OCIO_SD_Questions_-_26April2013_Final_Report.pdf

Industry Day Questions

Number RFP Section

Question Answer

ID-1 Geographical Coverage – How many staff are currently in each of the 16 geographical locations providing Tier 2 support?

DOL will present details with individual Task Orders

ID-2 Tier 1 staffing levels – What is the expansion timeline from 3,500 users to 12,000 users to 22,000 users?

Exact details will be presented with individual Task Orders. At present time, DOL anticipates that the initial User base will be 3,500, which will grow to approximately 12,000 within 6-8 months after contract award. Further expansion is unknown at this time.

ID-3 Past Performance – You’ve only requested one past performance which appears to support the incumbent. If more than one past performance is submitted, will it be considered?

DOL requires the Offeror to present at least one, but no more than three past performance profiles, which include the scope of services required by the OCIO SD, i.e., Service Desk operations, expansion of SD in terms of Users and services and project support. DOL will consider up to three past performance references.

ID-4 Critical Success Factor 1 - There is a reference to “team” requiring ISO 20000 certification. In the case of a team of companies with one prime and multiple subcontractors, would DOL accepts a subcontractor’s certification to fulfill this requirement?

Yes.

ID-5 Critical Success Factor 6 – Our understanding is that the required 1 past performance can be from a teaming partner (subcontractor). Please confirm.

Yes.

ID-6 Security Requirements and ATO – The requirement to have ATO on the date of proposal submission may eliminate service providers with stellar commercial qualifications and no federal experience. Would the Government consider allowing facilities that can show the ability to obtain ATO within a certain time period after award? Commercial security requirements for certain sectors e.g. banking are quite stringent and can be mapped to meet NIST requirements.

Requirements for ATO have been removed.

ID-7 CSF#4 – “Offeror must demonstrate that they currently own or lease an automated call distribution system (ACD) and interactive voice response system (IVR) that will be used in support of the OCIO SD.” – Will DOL consider a secure and flexible approach whereby the ACD and IVR functions are supported through a public cloud offering?

Offerors are free to propose a solution they feel is appropriate to meet solicitation requirements provided that the proposed solution meets DOL’s functional and security requirements.

ID-8 Will DOL consider a public cloud that is currently undergoing a GSA FedRAMP 3rd party assessment as partially meeting its security requirements? Once FedRAMP certified, will DOL consider sponsoring an ATO with a proposed Contact Center stack within the context of the FedRAMP-certified public cloud?

Please see response to question ID-6.

ID-9 Please share likely Service Level Agreements being considered that relate to the DOL user experience when contacting the Tier 1 agent (e.g., average hold time)?

Please see Attachment 4.

ID-10 Please describe the type of self-help IVR applications in use today, and comment on other types of self-help applications being considered. In addition to voice calls and self-service via telephone, does DoL want personnel to be able to initiate tickets by web access? Smart devices? Will various modes of DOL user interaction with the IT Help Desk be allowed (e.g., voice, text, and web interface)?

Does DoL have a preferred ticketing system/solution?

DOL is investigating use of self-service application. There are no firm details at this time.

DOL uses BMC’s ITSM v7.6. DOL will manage this system and provide access to the SD Contractor.

ID-11 The only question we have in regards to the pre-solicitation notice before the industry day next week is the following: If the prime contractor does not currently have ISO 20000 certification, but only ISO 9001:2008, can the ISO 20000 Cert requirement be satisfied through certification through a subcontracting partner?

DOL will accept the ISO 20000 certificate from a team member.

ID-12 Offeror must demonstrate that the team proposed to meet Office of the Chief Information Officer Service Desk (OCIO SD) requirement is ISO 20000 certified prior to the submission date of their proposal.

Question: Does the offeror need to possess the ISO 20000 certification, or could one of the proposed team members hold the certification?

Please see response to question ID-11.

ID-13 Offeror must demonstrate that they currently own or lease a facility that can host the OCIO SD Tier I contract staff.

Question: Is it acceptable if a team member owns or leases the facility instead of the Offeror?

Yes, provided that the team member represents that it can comply with the RFP requirements of hosting an OCIO SD Tier I contract staff and the Offeror recognizes that the contractual obligations fall on the Offeror if the team member does not comply with the terms of the RFP.

ID-14 Offeror must demonstrate that they currently own or lease an automated call distribution system (ACD) and interactive voice response system (IVR) that will be used in support of the OCIO SD.

Question: Is it acceptable if a team member owns or leases the ACS and IVR systems?

Yes

ID-15 Offeror must demonstrate an ability to continue operations in case the primary Tier 1 SD facility or the associated SD infrastructure becomes unavailable or experiences significant degradation in performance.

Question: Is it acceptable if the TEAM has the capacity to continue operations?

Yes, provided that the Prime Contractor understands that it is Prime Contractor’s responsibility to comply with all material terms and conditions of the contract.

ID-16 Offeror must present one (1) past performance profile that shows experience in performing a project of similar size, scope and complexity to the OCIO SD requirement. To be similar in size, scope and complexity, the profile must show evidence of consolidating multiple help desks into one help desk/service desk operations that eventually supported no less than 10,000 Users and must include project support. The reference does not need to be restricted to experience with State and Federal Government agencies. This past performance profile must present work that was performed directly by the prime Offeror and/or partners. The past performance profile must be limited to the work performed within the last five (5) years.

