Industry Questions and Responses.pdf

Question

Tech Challenges

Govt Response

What is the potential scope and magnitude of this requirement?

The Govt estimates supporting 16 - 24 scrum teams at peak capacity managing both MRO and MRO-S simultaneously. Refer to the SOO for

Scope of both MRO and MRO-S.

Could you elaborate on any specific integration challenges or priorities that the Air Force has faced with the current MRO systems that we should be particularly mindful of in our solution design? Are there specific technical standards or new technologies the Air Force is particularly interested in integrating into the MRO-S solution?

In general, our challenges are more business process issues than technological. There are challenges in regards to interfacing with specific systems and applications. Specific tech standards we are looking to upgrade include code migration and promotion activities and tasks.

We are looking to use Oracle EBS for any upgrades to the system. MRO-

S will need to understand and seamlessly integrate with multiple critical and enabling program offices: AF legacy systems of varying complexity and maturity, hosting providers who control platform and common services, and external trading partners program offices. All of the listed agencies have competing requirements and agile/waterfall schedule challenges that will impact delivery of MRO-S.

What are the current features and technical challenges of MRO?

Development of the 388 feature first limited deployment minimum viable product is nearing completion for fielding in Q4 FY 2024. Initial government testing began in 2023. Integrated tester training was completed in March 2024. Additional interface requirements not included in the initial deployment roadmap has caused trading partner interface completion to extend development timeline. Improved code promotion tools were needed in 2023, but neither Flexdeploy or ECMA-related improvements were delivered, hampering code promotion (the ability to perform initial MVP sustainment concurrently with future releases).

What are primary technical risks the Air Force foresees in this project, and what mitigation strategies would be most favorable from your perspective?

1. Cybersecurity risks: the project becoming vulnerable to database risk, hacking, data breaches, etc. that may undermine security. We mitigate these risks by following DevSecOps protocols and guidelines. 2. Scope

Creep: The scope of each MVP there is a req refinement through Agile, which may generate additional requirements and cause schedule shift.

3. Code Promotion: Code promotion and 3rd parties interacted with day to day, rely heavily on ERP common services for exchange management, ensuring trading partners migrate through boundary and migrate that to a single production base line and management of that baseline. Some of the requirements are still waterfall based. 4. SI transition risk: All technical, cost and schedule risks associated with but not limited to familiarity with MRO, introduction of new technologies/solutions, and access to proper data.

How does the Air Force typically handle changes in project scope or unexpected challenges that might arise during the implementation?

Utilizing scrum teams to handle and manage backlog. We need to incorporate more technology and tools along with involving experienced resources in the project to handle unexpected challenges.

What are the key attributes the Air Force values in a software vendor for maintaining a long-term, successful partnership? How can we align our support and maintenance services more closely with the Air Force's operational tempo and duty cycles?

The collaboration is open and honest communication, try not to look at as anything us vs them but everyone working as a team toward mission requirements. The Government can always pivot but we are there to work together towards same end state. Measuring success can be challenging with Agile because things can change quickly, but expediency is one of our values. Maintaining the platform after project or sprint completion is a key component to long-term partnership. We also need personnel resources dedicated to maintain security compliance as well as continuous improvement and to adapt to future requirements, software patching and version upgrade.

Schedule Questions Govt Response

How will MRO and MRO-S be implemented together?

This requirement will initially implement the MRO Supply portion concurrently with the current MRO contract. The MRO-S would be built on-top of the MRO platform. The requirement would then include the

MRO portion to on-board with this effort at a specified point (TBD) and take over MRO sustainment and development (if necessary) for the duration of any contract. Initial MRO-S work will be conducted in MRO clone Database App Tenants.

Do we see having a large team partner as a risk mitigator?

It is neutral and can go either direction, no issue with it. There is a possibility for up to 16 scrum teams, and each scrum team would have its own scrum master for seamless collaboration. See answer to question 8 for additional understanding.

