ESBD_432148_1751314576317_05 - 3202500148 Attachment 5 SOW.pdf

Attachment 5: Statement of Work (SOW)

1. INTRODUCTION

The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) seeks a Successful Respondent to provide a web-based software solution for storing personal inventories of earned academic and workforce credentials.

2. SCOPE

2.1. General

1. The software solution may be configurable, but must be fully built, tested, and already in use in at least one production environment. A response without evidence of a fully developed solution is cause for disqualification.

2. The proposed Solution must meet the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) definition of SaaS, Texas Government Code § 2157.007 and must conform to 1 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) § 202.26, Security Control Standards Catalog.

3. The Successful Respondent must provide training on the use of their proposed Solution.

4. The proposed Solution must have a responsive mobile website, accessible by internet compatible devices such as cellular phone, laptop, tablet and desktop.

5. If the proposed Solution includes a SaaS with hosting, it must meet the requirements in this Section 2.1, #2, must not interface with DIR DCS compute, and must include maintenance and disaster recovery.

6. The Solution will allow users to:

a. store and display credentials earned (for example, certifications, licenses, diplomas),

b. track credential expiration and renewal dates (as applicable),

c. receive information about the next credential(s) to pursue while on a career pathway established in accordance with Credential Transparency Description Language (CTDL), and

d. share credentials instantly and securely with various audiences such as employers, workforce training programs, local education agencies, and institutions of higher education.

7. The Successful Respondent will propose a Pilot Project in which they will recommend two highly skilled occupations (for example, Registered Nurse, K–12 teacher, Master Electrician) and illustrate the specific pathways these credential wallet holders will be pursuing within a specific workforce area in Texas as shown in Appendix A: Texas Workforce Board Map (See Section 2.4 Pilot Program).

https://credentialengine.org/credential-transparency/ctdl/ https://credentialengine.org/credential-transparency/ctdl/

Required Blue-line Response. Respondent to affirm they will meet and/or exceed the requirements as stated in this Section 2.1, #1 and #3-7 and document how proposed Solution meets and/or exceeds the requirements as stated in Section 2.1, #2.

2.2. Key Functionality

1. The Successful Respondent’s Solution must:

a. Collect, store, and organize verified credentials for the user in linked open data formats that support full transparency and interoperability, and uses Credential Transparency Description Language (CDTL) specifications;

b. be available for distribution to users within sixty (60) days of start of contract. Earlier availability is favored, but not required;

c. be able to electronically, instantly, and securely share credentials with employers, workforce training programs, local education agencies, and institutions of higher education;

d. store the credentials in a manner that is available for review by an employer, workforce training program, local education agencies, and institutions of higher education;

e. be operable offline in instances where users may need to show their credentials at a location where internet access is not available;

f. have a push notification capability should users want to enable the feature;

g. have a user interface that is customizable with the TWC logo and other additional logos as provided by TWC;

h. have a process that TWC or Workforce Solutions staff can use to grant access to identified users in a rapid and streamlined method;

i. have a process that requires verification of the credential from an entity with the authority to award such credential prior to the credential being added;

j. have a clear process to check the verification of the credential by the employer, workforce training program, local education agency, and institution of higher education i.e., all credentials issued should only originate from accredited or regulated entities;

k. clearly state the expiration and or renewal date of each credential;

l. be able to show the user potential next credential(s) for a given career path as the relevant pathway data must be linked to the CTDL website;

m. provide multiple levels of security access validation i.e., email address and password, prior to access of the user’s credentials; and

n. have system reliability and uptime: the Solution must have stable performance, fast response time, and be generally accessible on a 24x7x365 basis except for scheduled maintenance windows during agreed upon hours with prior TWC notification. Application availability must be in accordance with Section 3.6.2 Minimum Service Levels.

2. The ability to allow the user to track continuing education for renewal of credentials is favored but is not required.

3. The Successful Respondent must provide each user, identified by TWC or Workforce Solutions’ staff, access to the mobile responsive website for a minimum of two years from the date they are given access by TWC or TWC Workforce Solutions’ staff or activation of each user’s user license, whichever is later. This access will continue past the end of the contract, as required, in order to complete the two (2) year period.

