JA15-110_GCSS-J_SDI_Bridge_31_July_2015_-_Redacted.pdf

DISA Global Combat Support System – Joint (GCSS-J) Software Development and Integration Services (SD&I)

JUSTIFICATION & APPROVAL (J&A) FOR FEDERAL ACQUISITION

REGULATION (FAR) SUBPART 16.5 ACQUISITIONS

EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY

Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) / Multiple Award Contract (MAC)

Orders under MAC/ Fair Opportunity – FAR 16.505, Department of Defense FAR Supplement (DFARS) 216.505-70, Procedures, Guidance and Information (PGI) 216.505-70

Purchase Request Number: TBD Contract Number: HC1028-08-D-2023 Task Order Number: TBD Procurement Title: DISA Global Combat Support System – Joint (GCSS-J) Software Development and Integration (SD&I) Services Contracting Office: DITCO-NCR / PL6

Authority: FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(C)

JUSTIFICATION FOR AN EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY

Number:

Upon the basis of the following justification, I, as the Procuring Activity Competition Advocate, hereby approve this exception to fair opportunity pursuant to the authority of FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(C).

1. REQUIRING AGENCY AND CONTRACTING OFFICE:

Requiring Agency:

Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) Services Development Directorate (SD) Global Combat Support System – Joint (GCSS-J) / SD6 P.O. Box 549 Ft. Meade, MD 20755-0549

Contracting Office:

Defense Information Systems Agency Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization – National Capital Region P.O. Box 549 Ft. Meade, MD 20755-0549

2. NATURE / DESCRIPTION OF ACTION(S): The purpose of this action is to issue a sole source bridge contract to Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation under their ENCORE II indefinite delivery / indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) contract, HC1028-08-D-2023. The bridge contract is necessary to prevent a gap in mission critical software development and integration services for the GCSS-J Program while the agency (i.e., DISA) awaits the resolution of a series of protests filed with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) during the re-competition of this requirement. The sole source bridge contract will be a hybrid contract type consisting of firm-fixed-price and cost plus fixed fee contract line items. The effort will be funded with Fiscal

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Year (FY) 2015 Operations and Maintenance funding and FY 2015 Research, Development Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) funding. The total value of the bridge contract is estimated to be

The period of performance is September 1, 2015 through February 29, 2016.

3. DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES: The GCSS-J SD&I services provided under the bridge contract manage the GCSS-J development activities and seamlessly blend the components of the system to produce an integrated picture of the battlespace to the joint logistician. Further, the contractor is responsible for effectively executing the associated processes using an agile development methodology to rapidly deliver exceptional products for Combatant Command and Joint Task Force Commanders to plan, execute, and control logistics operations. The following task areas are identified in the PWS.

Task Area 1: Program Management Task Area 2: Information Engineering Task Area 3: Information Assurance Task Area 4: External Application Integration Task Area 5: Maintenance Task Area 6: Training (Priced Option) Task Area 7: Transition Plan (Priced Option) Task Area 8: Security and Lab Management (Priced Option)

4. SUPPORTING RATIONALE, INCLUDING A DEMONSTRATION THAT THE

PROPOSED CONTRACTOR’S UNIQUE QUALIFICATIONS OR THE NATURE OF THE

ACQUISITION REQUIRES USE OF AN EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY: FAR

16.505(b)(2)(i)(C)

(a) Exception to Fair Opportunity. FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(C) - The order must be issued on a sole-source basis in the interest of economy and efficiency because it is a logical follow-on to an order already issued under the contract and all awardees were given a fair opportunity to be considered for the original order.

(b) Description of the Justification. On July 23, 2014, DISA issued Request for Proposal (RFP) No. E200603 to all contractors holding an ENCORE II ID/IQ contract. The Government received proposals in response to the RFP which were subsequently evaluated in accordance with the evaluation criteria specified in the RFP under a best value tradeoff evaluation approach. Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation, the incumbent, was determined to be the best value to the Government. As a result, task order HC1028-08-D-2023/VC35 was awarded to Northrop Grumman on December 24, 2014.

The Government notified unsuccessful offerors on December 24, 2014 and timely debriefings were provided on December 31, 2014. Subsequent to the debriefings, 2 unsuccessful offerors filed post-award protests with GAO. Upon review of the protests filed with GAO, the Government determined that it was necessary to take corrective action in order to fully substantiate the cost realism analysis performed on all offerors. A motion to dismiss the 2 post-award protests as academic due to the decision to take corrective action was filed with GAO and subsequently granted. The Contracting Officer

Page 3 of 8 Pages exercised FAR 52.217-8 under the existing task order, HC1028-08-D-2023/VC17, to ensure uninterrupted SD&I services to the GCSS-J Program through August 31, 2015.