Can you provide more details on the expected timeline for the transition from the initial phase of

MRO-S to the full integration? What are the key milestones? What are the Air Force's expectations regarding the timeline for achieving initial operational capability and full operational capability?

MRO has a series of deployments beginning in Q4 of FY 24. There is no current integration schedule for MRO-S, the contractor would be involved in developing that schedule.

MRO / MRO-S ONE-ON-ONE SESSION QUESTIONS & GOVERNEMNT RESPONSE

Is there a current schedule or milestone plan

(project plan for putting modules out i.e. these things, at these bases, in this order) in place for the proposed work? Does the Government plan on providing this to offerors in a Draft RFP or PWS?

This requirement will initially implement the MRO Supply portion concurrently with the current MRO contract. MRO-S would be built on top of the MRO platform. The requirement would then include the

MRO portion to on-board with the MRO-S effort at a future date. There is no set schedule and any future schedule is subject to change at any time. For projected MRO MVP sizing, see attachment slide 6.

What is your approach to multiple FMO and PMO teams, is your intent to run both programs independently and some point merge them; high level governance between them?

Yes; while we are getting Supply requirements finalized, we would be a separate PMO, and somewhere maybe FY25 we would merge with

MRO. The Government has conducted workshops to show the multiple

FMOs how MRO has progressed and to make determinations on best processes for each of them. See attachment slide 2 for further context.

Could you elaborate more on the parallel contracts?

See question #8 for further context.

What is the time frame for merging requirements for MRO and MRO-S?

Timeframe is TBD and dependent on transitioning requirements from the current MRO contract to the follow on contract at a time to be determined by the government. FIAR and FY 28 auditability is important to consider.

What are the expected scalability needs for the

MRO and MRO-S systems over the next 5 to 10 years? How should the system architecture accommodate rapid scaling up or down based on operational needs? Have we considered UX?

Unknown at this time, but within 5-10 years we should be going into sustainment posture. MRO up to about 20k users, may increase once

Supply comes on; Ability and flexibility ramp up from supply phase to incorporate MRO sustainment and development. User Experience has been talked about and UX survey will be done once it goes live.

What are the high availability and disaster recovery expectations for the MRO and MRO-S systems? Are there specific RPO (Recovery Point

Objective) and RTO (Recovery Time Objective) metrics that the system needs to meet?

Yes, Cloud 1 will provide Oracle Cloud Infrastructure that can support us for high availability and disaster recovery expectations. The current contract should set much of that up for success. Govt has objectives and specifics listed, but yet to do any testing.

Are we going forward with all modules for each division and integrating back until everybody goes live? Will it be simultaneous or incremental?

Not everyone will do it same time, it will be incremental (MVPs), significant development to add to MRO as it goes forward and users are added in.

Is there a transition overlap you have in the contract today with the incumbent? If so, how many months?

Transition expected to occur during temporary parallel contracts. See question #8 for further context.

How does the Air Force prioritize the capabilities or modules within the MRO and MRO-S systems?

Are there particular functionalities that are more critical to the upcoming phases of the project? Are there any shifts in project scope or new functionalities anticipated in the near future that we should prepare for?

Yes, MRO has leaned on Agile to make sure acceptance criteria meets customer needs; require workshops monthly to quarterly bases at different ALCs, often leads to reprioritization. At 90% solution now for what is the prioritized workload currently, what isn't captured is MRO-S, that’s why Govt is starting with MRO-S and ramping MRO on later; MRO-

S workshops will still need to take place.

OCI Questions Govt Response

Are you guys operating in Cloud1? Do you have a dedicated environment that you're operating from? Is it AWS, Azure, OCI?

Yes, we are operating in Cloud1. It is an OCI environment. We are currently operating under an IATT and have an ATO package to be submitted imminently. Current instances are dedicated for test and development. There is a production environment that will be dedicated to that go live.

Is the Govt looking to use Oracle COTS specific products for the EBS Platform or are you open to third parties and plug-in solutions such as UI Path?