4. In addition, the Successful Respondent’s Solution must:

a. be Electronic and Information Resources (EIR) Accessible (§ 508 Compliant)

(See RFO Section 2.3 – EIR Accessibility)

b. be compliant with Texas Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Standards (See this

Attachment 13, Data Privacy and Cybersecurity).

Required Blue-line Response. Respondent to affirm and document how proposed Solution meets and/or exceeds the requirements as stated in this Section 2.2,#1-

3. Respondent to affirm they will meet and/or exceed the requirements as stated in this Section 2.2, #4.

2.3. Solution Requirements

The Successful Respondent must deliver a Solution that meets the following TWC requirements:

1. The Successful Respondent must provide a robust Solution that is intuitive and easy to use with limited steps or links to view and share the user’s credentials.

2. The Successful Respondent must provide a Solution with the ability to accommodate at least two highly skilled occupations (for example, Registered Nurse, K–12 teacher, Master Electrician) and illustrate the specific pathways these credential wallet holders will be pursuing within a specific workforce area in Texas as shown in Appendix A: Texas Workforce Board Map (See Section

2.4 Pilot Program).

3. The Successful Respondent’s Solution must have full integration and use of CTDL to meet the minimum specifications for all content. The relevant pathway data must be linked to the CTDL website.

4. The Successful Respondent’s Solution must comply with the industry technical standards as referenced in 1 TAC §213.17, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 508, Appendix C, as applicable (see RFO Section 2.3 EIR Accessibility):

a. Chapter 7, §702.10 (WCAG 2.1 Level AA excluding Guideline 1.2 Time Based

Media);

b. Chapter 5, §502 Interoperability with Assistive Technology;

c. Chapter 5, §503 Applications; and

d. Chapter 5, §504 Authoring Tools.

5. The Successful Respondent must provide a Solution that is either the latest version of Respondent’s software or the version that is one version behind the latest version and still fully supported by the Respondent.

6. Periodic Testing:

a. The Successful Respondent will agree to participate with TWC’s representative in the following type of periodic testing of the Solution, at a minimum, but not limited to, before going live at the beginning of the resulting contract and throughout the life of the resulting contract, as requested, at the convenience of TWC:

i. Penetration Testing

ii. Web Application Vulnerability Scanning (WAVS); and

iii. To validate compliance with Worldwide Web Consortium WCAG 2.1 AA technical standard, TWC will require Successful Respondent to test all new or changed Electronic Information Resources (EIR) using one (1) or more EIR accessibility validation tools, including but not limited to the use of manual methods and automated methods for assistive technologies.

b. Copies of annual testing and associated test results may be submitted to TWC in lieu of periodic testing for Penetration Testing and WAVS.

c. Results of the testing and any issues identified will be remediated by the Successful Respondent before going live at the start of the resulting contract, and within sixty (60) days of the date of report(s) delivery during the life of the resulting contract term.

d. The identified issues will be re-tested by TWC to validate that the Successful Respondent has remediated the issues.

e. TWC has ninety (90) days from the date of the report to re-test.

7. The Successful Respondent must have a process in place for Disaster Recovery in case of complete system failure.

Required Blue line Response. Respondent to affirm and document how proposed Solution meets and/or exceeds the requirements as stated in this Section 2.3, #1-5 and #7. Respondent to affirm they will meet and/or exceed the requirements as stated in Section 2.3, #6.

2.4. Pilot Project

The Successful Respondent will propose a Pilot Project in which:

1. They will recommend at least two high-skilled occupations (for example, Registered Nurse, K-12 teacher, Master Electrician, etc.) and illustrate the specific pathways these credential wallet holders will be pursuing.

2. The Successful Respondent will choose a specific workforce area in Texas as shown in Appendix A: Texas Workforce Board Map to conduct the Pilot Project.

3. The Successful Respondent will describe what relationships or partnerships they have within the specific workforce area to verify credentials.

Required Blue line Response. Respondent to affirm and document how proposed Solution meets and/or exceeds the requirements as stated in this Section 2.4, #1-3.