During the course of the corrective action process, the Government received a third GAO protest. This protest was filed by Northrop Grumman prior to submission of the final proposal revisions under the corrective action and was therefore considered a pre-award protest. The Government filed a motion to dismiss the protest filed by Northrop Grumman; however, the request was denied on July 23, 2015. Therefore, the agency (i.e., DISA) submitted an Agency Report to GAO to argue the protest on merit. GAO’s ruling on the protest is due October 5, 2015.

This six-month bridge contract is necessary to ensure uninterrupted GCSS-J SD&I mission-critical services during the pre-award protest resolution and a subsequent three-month transition period in the event that the new award is not issued to the incumbent, Northrop Grumman.

(c) Justification.

(1) Minimum Government Requirements. The minimum Government requirements are specified within the SD&I performance work statement. The following tasks represent the Government’s minimum requirements for SD&I services.

Program Management – The contractor shall utilize productivity and management methods such as quality assurance, progress and status reporting, schedule, risk identification and mitigation strategy and program reviews.

Information Engineering – The contractor shall utilize agile development principles when developing capabilities that will be released minimally once per year but no more than 2 major releases per year.

Information Assurance – The contractor is responsible for cyber security implementation as prescribed in the Risk Management Framework and/or DoD Information Assurance (IA) Certification and Accreditation Process reference documents. IA/security process and procedures will be in place for the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) process to ensure all developed software are coded in accordance with GCSS-J IA requirements, DoD STIGs/Checklists, secure coding standards, industry best software development standards/security practices (i.e., no back doors, FIPS 140-2 compliance, planned input validation, DoD Legal Banner, etc.), input validation testing and compliance, other IA/Security software application requirements and SDLC Quality Assurance/Quality Control processes. The contractor must also have experience with implementation and management of Assured Compliance Assessment Solution.

External Application Integration – The contractor shall lead the integration of applications (external or internal) into GCSS-J and will provide all necessary documentation and integration suites for this effort.

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Maintenance – The contractor shall provide maintenance for the fielded GCSS-J system. Maintenance includes commercial-off-the-shelf upgrades, integration support, GCSS-J Problem Report resolution, and support for system maintenance, which keeps the application running smoothly with no unplanned disruptions.

(2) Proposed Sole Source Contractor. The proposed contractor is Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation, 4807 Stonecroft Blvd., Chantilly, VA 20151-3822.

(3) Discussion Regarding Cause of the Sole Source Situation. GAO’s decision on the pre-award protest, as discussed in Section 4(b), is not due until October 5, 2015, thus necessitating this bridge contract action to ensure that GCSS-J does not experience a lapse in mission-critical SD&I services. Furthermore, in the event that the corrective action results in a new award decision to a contractor other than the incumbent, Northrop Grumman, a three-month transition period will be required in order to provide for a seamless transition of services from Northrop Grumman to the new contractor.

(4) Demonstration of Unique Source. Northrop Grumman, the system integrator since January 6, 2005, has extensive knowledge and experience providing the services necessary to fulfill the Government’s requirements identified in the PWS. A new contractor would require a minimum of 3 months to acquire the knowledge and expertise, and become familiar with the minute details of the Program, necessary in order to field Increment 8 releases within schedule and budgetary constraints. Award to new contractor for this six-month bridge period would delay Increment 8 releases, thus resulting in unacceptable cost and schedule overruns. The capabilities in Increment 8 are extremely important and are developed to support the critical needs of the joint logistician. The GCSS-J system has been designed specifically to support the homeland defense initiatives as well as the war on terror. Awarding this bridge contract to a contractor other than Northrop Grumman would induce undue risk to the joint logistician and the warfighter as well as cause a substantial duplication of cost.

(5) Procurement Discussion. Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation is the only source with GCSS-J SD&I knowledge, skills, and experience to ensure that development and delivery is on-time and within budgetary limitations during this bridge contract period of performance. Further, although the successor contract is being competed, it is anticipated that a competition to provide these services during the pendency of the GAO protest would result in substantial duplication of cost to the Government that would not be recovered through competition. The time required to bring another contractor up-to-speed without degradation of mission-critical GCSS-J services is anticipated to be 3 months. The ENCORE II ID/IQ contract was selected for this bridge contract due to the fact that the GCSS-J SD&I services have traditionally been procured under this ID/IQ and the contract has sufficient scope and ceiling available to support the requirement.

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The six-month period of performance for this bridge contract is necessary in order to provide sufficient time for GAO to render its decision on the pre-award protest received and to provide for a three-month transition period in the event that decision is made to award to a contractor other than the incumbent.