The Govt has selected Oracle EBS as the MRO/MRO-S solution; however, the Government would be open to use additional COTS products that could be used with Oracle EBS.

Does the Govt use Oracle COTS specific or open to

Third party plugins for automated testing It is not the Government's intent to limit itself to use Oracle COTS specific plugins only.

Does Cloud One manage OCI environment for the

Govt?

Cloud 1 provides the OCI environment, and the Government creates and manages the OCI infrastructure.

Are there any technical challenges encountering with Oracle EBS implementation we should be aware of? Issues with interfaces and Java/configuration settings

Was the OCI tenancy generated in the last 10-12 months?

Yes, sandbox tenancies

26 Does the OCI tenancy include domains? Yes, it currently contains OCI1 and OCI2.

How old is the Oracle Instance currently being used? Which release of Oracle are you working on?

Oracle eBS application is 12.2.10

DB is at 19c.

MRO EBS Oracle Database is a Container Database (CDB) with Pluggable

Database (PDB). Oracle requirement is that EBS container database

(CDB) can have only one pluggable database (PDB).

OS: Linux

ExaCS: Exadata X8M-2

Is the goal to have a single MRO system that operates across the entirety of the depot landscape? Yes.

Is there a separate effort for BPR and optimization? Is that part of what you're going to want the follow-on to accomplish? What specifically have you looked at around legacy system code assessment, business rules, mining and pulling?

There is a separate effort to understand what the mainframe code is doing. We are also building OCI environments like a sandbox where we're taking the MRO clone. We are currently completing a fit-gap analysis, so that it can be integrated into the MRO backlog.

Are you subscribed to the suite of Oracle Services?

Are you using any of the other Cloud1 services?

OCI and ERP Common Services is a BES Organization, and they provide us with access to the services we can utilize.

Has the USAF steering committee / stakeholders committee committed to adjusting current business policies to meet the best practices embodied within the Oracle packaged solution?

See governance Question #12

Is there an abstract description of each of the systems referenced in the bulleted list?

Not at this time.

How has USAF Process and Policies been designed between legacy, MRO-S, and the Oracle System?

Are the processes integrated? Is the data definition the same between MRO and MRO-S?

Processes, policies, and data definition are part of the ongoing BPR process.

What systems are planned for sunsetting and under what schedule?

The known maintenance systems to be sunset are DMAPS, DMSI, LDMS, IMPREZZA, KADENZA, DMWPCS, APO, and ABS. The schedule for sunsetting systems has not been finalized at this time due to their direct connection to incrementally fielding MRO. This represents known maintenance systems, but a key priority of the fit/gap with MRO-S will be analyzing sunset timelines of any legacy supply system that is required for current state business processes and integrating/monitoring those timelines throughout the MRO-S effort.

See SOO Background MRO-S 1.2 for further context.

Other Tech Questions Govt Response

Does Govt currently utilize Oats App Test Suite? No, the Govt uses DevSecOps pipelines Jira/Confluence and Octane

Are there any limitations to a test suite environment?

Govt has used SmartBear (stand alone), but would have to go through a configuration control board to add through ERP Common

Services/common tools to be available.

For non EBS what is technology for those, Java apps running on Windows or web-based interfaces?

Govt used different types; Webservice one, MQ and an SFTP right now, and integrated SOA Gateway component for Oracle. Also, see answer to question #27.

Is Flex Deploy the MRO CICD Tool of choice?

Yes, also we use DevSecOps pipelines. We have coordinated with our hosting provider (Cloud one/ERP CS) for Flex Deploy as our primary code deployment tool. We utilize Configsnapshot (with configuration migration capability) as our chosen tool for configuration alignment between instances. These two tools, plus a compliment of several others that allow for regression testing and cybersecurity scanning, constitute the foundation of our current DevSecOps pipeline.

Have there been any discussions regarding Large

Language Models (LLM)?

Govt is looking to develop an LLM that can do a fit/gap analysis. Our intent is for the LLM to read legacy code and give a better idea of what the code is doing.

