Industry_Day_Questions_Responses.pdf

SMALL BUSINESS ENTERPRISE APPLICATIONS SOLUTIONS (SBEAS)

INDUSTRY DAY QUESTIONS

QUESTION Government Response

1 On SBEAS, will primes need to recertify at options or more frequently?

Primes will need to recertify at 5 year point and each additional year.

2 Do we plan to change the procurement strategy on

SBEAS?

This effort is still in the market research phase. The program office will consider industry day comments and RFI responses in its decision to finalize an acquisition strategy.

3 What part of FAR states that you have to consider Small

Businesses?

FAR 19.2

4 Will we be allowed to have a large business teammate?

Yes teaming will be allowed, but is not required; the government does not dictate the size of business a partner can team with.

5 Will mentor-protégé JVs be the only JV permitted under this vehicle? Is it a formal program?

The mentor can be a large business, but if other than mentor-protégé JV, partner cannot be a large business. It's a formal program that has to be approved by SBA.

6 Is there guidance on categories for similarly situated e.g. Can you combine woman owned 8a and minority woman owned

8a that have the same size?

Each offeror must qualify as a Small Business regardless of category under the provided NAICS. Each category listed in the question is a small business category.

7 Will there be SB sub-categories (i.e. 8(a), SDVOSB?

Each offeror must qualify as a Small Business regardless of category under the provided NAICS.

8 The RFI passed out this morning exclusively asks for capabilities and experience as a prime. Will past performance as a prime be a go/no go or otherwise significant evaluation criteria?

Past performance as a prime or sub is being considered for the

RFI responses. Please see the amended RFI document on

FedBizOpps https://www.fbo.gov/spg/USAF/AFMC/SSGHQ/FA8771-17-

R-1000/listing.html

9 Where was the RFI released? https://www.fbo.gov/spg/USAF/AFMC/SSGHQ/FA8771-17-

10 Does the Government have an idea on the volume of awards for the new contract?

At this time it is too early in the acquisition process for the government to determine a definite volume of awards;

however we project it will be significantly more than the 12 vendors on the current Application Services vehicle.

https://www.fbo.gov/spg/USAF/AFMC/SSGHQ/FA8771-17-R-1000/listing.html

11 Can there be a separation, time-wise, between the release of the RFP and the

Industry Day projected for

April? This will allow for read through and understanding of the RFP so questions can be formulated prior to the Industry Day.

Schedule still being determined at this time. The government anticipates a gap between release of draft RFP and the second industry day/workshop.

12 Are other services going to be allowed to use this contract?

Yes. If the task order under the other service has an AF component.

13 Will SBEAS contractors be required to buy products from NETCENTS products contracts?

No, there will not be a requirement to purchase products from the

NETCENTS products contract.

14 LPTA or Best Value

Acquisition Strategy?

This effort is still in the market research phase. The program

15 Recommend Cyber Security or IA is listed as a separate topic.

The government will take this recommendation under consideration.

16 Would you provide these slides later as a download?

Yes, the slides have been posted to FedBizOpps

17 If using teaming partners, can we use those teammates past performance? If we are only using our past experience credentials, teaming is of less value. We would prefer to be allowed to use our teammates past experience to enrich our proposal if we are using teammates?

This effort is still in the market research phase. The program in its decision.

18 For OCONUS staffing, will

COLA be provided? Will

TESA support be provided to hire and bring over US citizens?

Staffing is an element to be considered at the task order level.

19 In looking at JV and CTA, I suggest you look closely at the NIH CIOSP3 on ramp solicitation and protest decisions concerning this topic.

20 What is the solicitation number for the RFI?

FA8771-17-R-1000

21 Does scope include COTS software integration in addition to development and maintenance?

Yes, the scope will include COTS/GOTS software integration in addition to development and maintenance.

22 Please define sustainment?

Do you mean maintenance of the system? Objects reusability?

Sustainment is the processes, procedures, people, materiel, and information required to support, maintain, and operate the software aspect of a system. It includes documentation, operations, deployment, security, configuration management, training (users and sustainment personnel), help desk, COTS products management, and technology refresh.

23 How will pricing be evaluated? It is recommended that the

Government have bidders price it based on a set location-the NCR- and provide the adjustment factors for all other locations, such as GSA did for STARS

II. It is a risk for businesses to otherwise price locations worldwide.

This effort is still in the market research phase. The program

24 Do you have plans for selecting HUB Zone awards as part of this competition?

Some SB ID/IQ procurements specify 1-3

HUB Zone awards. Will extra credit be given?