Question: Is it acceptable if the TEAM has the past performance

Yes, provided that the Offeror understands that it is Offeror’s responsibility to comply with all material terms and conditions of the contract. Please see section L.

ID-17 You have indicated that this is a total 100% small business set-aside.

Does this mean that all the work must be done by a small business or just the typical 51%.

Prime has to be a small business. The level of work to be performed for a set-aside must be consistent with the Federal Acquisition Regulation clauses for small business set-asides.

ID-18 Secondly, about teaming and based on question 1, I have a large firm with whom I have done business with who has the ISO20000 certification. While we at GWA have delivered work in accordance with the standard, we are NOT certified. Does it meet your requirement for a large business teammate to have the ISO20000 certification?

Please see response to question ID-11.

ID-19 Not exactly related to the 7 CS Factors is, Will you share with us what happened to the last procurement? A number of us in the room worked very hard on that response and are quite surprised by the cancellation of the procurement.

The solicitation was cancelled due to changes in the security requirements.

ID-20 RE: Critical Success Factor No. 6 – The requirement for the past performance profile appears to limit the number of profiles presented to one and only one past performance profile. Is that the correct interpretation?

Please see response to question ID-3.

Solicitation Questions

Number RFP Section Question Answer

1 Can you please confirm that when the RFP states, “the team” shall have 20000 certification, that this means that at least one team member must have 20000 certification

Yes. The definition of team means any member that is part of the Prime Contractors proposal holds the 20000 certification.

2 Labor categories are provided, but how many hours per labor category are expected to be performed?

Labor categories included in the RFP describe the skills DOL anticipates using in support of Task Orders, which DOL anticipate issuing under this IDIQ contract. DOL will not provide the number of hours required per labor category. Offerors are expected to develop staffing models to meet performance requirements DOL will provide in individual Task Orders.

3 Is there an incumbent or this a new requirement? OCIO SD is a new requirement, which will consolidate multiple help desks.

4 Background:

At the Industry briefing, we were encouraged many time to use your team to meet the requirements of the DOL Critical Success Factors.

Specific:

Paragraph L.6, page L-7, CSF #1 (L.6.1) indicates that Offeror must demonstrate that the team proposed…

Paragraph L.6, page L-7, CSF #2 (L.6.2) indicates that the Offeror must demonstrate capability…

Paragraph L.6, page L-8, CSF #3 (L.6.3) indicates that the Offeror must demonstrate capability…

Paragraph L.6, page L-8, CSF #4 (L.6.4) indicates that the Offeror must demonstrate capability…

Paragraph L.6, page L-8, CSF #5 (L.6.5) indicates that the Offeror must demonstrate capability…

Paragraph L.6, page L-8, CSF #6 (L.6.6) indicates that the Offeror must demonstrate capability…

Paragraph L.6, page L-8, CSF #7 (L.6.7) not applicable to question.

ALL CSFs except number indicate that the Offeror must demonstrate the capability versus “demonstrating the team capability.”

My question is: If the team has the capability to meet CSFs 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, will we make it through the first Source Selection gate… OR, must the Offeror be able to meet those CSFs regardless of the team capability?

DOL requires that the Offeror to meet all CSFs.

5 Paragraph C.7.15 During the execution of Tier1 support, and Tier2 service, remote access to the desktop is beneficial. We understand that it will be provided by the government.

What is the name of the desktop remote access tool which will be provided by DOL?

How widespread is its use today? (Number of offices? Percent coverage of the 22,000 users? Etc.)

Each Agency has its preferred remote access tool since each Agency provides Help Desk support to different categories of users. As each Agency onboards, DOL will determine the best-of-breed to continue providing support to the Agency’s users, and ultimately the OCIO SD may require more than one remote access tool. DOL will present details with individual Task Orders.

6 Paragraph C.2.11, page C-8

[Paragraph C.2.11, page C-8] highlights that NWH for Tier 2 are defined as 6a-7p local time “in each time zone”...

Paragraph C.8.1 highlights the remote office which will require on-site support.

Should that read Tier 2 support needs to be available for each office for those NWH as defined?

No.

7 Paragraph C.8.1 [Paragraph C.8.1] highlights the offices which will require on-site support. It would be very helpful to understand how the 22,000 user count is distributed across the offices.

Will you provide the user count by location?

Are any part of the 22,000 targeted users in offices which won’t require dedicated on-site support? If so, where are they?

DOL will present details of user distribution with individual Task Orders, including user count by location.

All offices listed in the RFP will require dedicated on-site support.

8 Schedule B [Schedule B], pricing, calls for pricing of 9,000 normal call ticket per month (108,000 calls per year) on a unit price basis. It continues with a request for pricing for “quick call tickets”.

Has the government considered the concept of “separating out” the Tier2 portion of support from the “pricing of normal call tickets”?

For Tier 2 support, can we assume that all parts costs will either be covered by warranty or by the government?

Government maintains its approach to pricing based on tickets as described in the RFP.

Cost of replacement parts and warranty support will be provided as GFE.

9 Is this a new or follow on requirement? If it is a follow on, please let us know the current contract number and contract value

OCIO SD is a new requirement, which will consolidate multiple help desks.

10 Who is the incumbent? Is it still eligible to bid as a prime for this contract

OCIO SD is a new requirement, which will consolidate multiple help desks.

11 As resumes required with the Proposal, do we need to submit all the mentioned key personnel resume in the labor category

Please see sections C.4.1 and L.7.7.

