Attachment_1_-_Questions_and_Answers.pdf

Questions

1. Analytic Chemist is listed as one of the key personnel (GS1330 (a), p.35). This LCAT and the remainder of paragraph (a) seem to be out of place based on the Statement of Work. Can USGS confirm this key position/labor category requirement?

This was a mistake. It is up to the offeror to determine how many and what positions are considered Key Personnel. From the requirements, the Key Personnel listed should have experience and certifications in the following areas: CISSP, SCADA, CSSSA, CSSLP, GCFA.

2. Page 36 - Can you clarify the term 'MARLAP' in the statement "The Contractor shall propose key personnel with their proposal that meets the key personnel requirements stated in the MARLAP" This was a mistake. Please do not pay attention to any reference of MARLAP in the Key Personnel requirements.

3. Is the work requested currently being performed in house, or by an outside contractor?

By an outside contractor.

4. If by an outside contractor, can you identify the incumbent and the current contract number and amount?

Incumbent is Applied Trust, under Contract No. G10PC00099, in the amount of $378,925.60.

5. Can the incumbent compete on this requirement?

Yes

6. Based on past ticket history, can USGS provide details on the Tier I contact/call volumes for Out of Hours support? I.e., daily/weekly/monthly ticket volumes, percent remotely resolved at Tier 1, percent escalated, mean time to resolve.

In general, there are between 15 - 20 tickets generated each month. Of those, approximately 50% recover on their own and are then reviewed by the Tier 2 and Tier 3 staffs on the next business day. Of the other 50% that do not recover, generally 75% of those can be resolved by following the directions on the wiki. The remaining 25% require escalation to Tier 2 or Tier 3.

7. Can USGS provide the deployed operating system make up? I.e., percentage of Windows, RHEL, FreeBSD and VMS hosts/systems.

Hydra is comprised of Windows 2012 machines – approximately 40 VM’s. Most all of the other machines are Linux, either RHEL or SL.

8. The RFP mentions migration from FreeBSD and VMS to standard operating systems (Windows/RHEL). What is the expected timeframe for this transition?

This is a mistake in the solicitation. There are no more FreeBSD or VMS systems in the environment.

9. Can USGS provide past frequency and duration of onsite, after-hours support required based on past ticket history?

On site responses are not generally documented in the tickets, but this is an infrequent occurrence (less than twice a year). Generally, if an on-site response is required, the USGS has also escalated the problem to Tier 2 or Tier 3.

10. Does the NEIC enclave support traditional remote access technologies such as a dedicated VPN? Or are their connection requirements specific to your environment?

Traditional remote access is supported. Contractors will be required to obtain DOI Access credentials.

11. Page 8 - Trac is noted as issue tracking/ticket management, but evaluation notes on page 43 note using Mantis Ticketing. Will the key personnel use both?

The USGS uses Trac, the reference to Mantis is obsolete.

12. Page 11 - 12 hours/weekday and 24 hours weekend/holidays states is 440/hours/month. Using the basis of such, the hours vary more like 456 to 516/month totaling 5748 or 479/month. Could a sample date range be provided to provide for the weekend/holiday adjustments for that period to assure a more equal comparison between responses?

Not sure what this question is asking for. The solicitation is asking for a firm-fixed price for the services listed.

13. Page 12 - Transition Plan - Does the 440 hours/month include the 18 hours of tour and training? If not, should that be included in hours basis for response or historically has been assumed as part of overhead?

The contractor may choose how to best account for training and orientation.

14. Page 13 - Training - Does the 440 hours/month include FISSA training? If not, should that be included in hours basis for response or historically has been assumed as part of overhead? If so, what hours burden metric should be assumed 2,4 hours?

The contractor may choose how to best account for the FISSA training – usually FISSA training takes about 3 hours the first time, and then about 90 minutes after that (it needs to be taken yearly).

15. Page 14 - "Contractor shall respond to notifications of system failures." Is there a ticket metric that could be provided such as "number of tickets in the 440 hr per month = how many people we need to meet the SLA’s" In general, there are between 15 - 20 tickets generated each month. Of those, approximately 50% recover on their own and are then reviewed by the Tier 2 and Tier 3 staffs on the next business day. Of the other 50% that do not recover, generally 75% of those can be resolved by following the directions on the wiki. The remaining 25% require escalation to Tier 2 or Tier 3.

16. Page 14 - In regards to security incidents, can you provide a general ballpark percentage of system failures that were security incidents vs. other technology issues?

During the past year, we have had zero system failures that were related to security incidents.

17. Page 14 row 2 notes "If problem cannot be resolved remotely, contractor personnel will be on-site within one hour of determination that on-site presence is required. "

a. Does this assume Golden On-Site only or all groups, etc. - Primary Group (Golden), 2nd (Fed Center), 3rd (multiple locations: ABQ, EROS, SoCal, Menlo) ) The on-site requirement applies ONLY to Golden or Denver Federal Center.

b. Where has Tier 1 staff been located previously? Golden, Fed Center or Other? Tier 1 staff is located in the Denver-metro area.

c. Is the solution expected to be 1 Person or a group of persons (taking into account on-boarding factors)? The solution is expected to be a group of persons. The USGS does not believe that this requirement can be met with only one person.

18. Page 14 - Is there an expected headcount to provide Tier 1 service during the

440/hours/month. Meaning is that 440/hours assuming 1 person billing ~440/hours/month, or 440/hours working hours which could span multiple people, i.e. 1.5 or 440 * 1.5 hours/month for 660/hours/month?

The requirement does not anticipate billing 440 hours per month. The USGS does not believe this requirement can be met with only one person. It is up to the contractor to determine the level of service needed to provide the requested support.

19. Page 14 - "A representative of the contractor will participate in monthly conference calls to review support issues and discuss any technical support concerns." Is this role assumed to be overhead built into fully burdened rate or would contracting officer want to see the cost of Tier 1 service as well as cost of representative? If latter, what hours based to assume for monthly call (i.e. each month, 30 minute call, 1 hour call?)

The contractor can choose how to account for the cost of the conference call. The solicitation is requesting a firm-fixed price for these services.

20. 7. Is the solution expecting 1 dedicated person or can it allow 1 key personnel with a back-up?

The USGS does not believe this requirement can be met with only one person.

21. Page 36 - GS1420 Use of Government Computers. (OCT 2005) - Will government furnished equipment be issued? If so, PC, laptop, pager, mobile phone?

The government does not anticipate furnishing any equipment. This clause is included in the Solicitation, because the contractor will have access to USGS systems.

22. Page 43 - Page 9 cites iCinga monitoring, yet its not noted in evaluation criteria in Factor 2. Is having iCinga experience not a requirement?

iCinga experience is not a requirement.

23. Page 43 - Is ITIL, CMMI considered in the etc. on expert-level infrastructure and/or security certifications (e.g. CCIE, CISSP, MCP, ISSMP, GCIH, etc.)

Preferred certifications are generally in security or networking (particularly high availability networking). Infrastructure management is not a highly sought-after credential for this requirement.

24. Page 69 - Addendum to Provision 52.212-1 - Offer acceptance notes 180 days - Is there an anticipated award date? Is there an anticipated start date?

The anticipated start date is July 26, 2015. However, if there are some unforeseen circumstances, the proposals submitted under this solicitation must be valid for 180 days.