Is there an expectation to reuse RICE-W configs that the other programs have, will you provide that info

Yes, there is an expectation to re-use configurations. Data would be made available upon contract award.

41 Will all platforms/database be GFE/GFI? Yes

What documentation analysis does the government expect?

There is detailed system description and system setup. The follow-on contractor should have the capacity to analyze, overcome, and explain any potential data/design gaps.

Has the USAF performed an assessment or fit-gap analysis between the legacy systems and the to-be

Oracle systems, and if so, has the USAF identified gaps in functionality or RICEFW components on the critical path for the transition?

That analysis is in work, doing fit-gap on legacy systems, but is not yet complete. A fit-gap on future developed requirement will also be done to identify gaps. See question #29 for further context.

Will an offeror be required to decompose legacy code and/or give a functional analysis of what currently exists?

It may be a requirement of the contract, depending on multiple factors.

Requirements will emerge in Agile acquisition and be placed in the backlog.

How many legacy systems will roll into MRO-S?

The main one is Stock Control, and the D035 Suite has multiple systems and modules within those systems. We do not know exactly how many will be rolled into MRO-S at this time.

How open is the project to the adoption of emerging technologies and innovation in operations?

These are risk-based decisions, and the government would not want to limit itself to currently used technologies. There are limiting factors

(such as directorate adoption, organizational change management, external partners, and lead time). See answers to question #21, 22, and

29.

Are there opportunities for proposing new technologies or innovations that could enhance the efficiency and outcomes of the MRO and MRO-

S programs?

Yes, there are opportunities for proposing new technologies, but MRO and MRO-S will be utilizing Oracle EBS, ERP solution.

What technology stack does the government prefer for the development of the MRO and MRO-

S systems? OCI, Oracle EBS, Java, and LINUX. See question #27 for further context.

Are there particular development, monitoring, and operational tools that we are expected to use?

Yes. See questions #4, 27, and 33 for further context.

What are the expectations regarding user support for the MRO and MRO-S systems? Tiers of help desk will be required.

How should the system design facilitate ease of use and maintenance?

The government seeks out of the box solutioning first; user experience will be assessed upon initial deployment and could be addressed in continuous capability development

How does the government plan to future-proof the

MRO and MRO-S systems against rapid technological advancements?

The government could address future-proofing, updates, and incorporation of new technologies in continuous capability development

Are there provisions for regular updates and incorporations of new technologies? See question #52 for further context.

What are the existing systems and platforms that the new MRO and MRO-S solutions need to integrate with? Can you provide details on their interfaces and APIs?

MRO: See MRO Current State pdf pages 5-6 on those systems included but not limited to the current planned effort.

MRO-S: supply piece is still being planned; list still emerging.

How does the government envision the integration of legacy systems with new technologies in the

MRO and MRO-S programs? Is there a common platform these legacy systems sit in?

There is a not a common platform. See question #8 for further context.

What are the data volume and velocity expectations for the MRO and MRO-S systems?

Can you outline the data governance, security standards, and compliance requirements we need to adhere to?

For MRO, the data volume is going to vary, and velocity could change daily. For MRO MVP sizing, see attachment slide 6. For MRO-S - these values are unknown. Data Performance velocity is TBD. For data governance see attachment slide 2. For Security standards and compliance requirements, see page 10-11 of the SOO.

What are the performance benchmarks for the

MRO and MRO-S systems, including throughput, latency, and processing times? Are there specific performance testing protocols we should follow during the development phase?

Govt has not yet done performance benchmarks checks.

57 Who will we be going live with? We will be incrementally fielding to all ALCs.

Do MRO and MRO-S operate in Scrum environments and/or Sprints?

For MRO, we operate in four 3 week sprints, followed by a week for PI close out and next PI planning for a total of 13 weeks. MRO-S sprint and

PI times have not been determined, but eventually we expect that they would sync to MRO sprint planning.