12 B.1 This section states “The award fee percentage will be negotiated during the base period.” Is DOL planning to have an award fee for the base period?

No, as stated in section C.3.1.3.

13 C.1.3 Does DOL currently have processes in place that conform to ITIL v3, or is the contractor expected to introduce them?

DOL is currently in process of introducing processes that conform to ITIL V3.

14 C.1.3 Is ITIL v3 certification required for Service Desk Tier 1 and Tier 2? If so, what level?

Please see labor category descriptions in Attachment 14 – Labor Category Descriptions.

15 C.1.4 With regard to innovations; does DOL have a change management process in place to govern the implementation of new processes and procedures?

With regards to the OCIO SD, no.

16 C.1.5 Is there an existing knowledge base or will the Contractor be responsible for its creation and implementation?

DOL is in process of implementing a Knowledge Base system, which will be integrated with BMC’s USMT.

17 C.1.5 In regard to tracking SLAs and OLAs; since “Service Desk” also incorporates other aspects of IT, like managed services, mainframe, security and network, will the SD contractor also be expected to track these elements?

Government defined SLAs applicable to the OCIO SD requirement in Attachment 4, Service Level Agreements.

18 C.2.1 Is the contractor expected to maintain the AD? What about mainframe accounts? Is the AD LDAP, mixed mode?

Section C defines Government’s requirements.

19 C.2.1 Are Service Request Tickets counted as Quick Tickets or Normal Tickets?

Normal Tickets

20 C.2.6 You refer to ITSM 7.5 (presumably BMC) but refer to it later in Section C.7 as “7.6”. Is it anticipated that DOL will implement 8.0 (to incorporate social media) prior to award or stay with one of the existing versions?

DOL uses BMC ITSM v7.6 and is testing BMC ITSM v8.1 on a development network. There is no timeframe for production network implementation of BMC ITSM v8.1.

21 C.2.6 The 4th paragraph states that the contractor will scale operations at no additional cost to DOL. What about costs to expand resources as contacts and users-supported counts increase? Or is this expected to be fully priced into the per ticket rate?

Please see discussion in section C.6 – Service Transition and in pricing instructions in section L.

22 C.2.6 Is 3rd-party software procured in the name of DOL cost reimbursable?

Will DOL permit Material and Handling to be added, or does it expect the contractor to absorb the cost of DOL procurements under this contract?

DOL does not anticipate that the contractor will be procuring any software or hardware in name of DOL.

23 C.2.9 Regarding “related telecommunications, development, engineering, and operation services”; we assume that this is confined to contractor-owned equipment and facilities as there are other contracts in place for Networking, Applications Development, and O&M. Please confirm.

No. Section C.2.9 discusses scope of services, which includes Service Desk (immediate need) and Special Projects (please see discussion in C.11 – Special Projects (CLIN4)).

24 C.2.10 Attachment 4

Should the contractor propose incentives against the SLAs provided in Attachment 4?

No.

25 C.2.10 Page C-8 Performance Measures/Service Levels

“DOL may implement a performance incentive plan to encourage exceptional and discourage below-par performance.”

Please confirm that any implemented performance incentive plan will be by negotiated, bilateral modification.

Yes, this will be negotiated as per solicitation.

26 C.2.10 Page C-8 Performance Measures/Service Levels

“DOL reserves the right to alter, delete existing, or add new SLAs and OLAs …”

Please confirm that contract price will be equitably adjusted to address any cost increases associated altered or added SLAs and OLAs.

Yes. Equitable adjustments will be made to the appropriate CLIN if there is a significant change.

27 C.2.10 Page C-8 Performance Measures/Service Levels

“DOL reserves the right to alter business hours due to business needs, as well as local, national, and international events, which may require services beyond NWH.”

Please confirm that contract price will be equitably adjusted to address any cost increases associated with changes to specified NWH.

Operational CLINs (CLIN 0001 and 0002) contract pricing are based on “per ticket” unit pricing.

Contracting Officer will handle special situations using the Special Projects CLIN (CLIN 0004).

28 C.2.10 Page C-8 Performance Measures/Service Levels

“DOL reserves the right to extend and/or alter the established hours of support as required by changing operational requirements.”

Please confirm that contract price will be equitably adjusted to address any cost increases associated with changes to established hours of support.

Please see answer to question 27.

29 C.3 Page C-9 Security Requirements

“DOL reserves the right to levy additional security requirements, if new or unforeseen risks are discovered at a future time up to, but not limited to using a DOL provided computer configuration.”

Please confirm that contract price will be equitably adjusted to address any cost increases associated with security requirement added after contract award.

If such significant events require price adjustment, the Contracting Officer will negotiate appropriate adjustments.

30 C.4.1 Are there certification and education requirements for staffing positions?

Please see answer to question 14.

31 C.4.1(1) Does DOL have a preferred physical location for Key Personnel, such as the Program Manager, or Project Manager?

DOL does not have specific requirements as to location of the Key Personnel. DOL will evaluate this and other aspect of Offeror’s proposal as described in the RFP. Key Personnel has to be located in a CONUS location.

32 C.4.2 Will DOL pay for Background Investigations for replacement staff who are replacing staff that have left under “extenuating circumstances” as defined in section C.4.1(2)?

No.

33 C.4.3(6) Is it accurate that during the overlap and training period for incoming replacement staff, DOL will NOT pay for the new staff’s time during training?

