GSA RFQ 1688061 EST Questions and Responses.xlsx
XLSX spreadsheet 59 KB Posted
- Solicitation number
- GSA-RFQ-1696978
About this file
This document contains questions and responses related to a draft Request for Quote (RFQ) for an Enterprise System Testing (EST) Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The RFQ seeks to award up to three unrestricted BPAs and three small business BPAs for enterprise-wide system testing and support services.
Key details include:
- The incumbent contractor is PERATON INC. under contract #47QTCK18D0011, with a current award amount of $23,653,706.12 and a period of performance from 09/22/2023 to 09/21/2024.
- The government estimates a 60-day transition period from the award date.
- For corporate experience, large businesses must demonstrate $10M annual value contracts, while small businesses have a $5M threshold.
- A Small Business Participation Plan is required for all offerors.
- The government anticipates releasing the official RFQ, with a proposal due date of 07 June 2024.
View the file
Other files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| EST Attachment 6 Past Performance Questionaire.docx | DOCX document | |
| EST Attachment 1 PWS.docx | DOCX document | |
| EST Attachment 7 Questions and Answers template.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| EST Attachment 4 Pricing Matrix.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| EST Attachment 3 Small Business Participation Plan.pdf | ||
| EST BPA Cover Letter.doc | DOC document | |
| EST Attachment 5 EST QASP.docx | DOCX document | |
| EST Attachment 2 Applicable Provisions and Clauses.docx | DOCX document |
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Questions
| # | Bidder Questions | Document Reference | Section/Page Reference | Government Response | |
| 1 | What is the incumbent's contract number, award amount and duration? | N/A | N/A | PERATON INC. Task order #: 2032H523F00692 contract #: 47QTCK18D0011. Awarded Amount $23,653,706.12. Period of Performance: 09/22/2023 -09/21/2024 | |
| 2 | What are the hours for the position(s)? | PWS | N/A | Please refer to Attachment 4 Price Matrix | |
| 3 | Can you please confirm if the incumbent vendor for this requirement is PERATON INC. under Task order #: 2032H523F00692 contract #: 47QTCK18D0011 and is scheduled to expire on 09/21/2024 | Yes | |||
| 4 | Could you please provide us with the RFP release timeframe | To be Determined (TBD). Vendors will be alerted via GSA eBuy and SAM.gov when the official RFQ is released. | |||
| 5 | I believe I saw that a draft RFP was released, and I wanted to check and see if there was a projected final RFP release date? And if that will be going through GSA MAS as well | Vendors will be alerted via GSA eBuy and SAM.gov when official RFQ is released. | |||
| 6 | The Government has the same past performance threshold requirements for small businesses as it does for unrestricted competition. Would the Government consider reducing the $10M annual past performance requirements for small businesses in order to increase small business participation and fair competition? | RTCP | Phase 1, Factor 1, page 4 | Factor 1, Corporate Experience has been revised for Small Business. Please see updates. | |
| 7 | The PWS states, "The Transition-In task permits for an effective transition from incumbent(s) Contractor to a new Contractor. The Government estimates this task will take approximately thirty 90 calendar days to complete from the award date." Can the Government clarify the 30 or 90 day transition requirements for a multi award BPA? | PWS | Section 5.1, Page 8 | The government estimates 60 days for transition. The PWS has been revised. | |
| 8 | Are there any custom automation testing tools used currently? If so, what Framework are they using? | PWS | Section 9.0, Page 26 | The IRS used custom automation testing tools. Frameworks include Java, SoapUI, Selenium, Microsoft .NET, Microsoft VBA, RTVS, Unisys, RFT, IBM Assembler, COBOL, REXX, C, ALC and ECL. | |
| 9 | Small Business will not have $10,000,000.00 annual past-performance. We will request Government to reduce annual value $1,000,000.00 | EST BPA Cover Letter 02 April 2024 DRAFT | Page No 5 | The government has revised the Corporate Experience requirement for Small Business to $5,000,000. | |
| 10 | Gov't states "anticipates awarding up to 3 Unrestricted BPAs and 3 Small business BPAs." Are there separate instructions for RFI responses as it relates to Unrestricted vs Small Business respondents? If so, please provide. | RFQ/Cover Letter | Basis for Award; pg 13 | No. | |
| 11 | Gov't states regarding redaction "all information identifying the Offeror or its [POCs] shall be removed from the redacted copy of the quotation." Removal of all references to a corporation would hypothetically include items such as "contract number" as those represent information identifying the Offeror. Is that information to be eliminated from the redacted copies? Please clarify the phrase "all information identifying the Offeror". | RFQ/Cover Letter | Submittal Format; pg 2 | Yes. Any information identifying the offeror shall be redacted including contract numbers. | |
| 12 | Gov't states regarding redaction "all information identifying the Offeror or its [POCs] shall be removed from the redacted copy of the quotation." Removal of all references to a corporation will likely result in a change in page length of the "original" vs. "redacted" copies. Please confirm that page limitations explicitly relate to the unredacted "original" copies. | RFQ/Cover Letter | Submittal Format; pg 2 | Page limitations remain unchanged. Offerors shall not exceed page limits. | |
