Questions and Answers.doc

Q: What information is required of the key personnel? The instructions to offerers are vague and only say ‘submit information’, are resumes or letters of commitment required.

A: Sec H.4.1 (page 55), “Resumes of personnel proposed for these positions shall be submitted for evaluation as part of the written technical proposal”.

Sec L.4.1 (page 82)

Volume I – Technical Proposal – (not to exceed 40 pages total)

Copy of CMMI level 2 (minimum) appraisal certificate (1 page)

Section 1 – Technical Approach (20 pages with 1 page Executive Summary)

Section 2 – Management Plan and Quality Control Plan (20 pages with 1 page Executive Summary)

Section 3 – Key Personnel (2 pages per resume-not counted in total)

Volume II – Past Performance (Report at least 3 references)

Volume III – Business/Cost Proposal (include cost for the base period and all option years)

(Include Sub-contracting plan, if applicable)

A: As this is a Performance Based Acquisition, the Government does not dictate the level of effort. The contractor bears the responsibility for proposing a management plan to meet the Government requirements.

[Name deleted] is formally certified as operating at CMM Level-3 by the Software Engineering Institute. This is a higher level of maturity but under the previous standard.

Additionally:

We are in the process of obtaining our CMMI Level-3 certification and we expect to obtain the certification by Q4 of 2010. Our proposed teaming partner for the RSIS solicitation is rated at CMMI Level2. Please clarify that it is acceptable for [Name deleted to propose this solicitation].

A: According to SEI, CMM certification is obsolete as of 2001. As confirmed in Amendment 1 of the solicitation; No – the Government requires that 8(a) Prime contractors are appraised at CMMI Level II.

Page 93; M.2 Evaluation Methodology

FRA will utilize a Two-Tiered Proposal Evaluation Process. FRA will determine on a Pass/Fail basis which contractors are included in the competitive range. In order to be included in the Competitive Range, the contractor must receive a “pass” rating. Tier I of the technical evaluation incorporates a review of Volume I:

(a) Tier I Evaluation (pass/fail) The contractor must meet the following mandatory requirements: Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) Level 2 (or higher). Provide a copy of their CMMI Level 2 Appraisal Certificate.

The CMMI Level 2 (or higher) Appraisal certificate shall be issued to the Prime Contractor. This review will be made in order to establish a competitive range determination. Those proposals falling outside the competitive range will not be analyzed further and will be eliminated from the competition. Depending on the number of proposals in the competitive range, the Government may elect to further reduce the field. Contractors whose proposals are eliminated from the competition will be notified individually. Contractors whose proposals are in the competitive range may then be asked to clarify any information in their proposals which is needed to finalize the evaluation. FRA will select the winning proposals using the results of the complete evaluation process against the evaluation factors described in paragraph M-1(b) below.

A: Yes

Q: Would the Government accept a Microsoft Word version of the attachment J-6, the Past Performance Questionnaire Template?

A: No. As there is a signature on the form, the preferred method is to scan, then attach to an email (pdf, jpg, etc).

Page 120: Message to the assessor: Your feedback is requested by DOT to assist with establishing the performance history for the Contractor named below. In efforts to expedite receipt of the requested information, the Contracting Office respectfully requests that you do not mail hard copies. Instead, please e-mail the completed questionnaire(s) to Barbara.drook.ctr@dot.gov

Section M.8 page 97 states "A standard, 11-point minimum font size applies. Times New Roman font is required. Tables and illustrations may use a reduced font size not less than 8-point..."

Please clarify font size and style restrictions for narrative text, headings, tables, and graphics. May offerors use Arial and Arial Narrow font?

A: Times New Roman is not required. As long as your font is “similar sized style” as detailed in L.4, Page 82; however, page limitations remain unchanged.

A: No.

A: Yes

A: An executive summary for Past Performance is not required; however, you may submit one.

A: No.

A: The QASP will not be included in page limitations for Volume I; however, the QASP may not exceed 15 pages.