2.5. Contract Commencement and Training

The Successful Respondent must:

1. Attend weekly meetings during the first 120 days of the contract, to be scheduled in coordination between TWC and the Successful Respondent;

2. Within the first two months, provide the following training:

Table 1: Training

Description Audience Live webinar s (2) *

Pre-recorded video**

Written training materials/ documentati on** e.g., quick guide

Solution Administration/ Management e.g., how to administer/manage the Solution; process for providing access to eligible users

TWC and TWC Workforce Solutions Staff

Adding Credentials e.g., how to provide credentials to be added to the Solution

Workforce Training Programs, Local education agencies, Institutions of Higher Education

User Training e.g., How to log into the Solution; how to view their Credentials;

process for adding missing Credentials;

Users with credentials

Solution Overview e.g., how this Solution works, how to view credentials

Employers

* Must be recorded, and the recordings provided to TWC after the live webinars were held.

** Must be available online and in an accessible format.

3. Provide ongoing training materials/documentation for adding credentials to the Respondent’s Solution (e.g., user guides, quick reference guides, etc.).

Required Blue-line Response. Respondent to affirm they will meet and/or exceed the requirements as stated in this Section 2.5.

2.6. Successful Personnel and Service Requirements

1. The Successful Respondent must designate an individual as a single point of contact for TWC and notify TWC within five business days if this contact changes. The Successful Respondent must ensure this individual is available during standard business hours (8:00 AM – 5:00 PM CT, Monday – Friday) to address TWC needs in maintaining operational performance and service levels.

2. The Successful Respondent must provide an established and publicized method of responding to questions from users, employers, workforce training programs, local education agencies, institutions of higher education, TWC and workforce solutions staff through both email and phone. Successful Respondent must respond to questions received during standard business hours (8:00 AM – 5:00 PM CT, Monday – Friday). Inquiries received outside of these hours will be addressed the next business day. A knowledge base or FAQ resource must be available 24/7 to address common user questions.

If Respondent can offer other methods of responding to questions, please explain.

3. The Successful Respondent’s designated Key Personnel must be available for:

a. monthly meetings with TWC at a regularly scheduled time for the remaining duration of the resulting contract; and

b. ad hoc meetings to address specific issues.

4. The Successful Respondent must submit for review and approval to TWC any public statements relating to any resulting contract prior to publishing them in accordance with Attachment 1, Section 2.4.1.

5. The Successful Respondent must agree that TWC may use Respondent’s logo and other identifying marks and language on documents and webinars developed by TWC during the term of the contract for the sole purpose of promoting the usage of the responsive application solution.

Required Blue-line Response. Respondent to affirm they will meet and/or exceed the requirements as stated in this Section 2.6. Respondent to document how they will meet #2.

3. Performance Model and Service Level Agreements

As of the Contract’s commencement date, the Successful Respondent will meet or exceed all applicable Service Levels monthly, or as otherwise specified in the specific Service Level. Any Service Level Defaults prior to the Service Level Credit Start Date will not be considered in the evaluation of a Service Delivery Failure.

3.1. General

3.1.1.General Performance Standards

Beginning on the Contract’s commencement date, Successful Respondent shall perform the Services at levels of accuracy, quality, completeness, timeliness, responsiveness, and resource efficiency that are at least equal to those received by TWC and the users prior to such date. In addition, Successful Respondent shall perform the Services at levels of accuracy, quality, completeness, timeliness, responsiveness, resource efficiency, and productivity that are at least equal to accepted industry standards of first tier providers of services that are the same as or similar to the Services. The foregoing provisions of this Subsection shall not be deemed to supersede the Service Levels.

3.1.2.Service Level Performance Standards

Beginning on the Contract’s commencement date, Successful Respondent shall perform the Services to meet or exceed the Service Levels set forth in or otherwise in accordance with the Contract.

3.1.3.Additional Remedies

In the event that Successful Respondent fails to identify and resolve any problems that may impede or delay the timely delivery of the Services, without prejudice to TWC’s other rights and remedies under the Contract or at law or equity, Successful Respondent will immediately provide, at its sole cost and expense, all such additional resources as are necessary to identify and resolve any problems that may impede or delay the delivery of the Services. In addition, without prejudice to TWC’s other rights and remedies under the Contract or at law or equity, in the event of a CAP Failure Event, as defined below in Section 3.5, TWC may equitably reduce the Charges set forth in Attachment 6 Pricing Worksheet in an amount reasonably estimated by TWC to account for the Services that TWC and/or TWC users are not receiving or did not receive.