DOL will only pay the OCIO SD contractor on “per ticket” basis. Please see section C.4.2.

34 C.4.11 What is the frequency of the regularly scheduled review sessions?

Where will they be held? Would DOL prefer face-to-face meetings? If the personnel required for those meetings are not within 50 miles of the meeting facility, will their travel be reimbursed from the travel allocation?

Please see attachment 17 for reporting requirements. DOL will not reimburse contractor for travel associated with this requirement.

Details of these review sessions will be determined at the kick off meeting.

35 C.5.1 Does DOL currently have a Service Catalog in place that is current and maintained (e.g., BMC Service Request Management)?

DOL is currently building its Service Catalog solution.

36 C.7.1 “Future possibilities include self-service, live chat, texting…” Is it anticipated that DOL will incorporate this into its existing BMC suite?

DOL is currently investigating various enhancements.

37 C.7.1 Is current phone number called for Service Desk providing prompts for call routing and, if so, to how many and what support functions?

DOL will establish a new toll-free number and will work with the OCIO SD contractor to create a menu specific to the OCIO SD.

38 C.7.1 Do emails received get auto-processed in ITSM or do these require tickets to be manually created?

Current implementation of BMC’s USMT system does not feature automatic ticket creation for incoming emails.

39 C.7.8 Page C-20 Ticket Closure

DOL requires that no ticket be closed until confirmation from the user is received. In the case of a Problem ticket with the possibility of hundreds of affected users and, as we consider ticket pricing,

(1) Does DOL still maintain that “personal contact with every user is required to close that ticket”?

(2) Are automated notification processes acceptable, for example email or portal postings in lieu of personal contact?

(1) Personal contact verification will not be required for Incident Tickets associated with a Problem Ticket.

(2) Yes. DOL will accept automated notifications as part of the Problem Management process.

40 C.8.1 How many users are at each location? Please see answer to question 7.

41 C.8.1 Page C-22 On-site Support & L.6 2)

In the critical success factors, DOL states at least 51% of the regional cities are to be supported on Day 1? We understand HQ will be Day 1, please clarify the remaining sites for priority of transition or is this up to the incoming contractor?

DOL does not require the Offeror to support 51% of regional offices on Day 1. Per L.6, “Offeror must demonstrate their capabilities (in terms of staff and facilities) to provide dedicated Tier 2 support”. DOL will define offices requiring support through Task Orders.

42 C.8.4 Page C-23 Tier 2 Support

Can DOL provide statistics for regional sites to outline:

(1) Number of DOL employees

(2) Number of DOL VIPs, and

(3) Number of current technical support at each site?

OCIO SD is a new requirement, which will consolidate multiple help desks. Specific information will be provided in individual Task Orders.

43 C.10.2 To perform Root Cause Analysis, is it contemplated that the SD contract have a complement of engineers in the respective disciplines (e.g., storage, security, networking, operating systems, database, et al.) or to rely on the data center O&M contractor for the technical analysis? If so, is this cost to be built into the per-ticket price as well?

DOL will not dictate the approach. Cost of performing/coordinating root cause analysis shall be included in the “per ticket” pricing.

44 C.10.3 Page C-24 Knowledge Base

What is the format of the current Knowledge Base? Is this a commercial product? If not, does DOL foresee investing in a product to support the features of a self-serve portal?

Please see answer to question 16.

45 C.14 Do you mean that the contractor has an ATO to run some existing operations? We’re not sure what is contemplated, as an ATO is usually agency and application-specific. If you mean an ATO to run DOL Service Desk, then only an incumbent will likely have this.

DOL removed requirement for the ATO.

46 C.14.4 Page C28 Blended Call Handling Requirements

“DOL requires the Offerors to address their capabilities in meeting the requirements listed in bullets below …”

Please confirm that the cost associated with providing these specified blended requirements is not to be included in this proposal.

DOL envisions blended call center capabilities as a possible, future enhancement. For purposes of responding to this RFP, Offerors shall price their approach to (at minimum) meeting requirements contained in section 14.1 through 14.3. DOL will consider any enhancements and/or expanded capabilities in its determination of best value.

47 Page E2 – Inspection and Acceptance – Services

“The Government reserves the right to conduct any inspection and tests it deems reasonably necessary to assure that the services provided conform to all aspects of the contract requirements.”

For pricing purposes, please quantify the type, average number, and average length of the annual ad hoc inspections and tests the Contractor should expect to support.

Per FAR 52.246-4 (d) Inspection of Services – Fixed Price. As stated in this paragraph, “If the Government performs inspection or tests on the premises of the Contractor or a subcontractor, the Contractor shall furnish, and shall require subcontractors to furnish, at no increase in contract price, all reasonable facilities and assistance for the safe and convenient performance of these duties”. Therefore based on this clause, the Contractor cannot charge for any inspections the Government may perform.

48 L.10.2 Can distribution of calls in Attachment 1 be provided in 30-minute increments?

DOL does not have this level of detail.

49 L.10.2 % of Quick tickets is different in Section L.10.2 (10%) from what is in Page 4 of Attachment 1 (20%) and Page B.2 for 2250 Quick tickets and 9000 Normal tickets (2250/11150 = 20%). Which is correct?

DOL has revised section L.10.2

50 L.10.2 Can the actual monthly Voice Calls offered via ACD be provided for the past 12 months?

OCIO SD is a new requirement, which will consolidate multiple help desks.