This effort will not encompass any specialized set-asides. The

IDIQ is a Total Small Business Set-aside.

25 Based on the prime focus of the RFI how many items items must be supported to be considered a viable prime?

The acquisition strategy has not been finalized or approved.

26 Given the increase in agile software development, why is CMMI a factor? What role and at what level will CMMI be used?

The government is still determining what factors will serve as evaluation factors. The program office will consider industry day comments and RFI responses in its decision to finalize an acquisition strategy.

27 Do you anticipate the sections L&M of the draft

RFP will be a significant derivative of an existing

RFP? If yes, which one(s)?

SBEAS L&M will be exclusive of any existing RFP to reflect our requirements.

28 Would there be an order of preference amongst JVs as it relates to classification of the

JV? For instance, providing two small businesses forming a JV would be preferred over a mentor-protégé JV.

NO. A company may form an approved JV and bid on the solicitation as a single prime offeror.

29 Over the 10 to 13 year PoP, will there be any on ramps for additional SB contractors?

At this time, it is still early in the acquisition strategy phase.

The government is considering the possibility of on ramps but a final decision has not been made at this time.

30 Are there facility clearance requirements? Not mentioned in RFI.

This will be done at the Task Order level; not the IDIQ level.

31 On the draft schedule slide.

Will the Government give enough time (3-4 months) between draft RFP and final

RFP? Is there a approximate date for RFP release?

At this time, the government is not certain as to what the timeline will be exactly between draft RFP and final RFP but we do anticipate there being some time in between. 3-4 months however is definitely not feasible due to our timeline constraints.

32 The RFI asks specifically only DOD/AF experience.

No other past performance will be considered? E.g.

binging commercial best practices.

All experience is acceptable.

33 The RFI asks about relevant experience but doesn't ask about timeframe. E.g. E3- 5 years, etc. That is usually asked in the RFP/Eval criteria?

At this time, the government is not associating any timelines to the recency/relevancy of the experience. If the government determines this to be an adequate approach later in the process, a timeline will be specified.

34 Please provide a description of the SB pools.

The description of vendors will be Total Small Business. Pools described in FAR Part 9.7 are not being considered.

35 Will the vendor list from today's event be made available? Also, are we open to one on one sessions prior to RFP release?

Yes, the list has been posted to FedBizOpps

36 Once awarded will it be considered "mandatory use" within the AF? If so, how will this be enforced? Will it have decentralized ordering like NC2? Will there be a standard template for CO's to use when they issue task orders?

The mandatory-use of this vehicle has not been determined at this time; this vehicle will have decentralized ordering.

37 Please provide contact information for Ms. Baylor, Ms. Brown, Ms. P.

All questions should be filtered through the POC; if you need to be directed to someone else she can provide you the POC information. Ms. Brown (PCO) at shaneka.brown@us.af.mil

38 Can vendors consolidate their recommendations on the different slides and put some thought into it and email it back within the next two weeks?

Yes, please send comments to the Contracting Officer

39 CMMI Level 3 requirements are in conflict with NAICS

541511 company size - it would exclude newer SB primes from bidding at the

IDIQ level - it takes several years to develop track record of larger projects to get

CMMI appraised.

40 Provide guidance on teaming arrangements well in advance of the DRFP given the aggressive schedule.

41 What software development methodology will be used?

Waterfall or Agile?

This effort is still in the market research phase. The program office will consider industry day comments and RFI responses in its decision to finalize an acquisition strategy and evaluation factors.

42 Can we submit the RFI questionnaire later this week?

Deadline is 16 December 2016 COB. See FBO for additional information.

43 Does the Government have a software re-use repository for software that has been developed on the current contract? If so, will the re-use repository and its software be made available to bidders/awardees on this effort?

No, the Government does not have an open software re-use repository for companies that do not have a requirement for that software.

44 What if the Government only evaluated the subcontractors at the ID/IQ level who have guaranteed workshare? This would seem to protect both the Government and the subcontractors.

45 Will the Government score

IDIQ SB teams higher if the makeup of their team is all

SB versus SB teams that include large businesses?

This effort is still in the market research phase. The program office will consider industry day comments and RFI responses in its decision to finalize an acquisition strategy and evaluation

46 None of the certification that we've requested is relative to the certifications necessary for the modernization piece we are looking for (Java, etc.).

Your comment has been noted.

47 Are there any requirements or evaluation criteria related to DCAA compliant accounting systems (i.e.

DCAA Audit)?

Neither the acquisition strategy nor the evaluation criteria have been finalized or approved at this time.

