 48 | SOO | 71 | "In addition, Offerors shall provide a 2-page written summary of the major points they will make in the oral presentation for this factor. The 2-page written summary may be included in the resultant contract" Can the agency please clarify if the 2 page written summary for Volume I: Factor B is to be submitted separately from the powerpoint slides | This should be submitted in Phase II Volume 1. |
| 49 | SOO | 80 | "Up to 3 most recent and relevant contracts available in CPE/CPARS", Can agency please clarify if the offeror has to provide past performance details that would have CPARS available or as written on 73 & 74, offeror need to submit PPQs. | Both |
| 50 | Can the offerer work with the CSP of it's own choice? For example we are an Amazon Web Services Supplier. | The offeror must follow the FDIC target architecture. Currently, FDIC uses Azure. | ||
| 51 | SOO | 4-6 | Can team size exceed 10 (roles) as the current table suggests that the total FTEs does not exceed 10? Is FDIC open to expanding the team past 10 FTE versus deploying a new agile team? | No. 10 FTE teams are the maximum size. |
| 52 | SOO | 8 | Can the government confirm if there a current incumbent or is this a new requirement? If their is a current incumbent please provide the name of the incumbent and the total value of the current contract? | Yes, there are incumbents for portions of the work. However, the incumbents do not provide support for the full scope of FDIC's requirement as outlined in CORHQ-24-R-0437. The incumbents are CITIZANT, INC. and IT HUB INC. FDIC is not releasing the contract values. |
| 53 | SOO | 8 | ADS states its mission in the introductory paragraph, "to prepare the FDIC for the future by developing and managing architectural targets and standards as well as informing IT investment decisions." What does the ADS see as it's greatest future threat in achieving its mission? | The existence of legacy infrastructure. |
| 54 | SOO | 8 | What does the ADS value most between cost, schedule, and quality/innovativeness of solution? | All three are critically important and of high value to ADS and FDIC. |
| 55 | SOO | 8 | What specific architecture governance models are currently in use at ADS? | ADS chairs the Security and Enterprise Architecture Technical Advisory Board which is the current formal governance board. |
| 56 | SOO | 8 | Can the government elaborate on the existing architecture frameworks and methodologies? | Our architecture framework is loosely based on The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF). |
| 57 | SOO | 9 | Can the government provide details on the existing Technical Reference Model (TRM)? | We manage our TRM using the ServiceNow TRM module. |
| 58 | SOO | 9 | Can FDIC please provide the details on the existing business solutions and application that are to be assessed? | FDIC has approximately 350 applications that span on-premises and cloud-based implementation platforms. |
| 59 | SOO | 9 | What primary data sources from the FDIC can be used for conducting business capability analysis? | Our business capability analyses are usually informed by interviews with subject matter experts in the specific business domain. |
| 60 | SOO | 10 | Is there any particular emerging technology FDIC wanted to prioritize? | No. |
| 61 | SOO | 11 | How many enterprise-wide business and technical projects are expected to be supported? | It varies from year to year, but 5-10 projects should be expected. |
| 62 | SOO | 11 | How frequently does the government anticipate needing to adjust team compositions or roles? | It is likely to vary. |
| 63 | SOO | 11 | Are there any key business processes and systems that FDIC has currently identified for improvement? | FDIC is focused on improving its mission essential and mission critical business processes, systems, and platforms. |
| 64 | SOO | 12 | Can the government please confirm that employees are eligible to work remotely from any of the 48 contiguous states? | The Contractor shall determine places of performance for its team members; however, all places of performance shall be within the contiguous forty-eight U.S. states (CONUS). |
| 65 | SOO | 13 | Can the government confirm if contractor staff bench members are allowed to work for other government agencies? If so, what is the expected time frame for bench staff to be activated if needed? | Yes. As stated in the SOO, The Contractor shall coordinate with the FDIC Oversight Manager and designated ADS Project/Program Managers for each team to ensure that Contractor bench staff are able to step in for absent team members on a same-day or next-day basis. |
| 66 | SOO | 14 | Can ADS provide specific guidelines or definitions for what constitutes non-recurring, short-term absences versus extended or recurring unexplained absences to ensure clarity in invoicing practices? | The decision to excuse non-recurring, short-term absences of Contractor personnel is at the discretion of the FDIC Oversight Manager. In general, absences exceeding one sprint (2 weeks) would not be excused and a bench resource would need to be provided to maintain performance, velocity, and quality. |
| 67 | SOO | 70 | Can the government confirm that "public-private partnerships" refers to the government/end users partnering with a private offeror to develop a solution? If no, can the government please provide an explanation. | Confirmed. |
| 68 | SOO | 79 | Can the government confirm that offeror's may add assumptions to the pricing narrative? | Yes, any assumptions must be included in the pricing narrative. |
| 69 | SOO | 79 | Can the government confirm that the pricing narrative may be submitted in Microsoft Word or PDF? | Confirmed. |
| 70 | SOO | 79 | Can the government please provide an estimated date for notice of advisory downselect? | Approximately September 13, 2024. The Government reserves the right to provide this notice prior or after this approximate date. |
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| Evaluation Criteria |
| Pricing Workbook |
| SOO |
| Task Order Clauses |
File details come from the government source that posted it. Updated .