51 General Can the Government provide the number and labor category of the Tier 2 non-exempt employees at each of the 17 sites to which the successful offeror will have to provide a first right of refusal under FAR 52.222-17 (Non-Displacement of Qualified Workers).

OCIO SD is a new requirement. There is no incumbent.

52 General Do you have specific algorithms for computing SLAs? For example, an “Abandoned Rate” is calculated as the total number of calls in which an Authorized User selects the ACD option to speak to a Service Desk Agent divided by the total number of Calls >15 seconds placed to the Service Desk within a month, with the result expressed as a percentage. This eliminates those calls in which the user selected an automated option or those who immediately hung up without waiting.

Please see section C.2.1

53 General Is it contemplated that DOL may want to switch SD “applications” to another vendor to achieve the “future possibilities”?

DOL has no plans, at this time, to switch SD “applications”.

54 General Do you limit automated alerts to 20 per incident, or is the SD contract contemplated to associate them with a parent and subsequently close them?

DOL does not limit automated alerts to 20 per incident. Contractor shall associate all Incident Tickets with the related Problem Ticket.

55 C.2.3.1 Could the government verify that all Tier-2 On-site support shall be dedicated to supporting only DOL and no other agencies, contracts, tasks, etc. and be on-site at the 16 specified geographical locations?

Yes.

56 C.3.1.3 Could the government verify that all required service desk and field service personnel have completed minimum background investigations (MBI) and have contractor badges per critical success factors 2/7 and the geographical coverage requirements specified in Section L.6.?

DOL requires MBI for every staff member supporting the OCIO SD requirement. DOL will issue DOL-approved badges to the OCIO SD contractor staff, who meet applicable eligibility requirements.

57 C.2 Does the DOL have a plan for which agencies/divisions will be incorporating into the OCIO Service Desk in what order and at what time? If so, what is the planned order and timeline?

DOL does not have plans that can be shared with the Offerors at this time. Details of this expansion will be managed by individual Task Orders and an increase in the number of tickets.

58 C.2.2 Will the transistion/consolidation from contract start to 3500 users to 22,000 users serviced be back-to-back (i.e. one transition immediately followed by another), or will there be a stabilization period as the phased approach appears to suggest?

DOL envisions a period of stabilization between expansions.

59 C.2.2, L.6 What is the estimated timeline from contract start in which the contractor will be expected to service 22,000+ users (period of time, number of transitions, etc.)?

DOL does not have a definite timeline.

60 C.2.2 How long will the Contractor have between being notified of a planned service desk consolidation/transition and the period of task performance?

Per C.6, DOL will manage expansion by issuing individual Agency Transition Task Orders, which will follow a standard process described in section C.6.

61 C.7 Does Tier 1 Service Desk support cover both CONUS and OCONUS locations, or only CONUS locations?

Tier 1 SD will support users in CONUS and OCONUS locations.

62 C.7, C.8 Will the Contractor be required to provide Tier 3 support? DOL defined its requirements for Tier 1 and Tier 2 support in the RFP.

63 C.7 What is the average resolution time for a normal ticket? This will depend on the approach adopted by the Offerors.

64 C.7 What is the average resolution time for a quick ticket? This will depend on the approach adopted by the Offerors.

65 C.7 What is the numerical breakdown of tickets between Tier 1 vs. Tier 2? This will depend on the approach adopted by the Offerors.

66 C.7, C.8 What is the breakdown of service desk tickets by issue type (i.e., installations, network issues, software issues, password issues, etc.)?

OCIO SD is a new requirement, which will consolidate multiple help desks. DOL does not have the requested information.

67 C.7 How many Tier 1 Personnel are currently on contract? How many users are being supported with these numbers of Tier 1 personnel?

OCIO SD is a new requirement, which will consolidate multiple help desks. Staffing will depend on the approach adopted by the Offerors.

68 C.7, C.8 What are the current shifts for service desk personnel? What is the numerical breakdown for each shift (both Tier 1 and Tier 2)?

OCIO SD is a new requirement, which will consolidate multiple help desks. Staffing will depend on the approach adopted by the Offerors.

69 C.7.2. This section (along with others) describes an ITSM system. Is the contractor to use their own trouble ticketing system? If not, will the contractor utilize DOL’s existing ITSM system? If the contractor is to utilize ITSM system, can the DOL provide a detailed explanation describing the ITSM system?

Please see section C.2.7.

70 C.8 Will Tier 2 personnel be housed solely on DOL sites, or are they expected to be housed at contractor’s sites?

Please see section C.2.3.1.

71 C.8 How many Tier 2 Personnel are currently on contract? How many users are being supported with these numbers of Tier 2 personnel?

OCIO SD is a new requirement, which will consolidate multiple help desks. Staffing will depend on the approach adopted by the Offerors.

72 C.8 If Tier 2 Service Desk personnel reside at state offices during the entire working day, will they be required to answer trouble ticket calls directly, or will they only answer those that are escalated to them from Tier 1 personnel?

This will depend on the approach presented by the Offerors and approved by the DOL.

73 C.8 What are the requirements for Tier 2 personnel handling tickets or escalation when they are away from their desks providing onsite support elsewhere?

This will depend on the approach presented by the Offerors and approved by the DOL.

74 C.8 Are there currently Tier 2 personnel (either incumbent or DOL) staffed at regional sites? If so, how many are personnel are staffed at each site?