48 What about a sub-pool

(rumor has it that the selection pool has now grown to 240) of vetted, not necessarily preferred subcontractors that may not meet the required certs to prime, but have strong past performance?

The number of proposals to be awarded has not been determined at this time. We are not currently considering pools as described in FAR Part 9.7 (see #34). The program office will consider industry day comments and RFI responses in its decision to finalize an acquisition strategy and evaluation

49 NOTE: There is no organizational ITIL certification. ITIL certifications are for individuals only.

Your comment has been noted and taken under consideration.

50 Expected total IDIQ value? Ceiling has not been determined at this time.

51 A good combination of ITES

3S (good opportunity to differentiate on the technical) and the Alliant SB self-scoring to not exclude but reward with scoring is a good strategy. But caution, that just ALLIANT style or ITES style alone is not sufficient.

Combination is ideal LPTA at the IDIQ level especially with broad PWS or worse a

SOO is not feasible. How would you determine technically acceptable really on a SOO.

Your comment has been noted and taken under consideration.

52 A number of several sample tasks should be provided and allow the offeror to choose which one or two to supply an answer to.

Your comment has been noted and taken under consideration.

53 Asking for full descriptive staffing plans in a sample task provides greater insight to a company's ability to solve a problem than pricing with labor categories does.

Your comment has been noted and taken under consideration.

54 My question on teaming is whether you’ve examined whether Section 867 of the

2016 National Defense

Authorization Act applies to

SBEAS. For Alliant 2 Small

Business, GSA interpreted that section to require small business teaming for evaluation purposes.

Yes we have examined it.

55 Will prime bidders be required to have CMMI

Level 3 certifications?

This effort is still in the market research phase and the acq strategy has not been finalized at this time.

56 If CMMI Level 3 is required, can a subcontractor’s CMMI

Level 3 certification meet the requirement?

Yes.

57 Will a secret or top secret facility clearance be required? If so, can a subcontractor’s TS facility clearance meet the requirement?

This will be done at the Task Order level; not the IDIQ level.

58 Will Joint Ventures be permitted to bid on this IDIQ vehicle? If so, will all the

JV partners be required to be a small business entity?

Yes JV's are allowed to bid. The JV will have to be classified as a small business.

59 Can a prime bidder be a subcontractor to another prime bidder?

If an offeror is proposing on this contract as a prime; you may not propose as a sub.

60 Will the evaluation factors be heavily weighted toward experience in the Air Force and/or DoD?

The evaluation strategy has not been determined at this time.

61 Will the RFP require a response to sample tasks?

The evaluation strategy has not been determined at this time.

62 Can you provide POC email and telephone # for Ms.

Denise Baylor?

denise.baylor@us.af.mil

63 Can you provide a link to the

SBEAS conference slides?

https://www.fbo.gov/spg/USAF/AFMC/SSGHQ/FA8771-17-

64 What's the solicitation #? FA8771-17-R-1000

65 The government should consider providing guidance on teaming arrangements well prior to the draft rfp given the aggressive schedule. This will allow the industry to best prepare for the solicitation and provide the government with the best possible solution.

Your comment has been noted and taken under consideration.

66 Agree ASB2 scoring good for industry and Gov.

Allows industry to better assess if they are a viable prime and worth bidding and

Gov to place weighting in areas of most importance.

Your comment has been noted and taken under consideration.

67 As a small business I strongly urge the government to consider prime and its subcontractors that are teaming with the prime. As a current prime we want to propose as a prime again--it is a way to grow a small business. We cannot meet all the requirements on our own-

-we need subs to meet your propose criteria. We have

CPARS from our current project.

Your comment has been noted and taken under consideration.

68 What about CTAs? Teaming will be allowed, but is not required, for this acquisition.

69 Will it have decentralized ordering like NC2 has had?

Yes.

70 Will there be a standard PWS template for Cos to use when they issue Task Orders? This has been very useful under

NC2

It has not been determined at this time if a standard template will be provided.

71 Will the government accept any/all the Past Performances from members of a JV team or only the prime?

The JV is the prime; a JV acts as a single company. The past performance of all companies making up the JV would be acceptable.

72 Will the government accept the Past Performances from members of a JV team or only the prime as part of the

IDIQ and TO evaluations?

The JV is the prime; a JV acts as a single company. The past performance of all companies making up the JV would be acceptable.

73 Would the government score

IDIQ SB teams higher if the makeup of their team is all

SB versus SB teams that include large businesses?

The acquisition strategy has not been finalized or approved.