3.2. Service Level Credits

Successful Respondent recognizes that TWC is paying Successful Respondent to deliver the Services at specified Service Levels. If Successful Respondent fails to meet such Service Levels, then, in addition to other remedies available to TWC, Successful Respondent shall pay or credit to TWC the Service Level Credits specified in this Section 3 in recognition of the diminished value of the Services resulting from Successful Respondent’s failure to meet the agreed upon level of performance, and not as a penalty. Under no circumstances shall the imposition of Service Level Credits be construed as TWC 's sole or exclusive remedy for any failure to meet the Service Levels. Service Level Credits are not counted toward and are not subject to the overall cap on Successful Respondent’s liability.

3.3. Reporting

1. Unless otherwise specified, each Service Level shall be measured and reported monthly and must include a summary page comparing service levels by month, over the term of the Contract. The Successful Respondent shall provide data to TWC to report Service Level performance.

2. The Successful Respondent shall provide TWC with direct, unaltered access to review and audit all raw data collection related to Service Levels.

a. The Successful Respondent will create and maintain detailed procedure documentation of its Service Level Agreement (SLA) process used to collect SLA data. The process documentation must include quality assurance reviews and verification procedures. The data collection process must be automated to the extent possible, and any manual data collection steps must be clearly documented, verified and auditable. All methods, codes, and automated programs must be documented and provided to TWC for validation and approval. The Successful Respondent must ensure it tests and validates the accuracy and currency of the documentation and collection process on a quarterly basis.

3.3.1.Reports

Successful Respondent shall provide TWC with:

1. Data and reports pertaining to the performance of the Services and Successful Respondent’s other obligations under this Agreement sufficient to permit TWC to monitor and manage Successful Respondent’s performance,

2. those reports required elsewhere under the terms of this Agreement,

3. such additional reports as TWC may identify from time to time to be generated and delivered by Successful Respondent on an ad hoc or periodic basis (all such reports, the "Reports").

3.3.2.Correction of Errors

Successful Respondent shall promptly correct any errors or inaccuracies in or with respect to the SLA performance data and reports as part of the Services and at no additional cost.

3.4. Service Level Default

1. A Service Level Default occurs when performance for a particular Service Level fails to meet the applicable Minimum Service Level.

2. Service Level Credit for Default: See Table 1 below.

Table 1: Service Level Credit for Default

Service Level Service Level Credit Default Fee

Application Availability $1,000/ month Monthly Report of Service Level Metrics $500/ instance

Response to Urgent Solution Priority Issues $1,000/ instance

Response to Normal Solution Priority Issues $800/ instance

3. The Successful Respondent acknowledges and agrees that the Service Level Credits (SLC) shall not be deemed or construed to be liquidated damages or a sole and exclusive remedy or in derogation of any other rights and remedies TWC has hereunder or under the Contract.

4. The Successful Respondent shall perform all services in accordance with the RFO requirements, provisions, terms, and conditions. This remedy is for failure to perform services according to a requirement, provision, term, or condition not covered by another remedy. Subject to the nature and extent of the non-compliance, TWC may assess up to a ten percent (10%) SLC on each monthly invoice for all services until compliance is achieved.

a. Before this remedy can be applied, TWC must issue a written demand and provide the Success Respondent a period of thirty (30) calendar days to achieve compliance in most circumstances. TWC, at its sole discretion, may reduce the time period depending on the criticality of the non-compliance.

b. TWC may apply one (1) or more of the remedies in response to non-compliance by the Successful Respondent.

In addition to the non-performance remedies above, TWC may elect to exercise its options to include any available remedy at law or in equity, up to and including termination of the Contract.

3.5. Service Delivery Failure: Corrective Action Plan

1. If three (3) Service Level Defaults for the same Service Level occur in any six

(6) month period, then upon such third occurrence, this shall be deemed a "Service Delivery Failure." Within thirty (30) calendar days of a Service Delivery Failure, the Successful Respondent will provide TWC with a written plan (the "Service Delivery Corrective Action Plan (CAP)") for improving the Successful Respondent's performance to address the Service Delivery Failure, which shall include a specific implementation timetable and measurable success criteria.