Are there new security, compliance, or data management policies that we should be aware of that are being planned or implemented? How does the Air Force envision handling data security and integrity, particularly when integrating with legacy systems?

The Air Force considers deeper security measurement while integrating with existing legacy system. Every application needs to go through an intense ATO process to get approval to deploy in production environment. See DFARS 252.204-7021 for context of ICAM, Zero Trust, and GCDS, etc.

FIAR

Is the goal to begin implementation or complete implementation of FIAR compliance by FY28?

Yes, the whole solution needs to be FIAR auditable by FY28.

Is someone looking into the FIAR compliance/BPR issues?

Yes. The FMO is looking at those.

What type of governance or decision making exists to overcome blockages? And how does this tie to technical, cost, and schedule risk to the program?

Understanding the governance and stakeholder linkages is critical to successful implementation of MRO/MRO-S requirements. There are multiple levels of governance, starting at the scrum team level, and utilizing Jira trackers. Decisions to be made are escalated at certain increments of time based on schedule priority. Program visibility is at the USECAF level.

Miscellaneous Questions

Who is the first production division, or department we're looking to go live with?

For the current MRO effort, PMXG out of Tinker AFB will be the initial roll out. Secondary roll out, goes sequentially to the CMXGs, EMXGs, MXSGs, AMXGs, AMARG, and the SWEGs. For the follow-on contract, this has not yet been determined.

Are you open to remote delivery? Or are you asking everyone to be on site?

The government is open to remote work/delivery. Some travel to onsite locations will be required for actions including, but not limited to, onboarding and demonstrations.

In the bidders library, will there be an as-built architectural configuration?

Yes. See attachment for scope of MVPs. See question #40 for further context.

Is every ALC integrating MRO across the full range of operations - is that the end state goal?

Yes, this is an enterprise solution, but there will be a strategic approach to rolling this out. Refer to question #63 for further context.

What are the qualifications and training requirements for personnel involved in the project?

Qualifications and Training requirements are under development.

Professional certificates would vary by program role (Oracle Cloud

Infrastructure Architect Professional, et al). Necessary security certification must be attained prior to working on the program.

Will there be any Government-furnished training or should contractors prepare to develop their training programs?

The government may provide some informal training and orientation on

MRO; however, we expect that contractors would need to quickly get up to speed on system maintenance and development with consideration of SI transition. The contractor should be responsible for required training utilizing GFE/GFI. Reference all training AFIs as outlined in the

SOO.

Can you provide an org chart that includes the skillsets of each person for the current MRO program?

Yes. See attachment slides 1, 3-4.

As you get MRO in production, how much standard functionality are you using and how much customization will there be?

MRO is in development with a production ATO coming soon. Out-of-the-box tools are highly encouraged, but we acknowledge that there may be some customization required according to project scope.

Are current policies and practices standardized across all divisions, or do different departments have different policies.

There are efforts underway, but challenges to get ALCs to standardize policies and practices. Fielding of MRO is a forcing function to standardize. See question #62 for further context.

What are the existing business process KPIs that the USAF uses to measure the performance and efficiency of the business processes supported by the legacy systems?

Existing KPIs are limited. We are interested in industry standards and recommendations to mitigate risk to the Government.

How is your organization structured for configuration deployment? See attachment slides 1-2 and question #62 for further context.

What types of MRO are in scope? For example, Infrastructure repair and maintenance; Production equipment repair and maintenance; Material handling equipment maintenance; Tooling and consumables?

MRO infrastructure is available, it will need to be maintained and patched for updated versions when required. See SOO section 5 and question #1 for further context.

Is there a formal detailed internal procurement procedure? Understanding the DLA process is critical to vendor success.

Is there a formal detailed business process?

There are separate as-is business processes, and work is being done to create enterprise-wide business processes.

Are there detailed requisition, purchasing, and

Goods Receiving processes?

Yes. However, MRO/MRO-S will standardize and modernize AFSC Supply processes and improve integration with Maintenance.