OCIO SD is a new requirement, which will consolidate multiple help desks. Staffing will depend on the approach adopted by the Offerors.

75 C.10.3 Is there an existing knowledge base? Will contractor have access to it from day one of the contract?

Please see answer to question 16.

76 L.1.1 What time will the DOL be open on May 13th to accept hand deliveries?

DOL will be open by 07:30 am ET.

77 L.4.4 Can the Title Page and Cover Page be consolidated into a single page, provided the page contains all information?

Yes.

78 L.6 In regard to the Service Desk Facility Requirements, we suggest that the language is changed to reflect that the requirements are due at completion of the first transition.

Requirement stays as stated.

79 L.6 For Volume I, what proof does the offeror need to submit for the US citizenship requirement?

Offerors shall present a statement that states that the Offeror’s hiring practices ensure that only personnel that meet requirements in section L.6 will support the OCIO SD requirement.

80 L.6 This section states that we are to provide dedicated Tier 2 support to at least 51% of DOL office locations on day one of the contract. How will the DOL determine which office locations are required to be supported?

DOL will issue Task Orders, which will identify these locations.

81 L.6 Are there existing office locations in each city which need to be supported by Tier 2 personnel? If so, what is the breakdown of offices requiring support within each city?

At this time, each city listed in L.6 has only one DOL offices that will require a dedicated Tier 2 on-site presence. The details of the required Tier 2 support will be provided with individual Task Orders.

82 L.7 This section states: “The technical proposal must follow the PWS’ outline (i.e., response to section 4 should be contained in section 4 of the proposal). Offerors will either be downgraded or removed from the competition if they fail to follow the PWS’ outline.” How should the offeror reconcile this requirement with the tabbed structure of Volume II and the evaluation criteria, which indicate specific sections of the PWS should be addressed in specific sections of Volume II, not all of which necessarily appear in the same sequential order as the PWS? Should the contractor just ensure that each section of the PWS is addressed and marked in the traceability matrix, or must the offeror ensure that the numbering and order match the PWS? Please clarify the requirements.

Volume II structure does not “indicate specific sections of the PWS”. Discussion simply draws attention of the Offerors to most relevant sections of the RFP. Every PWS section should be addressed in the Offeror’s response, even if not expressly discussed in Section L or Section M

83 L.7 This section indicates that the technical proposal must follow the PWS outline. Section C.3 Security Requirements is not specifically listed within SECTION M – EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD, although other sections are aligned with specific proposal sections. Where precisely within the offeror’s proposal would the Government like Section C.3 addressed?

Please see response to question 82

84 L.8 Amendment 1 removed the ATO requirement from the Service Desk Facility Requirements. Without the requirement of an ATO, are there any changes to the required responses within Volume III of the proposal? Should the NIST-800-53 compliance matrix still be completed?

Yes. NIST 800-53 compliance matrix shall be completed per instructions in section L.

85 L.8 The instructions for Volume III indicate that the offeror shall complete the NIST-800-53 compliance matrix, but there do not appear to be any other requirements regarding content? Is it accurate that the compliance matrix is the only required content within Volume III?

Yes.

86 L.10.2 The DOL requires that costs are included in per ticket unit pricing (CLINs 1 and 2 of the OCIO SD contract.) What is the current ticket unit pricing on incumbent contract(s) for both Normal Tickets and Quick Tickets?

OCIO SD is a new requirement, which will consolidate multiple help desks.

87 L.11 When does the Government anticipate holding oral presentations? No additional details are available at this time. All current information is presented in sections L.11 and M.4.2.8.

88 L.13 Please clarify the requirements for Tab K. What should be included in Tab K-Plans? Should they be the full plans, or are high-level summaries and/or excerpts acceptable?

Content for these deliverables is defined in Attachment 17.

89 Attachments 1 and

What is the Government’s preferred format for Section 2: Project Plan for the Sample Tasks?

Project Plan shall include (at minimum) high level activities and milestones. Please see revised Attachments 1 and 2.

90 Attachment 3 Sample Task Orders 0 and 1 specify the structure of the offeror’s response. However, there are no such instructions for the Special Project Sample Task Order. How should the Special Project Sample Task Order response be structured?

Please see the updated Amendments 1 through 3.

91 Attachment 6 On page 6 of Attachment 6, there is a Microsoft Word comment that the Solicitation number “Needs to be updated”. Is this the final version of the document, or will the Government be issuing an updated version?

Please see revised Attachment 6.

92 Attachment 14 What labor categories are considered Key Personnel/Key Functions? Please see C.4.1.

93 Attachment 14 What personnel are required on the start date of the contract? Government will not dictate an approach.

94 Attachment 14 For those labor categories that are not considered key personnel, what role does the government envision for them in the program, and when would they need to be available?

Selection of the labor categories is up to the Offeror.

95 General Who are the incumbent(s) servicing the DOL service desks? What are the contract number(s)? What are the contract value(s), length(s), and Level of Effort?

OCIO SD is a new requirement, which will consolidate multiple help desks.

96 Section J – Attachment 18.

In regards to the trouble ticketing system, is contractor providing trouble ticketing system license or is client? Is Remedy the trouble ticket system client would like utilized?

Please see C.2.7.

97 N/A Is the Agency looking for ISO 20000 certification for the Prime contractor at the organization level OR the proposed support team help desk personnel are required to be ISO 20000 certified?