Within thirty (30) calendar days of plan submission, or such other timeframe agreed to by TWC, the Successful Respondent will implement the Service Delivery Corrective Action Plan (CAP), which will include making timely and appropriate investments in people, processes, and technology. In addition, the Successful Respondent will demonstrate to TWC's reasonable satisfaction that the changes implemented by it have been made in normal operational processes to sustain compliant performance results in the future.

2. The Successful Respondent will be liable for a Service Level Credit in an amount equal to one percent (1%) of the monthly amount invoiced to TWC (the "CAP Failure Credit") upon the occurrence of:

a. the Successful Respondent’s failure to implement the Service Delivery Corrective Action Plan in the specified timetable.

3. The CAP Failure Credit will be applied to the monthly invoice until the Successful Respondent has demonstrated effective Service delivery, as evidenced by either:

a. no reoccurrence of the Service Level Defaults which triggered the applicable Service Delivery Failure for a rolling three (3) months, or

b. in TWC's judgment, the Successful Respondent has remedied the failure which caused such Service Delivery Failure.

4. The Successful Respondent acknowledges and agrees that the CAP Failure Credit shall not be deemed or construed to be liquidated damages or a sole and exclusive remedy or in derogation of any other rights and remedies TWC has hereunder or under the Agreement. For purposes of clarity, the CAP Failure

Credit is separate from and therefore in addition to any other Service Level Credits due in a given month, even if the Service Level Credits are for Service Level Defaults related to the Service Delivery Failure.

3.6. Service Level Definitions

3.6.1.Priority/Severity for Tiered Response SLAs

Table 2: Priority/Severity Matrix for Solution Issues

Low Priority Normal Priority Urgent Priority

Definition Cosmetic issues that do not inhibit the functionality or main purpose of the Solution.

-Issues not critical to the performance of the Solution;

-have isolated impact and may have work arounds;

-may disrupt functional elements and user experience

- Expose security vulnerabilities;

-Critical bugs and maintenance issues that cause severe performance issues;

-No workaround available.

-Render an application unusable

-Cause loss/corruption of stored data.

Response to TWC once issue has been reported

a) Monday to Friday:

Within 48 hours

b) Saturday & Sunday:

Within 72 hours

a) Monday to Friday:

Within 24 hours

b) Saturday & Sunday:

Within 48 hours

a) Monday to Friday:

Within 6 hours

b) Saturday & Sunday:

Within 18 hours

Updates to TWC

a) Monday to Friday:

Within 48 hours

b) Saturday & Sunday:

Within 72 hours

Daily Every 12 hours

Resolution Within 5 business days Within 72 hours

a) Monday to Friday:

Within 24 hours

b) Saturday & Sunday:

Low Priority Normal Priority Urgent Priority

Within 48 hours

3.6.2.Minimum Service Levels

Table 3: Minimum Service Level Table

Service Level Minimum Service Level

Application Availability Solution available 99.5% of the time each calendar month

Monthly Report of Service Level Metrics

Report must be provided to TWC by the 7th calendar day every month for the preceding calendar month

Response to TWC for Urgent Priority Solution Issues

100% compliance with Section 3.6.1 Table 2: Priority/Severity Matrix for Solution Issues

Response to TWC for Normal Priority Solution Issues

100% compliance with Section 3.6.1 Table 2: Priority/Severity Matrix for Solution Issues

3.7. Exceptions

The Successful Respondent shall not be responsible for a failure to meet any Service Level solely to the extent that such failure is directly attributable to any circumstances that excuse the Successful Respondent's performance as determined by TWC.

3.8. Exclusions

1. Downtime caused by any of the events noted below will be excluded from SLA measurements and will be tracked separately:

a. Scheduled Maintenance

b. Force Majeure events. See Attachment 1 TWC Terms & Conditions, Section 2.11 for more information.

Required Blue-line Response. Respondent to acknowledge they intend to comply with the requirements as stated in Section 3.

<End of Statement of Work>