74 Will the government provide the list of today's attendees so we can network for potential interested vendors?

Yes

75 Please note that there is no organizational ITIL certification. ITIL certs are only for individuals.

Your comment has been noted and taken under consideration.

76 What is the expected total

IDIQ value?

Ceiling has not been determined at this time.

77 Will the IDIQ proposal include sample Task Orders?

No, the IDIQ proposal will not include sample Task Orders.

78 Alliant Small Business acquisition used a point system that awarded innovation features in proposals.

Your comment has been noted and taken under consideration.

79 If the government decides to go with Prime only evaluations, strongly suggest taking to GSA reference what they did on OASIS SB.

The multiple award IDIQ appears to be working very well, and the initial evaluation was point-based.

Seems to be a nice fit for what you are trying to do.

Your comment has been noted and taken under consideration.

80 One of the most important factors in determining if teammates are required is directly related to requirements and evaluation criteria force me to find a teammate to meet the requirement. I will not build a team. Requirements and teaming are directly related.

A way around this is to put all requirements on the IDIQ and evaluates primes only based on a point system where no one will max the points. The government can then draw the line where it makes sense to get the desired number of IDIQ contractors.

Your comment has been noted and taken under consideration.

81 Please don't use LPTA. Use

LPTA when it fits only at the

TO level. OASIS SB provided a range of rates for all labor categories at the

IDIQ level, and as long as a company could propose within the range, cost was acceptable. Price then becomes a significant factor in TO evaluations--where it probably should be...

Your comment has been noted and taken under consideration.

82 You can use lessons learned from your current app services contracts to develop rqmts, Eval criteria, etc.

What worked, what didn't work with staffing, meeting reqmts, managing the IDIQs, evaluations, etc.? Also, if you could provide that to industry, it would help us fine tune our comments and recommendations.

Your comment has been noted and taken under consideration.

83 Is there an approx. date for final rfp release or is it tbd?

If so, will the award date be pushed?

TBD; a more definitive timeline should become available once the acq strategy is determined and approved.

84 Is there an idea about the approx. number of awardees?

A lot of the questions around

TA, JV, capabilities will be determined by that.

The number of awardees has not yet been determined; it is expected to be significantly larger than the existing App Srv vehicle.

85 A combination of ITES 3S and the alliant SB self-scoring to not exclude but reward with scoring is a good strategy. But caution, that just alliant style or ITES style alone is not sufficient.

Combination is ideal LPTA at the IDIQ level especially with broad PWS or worse a

SOO is not feasible.

Your comment has been noted and taken under consideration.

86 How would you determine technically acceptable really on a SOO for example? It does make sense on certain types of task orders tough to have LPTA.

It is early in the acquisition process and the evaluation criteria/methods have not yet been finalized.

87 We like the objective scoring method as that used for

OASIS and ALLIANT.

Your comment has been noted and taken under consideration.

88 CMMI is generally outdated in current practices that embrace agile methods.

CMMI is waterfall based.

It's basically a $100K fee a small business has to pay to check a box without any real value. This is especially so for data systems and data analytics. Very much so for support services. What role and at what level will CMMI be used? This was an issue for the alliant 2 awards.

Checkbox with no value, especially when using a client's sdlc.

Your comment has been noted and taken under consideration.

89 Any eval criteria related to socioeconomic status?

It is early in the acquisition process and the evaluation criteria/methods have not yet been finalized.

90 Are you open to one on one sessions before the RFP release?

Yes, the government is discussing the format of the second industry day which will be inclusive of one-on-ones.

91 Can a large bus be a minority in JV?

Please contact our SBA officer Ms. Denise Baylor at denise.baylor@us.af.mil

92 Provide more information about the protégé/mentor program.

Please contact our SBA officer Ms. Denise Baylor at denise.baylor@us.af.mil

93 Did we consider GIS as an element of scope?

The PMO is evaluating GIS

94 Why is testing not listed separately?

Your comment has been noted and taken under consideration.

95 Is there an intent to not have buffer period for protest?

The intent of engaging with industry early on for ideas and suggestions is to mitigate any potential protest issues/concerns.

96 Will industry day #2 be a multi-day event?

Yes.

97 Why have 5-5-3 PoP? Why not have a shorter ordering period and longer PoP

The period of performance is still under consideration; it has not been finalized at this time. The government does anticipate a 10-13 year vehicle.

98 New DFARs Supply Chain auditing certification--how is the government going to handle this?

All provisions/clauses applicable to this award will be included in the solicitation/award. If you care to be more specific about the particular DFARS clause you are speaking of we can provide a more definitive answer.