ISO 20000 requirement is applicable to the Offeror’s team proposed to perform under the OCIO SD requirement.

98 N/A If ISO 20000 certification is required at the organization level, will a ISO 9001:2008 certification be acceptable in lieu of the ISO 20000 certification?

No, DOL requires ISO20000 certification.

99 N/A If ISO 20000 certification is required at the organization level, will our subcontractor’s ISO 20000 certification be acceptable as part of the team?

DOL requires that the Offeror’s Team hold an ISO 20000 certificate.

100 N/A Can we present relevant past performances of our teaming partners which are directly related to the services required?

Yes.

101 L.6 VOLUME I:

CRITICAL SUCCESS

FACTORS

This sections states, “Offeror must demonstrate that the team proposed to meet Office of the Chief Information Officer Service Desk (OCIO SD) requirement is ISO 20000 certified prior to the submission date of their proposal.”

What constitutes whether or not a team is ISO 20000 certified? Must all teaming partners be ISO 20000 certified prior to submission? Must the prime contractor be ISO 20000 certified prior to submission?

Please see instructions in section L.6 and answer to question 99.

102 C.2.6 Contractor Furnished Equipment

Is it permissable for a subcontractor to host all or part of the SD facility?

Yes, provided that the subcontractor’s performance of the work is consistent with the FAR regulations regarding subcontracting in connection with procurements set-aside for small businesses.

103 C.8.1 Locations Requiring On-site Support

Is the Prime Contractor required to have personnel are required at each location? If so, how many personnel are required at each location?

DOL requires that Tier 2 staff come from the Offeror’s Team. Distribution of personnel is dependent on the Offeror’s solution to meet workload demands, which will be presented in individual Task Orders.

104 Section J, Attachment 18

What BMC Remedy ITSM modules (e.g. Incident, Problem, Change, Asset, Knowledge, Self-Service, etc) are currently implemented in the production environment DOL will provide to the OCIO Service Desk contractor?

Currently deployed modules are Incident, Change, and Problem. The remainder are under development or consideration.

105 C.2 Underlying Contractual Items

What COTS software - - vendor name, product name and release version - - will DOL provide as GFP to the OCIO Service Desk contractor for tickets, Cis and the CMDB?

Please see section C.2.7.

106 C.2.1 Common Terms

Will DOL provide as Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) all required licenses and associated annual maintenance agreements for the ITSM tools required to create, manage, and track tickets, service requests, problems, and incidents?

Please see section C.2.7.

107 C.2.2 Transition to a Single Service Desk

What ticketing tool(s) is currently used by the ITC Help Desk that will transition to the OCIO SD in Phase 2?

DOL will transition ITC’s implementation of ITSM v7.6 to the OCIO SD.

108 C.2.3 Operational Model

Please provide details on the “DOL-owned and managed systems and tools” that the Contractor will be using, including product names and version numbers.

Please see section C.2.7.

109 C.14.4 Blended Call Handling Requirements

The introduction of blended call handling has the potential to create improved ticket handling efficiencies and therefore the opportunity for a reduced cost to DOL. Therefore it is recommended that the blended call handling requirement not be included in the proposed per ticket pricing, instead to be negotiated once the requirements and timing of implementation are known

Per section C.14.4 “To provide better customer experience regardless of the access method used, DOL envisions a need to introduce blended call center functionality into the SD. This functionality will not be required at the beginning of the contract; however, DOL would like to explore the use of a blended call center technology as a means of integrating handling and reporting on multiple means of accessing the SD.”

Offerors are encouraged to propose solutions that present best value to the Government.

110 C.2.3.2, H.2, H.12, H.29, H.34, H.40, H.41, I.1-52.227-14

Intellectual Property is dealt with by numerous sections of the RFP.

Not surprisingly, this has led to inconsistency which confuses the potential Offeror. For example, H.12 SOFTWARE RIGHTS states that “All software under this contract shall be delivered with unlimited rights in accordance with the provisions of FAR 52.227-14.” This seems to be ambiguous. Does it mean that all software shall be delivered in accordance with FAR 52.227-14, or that all software shall be delivered with Unlimited Rights, as that term is defined by 52.227- 14? Likewise, in Section C.2.3.2 DOL’s Rights, Roles and Responsibilities contains the following: “All products, data, and deliverables developed under the OCIO SD contract are the property of the United States Government and DOL, not that of the Contractor or its Subcontractors.” And “All intellectual properties, including but not limited to, data bases, documents, creative notions, software code, or custom configuration of Commercial Off The Shelf Software (COTS), or any other collateral developed under the OCIO SD contract will be the property of DOL, not that of the Contractor or its subcontractors.”

These requirements appear to contradict the plain meaning and intent of FAR 52.227-14. H.20 states, “Title to all...completed programs ..., and all other items pertaining to the work and services to be performed..., including any copyright shall become and remain with the Government upon completion.” This is clearly a contradiction of FAR 52.227-14. There are additional examples, but these serve to demonstrate the ambiguities, inconsistencies and contradictions. The interests of the Government and DOL would seem to be adequately served by FAR 52.227-14 along with its Alternatives III and IV without further embellishment. We suggest that the Government adopt this approach.

DOL has clarified the Data Rights Clauses for each CLIN. Please see section B.1.

111 C.2.10 Performance Measures/Service Levels

Offeror assumes that all performance measures and services levels applicable to the contractor will be mutually agreed prior to their effectiveness. Is this correct?

