Q A__5_Industry_Questions_and_or_Comments_Q_7-Q_14.docx

Q&A #5 Industry Questions/Comments

RFP FA4600-13-R-0002 PMEAS II

7. Question: Your response to Q&A #3 seems overly restrictive with regard to USAMS III in light of the previous procedures to mitigate USAMS II work on a Task Order basis and the unknowns of work coming out on USAMS III. The proposed PMEAS work does not appear to be in direct conflict with the large majority of existing USAMS II work. Will you reconsider the restrictive OCI guidance for USAMS III and allow OCI mitigation on a task order basis?

Answer: No, PMEAS effort consists of Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Execution (PPB&E), Program Management Office (PMO) Support that requires financial data, evaluation of requirements, costs, proposals, PWS, etc. This would be an OCI that cannot be mitigated.

8. Question: Draft PWS, section 1.1 Background and Organization and section 1.6 Place of Performance. Is all of this work currently being performed at HQ USSTRATCOM on Offutt AFB? Is there any on-going work performed at one of the JFCC’s or AFLCMC or other associated and supporting organizations?

Answer: PMEAS is currently supporting various organizations within HQ USSTRATCOM. Most of this work takes place on Offutt Air Force Base NE, but some support is performed offsite. Alternate/additional locations may also be required as determined by the government to meet mission requirements (very seldom, less than 5%).

9. Question: Draft PWS, section 1.3.4 System Engineering. “The contractor shall provide technical reviews…and other engineering artifacts…as specified in DODAF…and develop or maintain those artifacts….” Please clarify to what extent the contractor is creating and actually maintaining DODAF products and also using what specific DODAF tools (system architect, rational, etc.). Also, please address any specific DODAF certifications and/or software familiarization that may be required.

Answer: The Program Office is required to create and maintain a complete set of DODAF artifacts as part of the Information Support Plan submitted for program approval. The tools we use right now are Microsoft Visio, Excel, Word, and PowerPoint. Maintaining the artifacts in Microsoft products is difficult and hard to leverage for new uses.

10. Question: Draft PWS, section 1.3.4.3 requires the contractor to “support delivery of software, its installation, configuration and testing; problem resolution and maintenance. “ This seems to be an open statement with regard to software support. For instance, problem resolution and maintenance might imply contractors are required to have specific software development skills. Please clarify A&AS contractor support to vendor deliveries of software installs for specific systems; maybe providing previous examples of software support would help.

Answer: Our primary development and sustainment contractors build most of the software at contractor facilities that cannot completely match the computing environment at USSTRATCOM. USSTRATCOM uses its own workforce and contractor support, via the ITCC contract, to install, configure, and provide operational support for the software. The Program Office requires software engineering support to bridge the divide between the development and sustainment contractors and USSTRATCOM, assisting all parties with installation, configuration and testing, and problem resolution and maintenance. In a few cases this might involve building small software solutions like "glue code," "data extraction, transformation, and load" scripts, automated test scripts, Microsoft Access or Excel programs, and so on. In addition, the Program Office relies on the PMEAS software engineering support to help understand the advantages and disadvantages of particular technology solutions proposed by USSTRATCOM or our contractors and to propose solutions that these other groups may not have come up with themselves that will reduce costs or improve effectiveness of program deliveries.

11. Question: Request clarification of duplicate requirements. It seems several requirements are carried in each of the Program Management, Business Process Management, and System Engineering sections of the Draft PWS. For instance, sections 1.3.1.19, 1.3.3.15, 1.3.4.22 all address what looks like the same requirement to develop System Security Management Plans, Program Protection Plans, Security Risk Analysis, and OPSEC Plans. Sections 1.3.1.20, 1.3.3.16, 1.3.4.23 all address what looks like the same requirement to support ISPAN, C2 and C4 monthly reports. Is there a distinction in the requirements by section that you can provide?

Answer:

PWS 1.3.1.19, pg. 95 of 187- Program Management

1.3.1.19 The contractor shall assist in the development of System Security Management Plans, Program Protection Plans, Security Risk Analyses, OPSEC Plans, Computer Certification and Accreditation, Security Vulnerability and Countermeasure Analyses, Security Concepts of Operations, and other system security related documents.