A: January 29, 2010

A: Yes - Section B page 14states, “The following Labor Categories (and others specified by the contractor) and associated descriptions are illustrative of the type of support anticipated for RSIS”.

A: The FRA does not anticipate labor categories that fall within Service Contract Act criteria; however, if SCA labor categories are proposed and accepted; the appropriate SCA clauses and Wage Determinations will be incorporated into the resultant contract.

A: To utilize in the event of termination. For evaluation purposes, only CLIN 006 will be evaluated.

Do the words 'Program Management' and 'Project Management' have the same meaning in this CLIN, or throughout the document?

A: The Program is RSIS; which has many systems under it that can be broken down logically into projects.

A: Sec L.5 states: “Performance Capability

The contractor shall provide acceptable evidence of its possession or “ability to obtain” equipment, facilities, and personnel necessary to perform the requirements of this project. If these resources are not represented in the contractor’s current operations, they should normally be supported by commitment or explicit arrangement, in existence at the time the contract is to be awarded, for the rental, purchase, or other acquisition of such resources. The offer shall furnish written letters of commitment from key or essential personnel that it is proposing under the subject solicitation. The contractor should also provide the names of any subcontractor(s), consultant(s) or party(s) to any partnering arrangements proposed under this contracting action (and provide each entities’ business size or socioeconomic characteristics). In addition, the contractor shall indicate its ability to comply with the required or proposed delivery or performance schedule, taking into consideration all existing business commitments, commercial as well as the Government”.

A: Yes, this a Government-owned, Contractor-operated (GOCO) environment. Location requirement - > 50 miles distance from production facility

A:

· 99% system availability - maximum of 4 hours downtime per incident/event

· 99.8% server uptime

· Redundancy is a function of contractor’s approach to meeting the above two standards

Please provide details on the current frequency of this data replication. Also, in the event of an issue in the production facility what is the time requirement for failing over to the DR site?

A: FRA uses the Double-Take product for file and (State inspector) email replication. “Active” replication is used. In the event of a problem with the production facility, a 4-hour failover window is typical.

Is the Project Management Plan the same as the Management Plan in the Technical Volume? Please clarify.

A: Yes; The QASP will not be included in page limitations for Volume I; however, the QASP may not exceed 15 pages.

On page 131 of the sample QASP, it indicates that "the Contractor is responsible for implementing a QCP, which was included as part of the Contractor's technical proposal."

Please clarify whether a QCP or a QASP is required.

A: QASP is required. The QCP is the contractor internal quality procedures and is not required.

A: The QASP included as an attachment (J-7) is a SAMPLE.

A: Yes

Is it FRA's intention to evaluate the entire team’s experience individually?

A: FRA intends to evaluate Key personnel resumes individually and assess team experience collectively in the offeror’s Management Plan.

Please clarify what on-site means and what the normal business hours are for this work.

“On-site” means the contractor provided facility, unless and until the GFE is moved to a Government owned facility. Normal business hours are 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST.

A: As stated in section L.2 “Award fee shall be computed on the fixed price CLINs only”

Is it FRA's intention to pay award fee on a quarterly basis?

A: No. Fee will be paid on a annual basis.

Q: Can FRA provide a copy/sample of the quarterly self-assessment report (QSAR) to be used?

A: No. This is a Contractor generated document that will be approved by the COTR.

A: Depending on the requirement, task orders will be awarded as Time and Materials or Fixed Price.

A: No. This is erroneous-the SBA servicing location is not relevant. The contractor shall furnish appropriate proof from SBA establishing that it has an approved business plan on file.

A: Please indicate the Prime contractor name in Part I. Solicitation Data (for the proposed effort)

Solicitation Number

DTFR53-09-R-0013

Project/Requirement

Enter Project Name/Requirement Title

Customer/Agency

Enter Project Office

Project/Requirement Description

Enter succinct Project/Requirement Description

Prime Contractor

Enter name-if applicable