No. SLAs contained in the RFP are in effect on day one of the operations (immediately following the incoming transition).

112 H.24 CONFLICT OF

INTERESTS AND

H.25

ORGANIZATIONAL

AND CONSULTANT

CONFLICTS OF

INTEREST

These RFP sections would permit the Contractor to participate in future procurements that might involve a real or perceived OCI, if the Contractor presents an avoidance, mitigation or neutralization plan acceptable to the Government. Is that correct?

Whether the Contractor will be able to participate in future procurements that might involve an actual or apparent conflict of interest will depend on several factors, including, but not limited to, the nature of the actual or apparent organizational conflict of interest, the potential for mitigation of the OCI, and the nature of the procurement in question and any relationship between this procurement and the future one. It is likely that, at a minimum, the Contractor will need firewall agreements in place prior to award of this contract to allow the contractor to participate in future procurements. Offeror must include with their proposal an addendum for firewall agreements. Again, DOL cannot determine, at this time, whether the Contractor will be eligible to bid on future procurements, as these decisions will need to be made on a case-by-case basis.

113 H.26 REMOVAL OF

CONTRACTOR

PERSONNEL

Will DOL allow vendors to work while the NACI is in process (an interim approval), with the understanding that individuals who receive a negative NACI shall be immediately removed?

Yes.

114 H.26 REMOVAL OF

CONTRACTOR

PERSONNEL

Will DOL accept previously granted, still current higher level clearances from other agencies (specifically DHS or DoD) in lieu of the NACI?

Yes

115 C.2.1 SERVICE

REQUEST TICKETS

Are SERVICE REQUEST TICKETS paid at the NORMAL TICKET or QUICK TICKET price? What is the volume of SERVICE REQUEST TICKETS?

There are only two types of tickets: “Normal” and “Quick”. Service Request tickets should be treated as Normal tickets.

116 C.8 Service Desk Support – Tier 2 On-site support, L.6

VOLUME I: CRITICAL

SUCCESS FACTORS

2), In order for vendors to determine staffing for each of the 15 tier 2 sites, please provide the quantity of Tier 2 requests for each of the 15 sites.

OCIO SD is a new requirement, which will consolidate multiple help desks. Distribution of Tier 2 staff is dependent on the Offeror’s approach to sizing requirements contained in individual Task Orders.

117 C.4.7 Standard Operating Procedures, Deliverables F.2.12

Please provide the current standard operating procedures (SOPs). OCIO SD is a new requirement, which will consolidate multiple help desks. All information required to respond to this solicitation is included in the RFP. Relevant internal operational documents will be provided to the awardee.

118 L.4.2 In Table 2 on page L-4, the column for Volume III NIST Compliance says to refer to Table 7 below for page limits, but there is no Table 7 in Section L for this version of the RFP. Please advise.

There is no page limit for Volume II. Please refer to instructions in section L.8. DOL has remove references to Table 7.

119 Industry Day Notes It is our understanding that DOL plans to use Remedy seats that have already been purchased. Can you tell us more about this existing contract? Will this require us to stick with Remedy as is or will improvements, such as an upgrade to a cloud solution, be allowed?

ITSM v7.6, or later, will be provided as GFE. Please see C.2.7.

120 C.5.1, Service Desk Service Catalog and C.7.15, Remote Desktop Management

This paragraph states, “The Contractor shall update the SD Service Catalog within 24 hours of a change to a service or the addition of a new service.” Since changes may be made by the government or other service contractor teams, will the government modify this statement to read, “The Contractor shall update the SD Service Catalog within 24 hours of being notified about a change to a service?”

DOL concurs with the suggested updates.

121 C.6, Service Transition

First call resolution heavily depends on having accurate and up to date information/knowledge articles about the infrastructure, deployed software etc. Many of these articles will be generated by contractor Tier 1 and 2 staff, however many of these articles may also need to be generated by other teams such as Communications, Server, and application support teams. What are the commitments from the other teams?

Please see section C.2.3.1 regarding coordination of efforts.

122 C.10.2, Problem Resolution and Analysis and Root Cause Analysis

Proactive Problem Management requires analysis of ticket data. Since the ITSM tool is provided by DOL, will DOL assist with creating reports (and possibly database queries)? Will the Government consider providing access to contractor personnel so that they can generate reports for the purposes of performance monitoring and continual service improvement?

It is the OCIO SD service provider’s responsibility to perform this function. Please see C.4.10.

DOL has Remedy Administrators, who can assist with issues that require administrative assistance.

123 G.5, Page G-3 Under Subcontractor Payment: Could DOL please specify training requirements associated with DOL proprietary HW and SW elements and the duration and frequency of the training requirements and who would be required to take this training.

At this time, DOL does not anticipate need for training associated with any DOL-proprietary SW nor HW.

124 H.5 Interruption of Service: “The Contractor agrees to furnish phase-in-training…” Can DOL provide the details of the scope of these transitional training requirements?

DOL will not dictate an approach for incoming transition (besides limit of 60 days). Please see section C.12.

125 H.7 and I.1 OBSERVATION: Computer Programmer and System Analysts: This provision indicates that the Service Contract Act applies to this procurement. However in Section I, FAR Clause 52.222-41 is not listed and no wage determinations have been provided with the solicitation.

Wage Determination 2005-2013 is added as Attachment 20 and FAR 52.222-41 will be added to the solicitation.

126 H.13 Travel: Will DOL provide more…