PWS 1.3.3.15, pg. 97 of 187 - Business Process Management

1.3.3.15 The contractor shall assist in the development of System Security Management Plans, Program Protection Plans, Security Risk Analyses, OPSEC Plans, Computer Certification and Accreditation, Security Vulnerability and Countermeasure Analyses, Security Concepts of Operations, and other system security related documents.

PWS 1.3.4.23, pg. 99 of 187 - System Engineering Ktr stated paragraph: 1.3.4.22, the Gov’t believes Ktr meant pargraph 1.3.4.23.

1.3.4.23 The contractor shall assist in the development of System Security Management Plans, Program Protection Plans, Security Risk Analyses, OPSEC Plans, Computer Certification and Accreditation, Security Vulnerability and Countermeasure Analyses, Security Concepts of Operations, and other system security related documents.

PWS 1.3.1.20, pg. 95 of 187 - Program Management

1.3.1.20 The contractor shall assist PMs in researching, collecting and analyzing data and preparing drafts of the ISPAN, C2 and C4 Infrastructure Program monthly activity reports (CDRL A003), quarterly acquisition summary reports, recurring OSD and Secretary of the Air Force (SAF) Reports and the portfolio presentation as required by DoD and Air Force (CDRL A005). The contractor shall support USSTRATCOM in gathering data, researching, and preparation of other mission related and public topics.

PWS 1.3.3.16, pg. 97 of 187 - Business Process Management

1.3.3.16 The contractor shall assist PMs in researching, collecting and analyzing data and preparing drafts of the ISPAN, C2 and C4 Infrastructure Program monthly activity reports (CDRL A003), quarterly acquisition summary reports, recurring OSD and Secretary of the Air Force (SAF) Reports and the semi-annual portfolio presentation as required by DoD and Air Force (CDRL A005). The contractor shall support USSTRATCOM in gathering data, researching, and preparation of other mission related and public topics.

PWS 1.3.4.24, pg. 99 of 187- System Engineering Ktr stated paragraph: 1.3.4.23, the Gov’t believes Ktr meant pargraph 1.3.4.24.

1.3.4.24 The contractor shall assist in researching, collecting and analyzing data and preparing drafts of the ISPAN, C2 and C4 Infrastructure Program monthly activity reports (CDRL A003), quarterly acquisition summary reports, recurring OSD and Secretary of the Air Force (SAF) Reports and the semi-annual portfolio presentation as required by DoD and Air Force (CDRL A005). The contractor shall support USSTRATCOM in gathering data, researching, and preparation of other mission related and public topics.

The inclusion of the same or similar requirements under Program Management, Business Process Management, and System Engineering is because an employee operating in each of those functions may have to deal with tasks in those same areas; however, an employee’s role in a particular task will be determined based on his or her primary function. For example, a Systems Engineer may be called upon to determine specific security requirements, but a Program Manager would need to ensure that those requirements had been included in the documentation.

12. Question: Draft RFP, Section L 4.5.1. With good reason the government is quite concerned during contractor transition to ensure no interruption or degradation of services for PMEAS III (for PMEAS II). Will the Gov’t provide adequate (extra) GFI workstations and office equipment in the customer locations to ensure a smooth transition is conducted?

Answer: Yes, the government will provide adequate supplies and workstations to support transition in accordance with the transition plan.

13. Question: Draft RFP Sec M (key personnel table). Is it the government’s intent to have the number of key personnel (in the column) times the number of category areas listed? How many total key personnel are actually required in the first row of the table?

Answer: Draft RFP Sec M (key personnel table) M3.3.3.2.1 Key Personnel: The draft PMEAS II RFP provides the number of key personnel by organization. No, it is not the government’s intent to have the number of key personnel in the column under Key Personnel FTE count to be times the number of category areas listed in the table. The numbers in the Category A, B, C, and D columns reference the numbered skills by category in the lists below the table.

See Attachment 1C Historical Data for the estimated number of FTE’s, by mission area and type of support currently provided for each mission area.

14. Question: Is a top secret facility clearance required upon submission of the proposal or is The Air Force willing to sponsor the awarded contractor upon award.

Answer: A top secret facility clearance is not required upon submission of a contractor’s proposal, but is required prior to award. No The Air Force is not willing to sponsor the awarded contractor upon award.

Note: If a clearance is not available during evaluations it has a possibility for a higher risk rating.