(6) Impact. If a contractor other than Northrop Grumman was selected to perform the work, they would require, at a minimum, a three-month ramp up period due to the learning curve associated with the complexity of the application using highly-skilled and experienced personnel to support the Program. This would negatively impact the Program’s schedule which is significant since GCSS-J is an acquisition category (ACAT) 1AC Major Automated Information System (MAIS) which adheres to strict regulatory and statutory guidelines. Schedule breaches for an ACAT Program are a significant event and are reported to the appropriate Congressional Committee.

Additionally, the cost associated with the transition could significantly increase due to the expertise required to gain an understanding of the application and the complexity of the system. The estimated duplication of cost that is not anticipated to be recouped through competition would be

5. COST / PRICE FAIR AND REASONABLE DETERMINATION: The Contracting Officer will obtain certified cost or pricing data, in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 15.403-4 and will use this information to determine fair and reasonableness. After completion of negotiations, a Certificate of Current Cost or Pricing Data will be obtained.

6. MARKET RESEARCH: Market research was conducted by the GCSS-J Program Management Office (PMO) and the Contracting Officer in the past eighteen-month period as part of the acquisition planning process for the SD&I recompete which is currently under protest.

The GCSS-J PMO leveraged available information resources and information gathering techniques to understand the marketplace prior to executing this acquisition. Market research informed the PMO on marketplace availability and viability for the required services.

Market research showed that based on the complexity of GCSS-J and the vast extent of technical knowledge and expertise required to develop, integrate, and maintain the system, a large business with a wide range of diverse technical expertise was required. The pace the GCSS-J Program has set requires the supporting contractor to be agile in performance. A loss of continuity at this juncture would be detrimental to the GCSS-J Program’s ability to maintain cost, remain on schedule, and meet the needs of the warfighters.

While market research clearly identified a competitive environment exists for the GCSS-J SD&I services, there are no other contractors aside from the incumbent who could viably support the GCSS-J SD&I services during this six-month bridge period without introducing significant risk to the program as identified in Section 4 above. Therefore, this will be issued as a sole source contract to the incumbent, Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation.

7. ANY OTHER SUPPORTING FACTS: Not applicable.

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8. ACTIONS THE AGENCY MAY TAKE TO REMOVE OR OVERCOME BARRIERS

THAT LED TO THE EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY: FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(B)

(a) Procurement History.

(1) The initial GCSS-J SD&I award was competed as full and open and awarded to Northrop Grumman under Contract DCA100-02-D-4007 / Task Order 0041.

Award Date: January 6, 2005 Period of Performance: January 6, 2005 through January 5, 2010 FAR 52.217-8 Extension: January 6, 2010 through February 28, 2010 Total Value of Order:

(2) The recompete of GCSS-J SD&I services was accomplished via DISA’s ENCORE II multiple award indefinite delivery / indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) contract and awarded to Northrop Grumman under Contract HC1028-08-D-2023 / Task Order VC17.

Award Date: March 1, 2010 Period of Performance: March 1, 2010 through February 28, 2015 FAR 52.217-8 Extension: March 1, 2015 through August 31, 2015 Total Value of Order:

(3) The most recent recompete of the GCSS-J SD&I services (i.e., the Task Order currently under protest) was also solicited under DISA’s ENCORE II multiple award ID/IQ contract and awarded to Northrop Grumman under Contract HC1028-08-D- 2023 / Task Order VC35. However, a stop work order is in effect for this task order while the GAO protests are resolved. The GAO protests, which require a stay of performance of the competed task order, make this exception to fair opportunity necessary for this bridge period, but it is anticipated that all future needs for SD&I services will be competed.

Award Date: December 24, 2014 Period of Performance: March 1, 2015 through February 29, 2016 Total Value of Order:

(b) In accordance with (IAW) FAR 16.505(b)(2)(ii)(D), this Justification and Approval (J&A) will be made publicly available at the Government Point of Entry (GPE) http://www.fedbizopps.gov within 14 days after contract award. The J&A will remain posted for a minimum of 30 days.

9. REFERENCE TO THE APPROVED ACQUISITION PLAN (AP): In accordance with DARS 7.103, a Streamlined Acquisition Plan will be executed for this action due to the preponderance of the labor under the order being performed on a cost plus fixed fee basis.

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ALL QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS JUSTIFICATION ARE TO BE REFERRED TO:

Contract Specialist: Brian K. Leyda PL62 – Services and Services Development Contracting Branch Phone: 301-225-4106

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Email: brian.k.leyda.civ@mail.mil