| 13 | Gov't states in last bullet of Corporate Experience section, Factor 1, that "Experience that has an estimated/actual annual value greater than [$10M] will be considered." Please clarify if the $10M value is an aggregate sum of the 3 contract examples, or if each contract example must be $10M or greater annual value. | RFQ/Cover Letter | Factor 1 Relevant Corp Experience (pg 4 & 5) | This is not an aggregate sum. Each example shall demonstrate corporate experience that has an estimated/actual value greater than $10M. Please refer to the official RFQ for updates on the Corporate Experience requirement for Small Businesses which has been revised. | |
| 14 | Gov't states in last bullet of Corporate Experience section, Factor 1, that "Experience that has an estimated/actual annual value greater than [$10M] will be considered." The size standard for the idetnified NAICS is $30M. If each contract reference is required to be of $10M annual value or greater, then a vendor is inherently no longer a small business unless the contracts were recently awarded. Please clarify if there is a separate annual value to be applied for small business respondents. | RFQ/Cover Letter | Factor 1 Relevant Corp Experience (pg 4 & 5) | Corporate Experience requirements have been updated. Please refer to the official RFQ for updates on the Corporate Experience requirement for Small Businesses. | |
| 15 | Gov't states "for illustrations, drawings, and tables a 10-point font size is required." Please confirm the font for illustrations, drawins, and tables is to be in Times New Roman, as indicated for the Narrative portion of the response. | RFQ/Cover Letter | Submittal Format; pg 2 | Yes. Font shall be Times New Roman. | |
| 16 | Gov't states "offeror responses shall be submitted via email to [email] no later than "TBD"" but that Submissions must be prior to GSA eBuy submission date(s) state in eBuy. eBuy shows an RFQ close date of 17 April, which corresponds with the Q&A response date and eBuay further sates "this posting is for questions related to the draft RFQ documents only". Please confirm no Phase 1 is being requested at this time. If Phase 1 is being requiested, provide a date for RFI submission. If 17 April is the time for RFI submission, please provide an extension of at least 5 business days and/or an extension corresponding to at least 5 business days after publication of Q&A responses. | RFQ/Cover Letter | Phase 1 Due Date and Instructions; p 4 | Confirming, no proposals for Phase 1 are being requested at this time. | |
| 17 | Gov't states "Please include RFQ #8298 in the subject line" eBuy states "please include RFQ#1688061 in the subject line. Which reference should vendors use? | RFQ/Cover Letter | Questions on RFQ; p 1 | Please include the official RFQ number when the official posting is released. RFQ # 1696978. | |
| 18 | What is the anticipated timeline from submission of Phase 1 Factor 1 documents until the receipt of the advisory notice / invitation to proceed with Phase 2 | RFQ/Cover Letter | Evaluation Procedures / Method of Award; p 2 | TBD. | |
| 19 | Are the "up to 3 Corporate Experiences" used in Factor 1 required to be the same examples used within Volume 5/Factor 5 - Past Performance, in the event a vendor is invited to submit for Phase 2? | RFQ/Cover Letter | Evaluation Procedures / Method of Award; p 3 Table. AND, Factor 5 - Past Perf; pg 6. | No. | |
| 20 | Gov't states "The offeror shall ensure there are separate sections in the management approach for the BPA." Please confirm that separate Management Approach sections would include (1) Management Approach (2) Staffing Plan and (3) Key Personnel as discrete "sections." If this interpretation is correct, are any section separations required and/or do section separations count against the page count limitations? | RFQ/Cover Letter | Factor 3 - Management Approach / Staffing Plan / Key Personnel (pg 5) | Confirming this interpretation is correct. Offerors shall use their own discretion on how to sepate sections. Page number limits remain unchanged. | |
| 21 | Gov't states "For each Key Personnel member, a letter of commitment shall be provided…" Are letters of commitment from current employees required, or only for prospective / contingent personnel? | RFQ/Cover Letter | Factor 3 - Management Approach / Staffing Plan / Key Personnel (pg 5) | Current and prospective/contingent personnel. | |
| 22 | Gov't states that Key Personnel "work history for the last three years, and references" are required as part of the resume submission. However, the Key Personnel requirement for the PM targets 10+ years of program management, 10+ years IT, and 7+ years in PWS-related disciplines. How is a vendor to demonstrate 10+ years' experience if only the past 3 years' experience is the resume requirement? Further, what information pertaining to "references" is requried (e.g., name, email, telephone #) and what does the government intend to use those references for? | RFQ/Cover Letter & PWS Draft | RFQ: Factor 3 - Management Approach (pg 5) | ||
| PWS: 13.0 Key Personnel (pg 34) | BPA cover letter has been updated based on this question. | ||||
| 23 | Gov't states "The contractor should demonstrate extensive and global experience in enterprise wide IV&V." For small business submissions, how does the gov't define "global experience"? | PWS Draft | 2.0 Award Objectives. Pg 3 | The requirement to demonstrate "global experience" has been removed from the PWS. | |
| 24 | Gov't staes "Contractor shall provide qualified staff for testing support, automated tools, and utilities." Will automated tools not currently ATO'd to operate in government environments be allowable for use / provision to the government? | PWS Draft | 7.0 Task 4 - pg 17 | Automated tool(s) that require an ATO will follow the required process to operate on government environments. | |
| 25 | Gov't states "The offeor must complete attachment 3, Small Business Participation Plan." However, within attachment 3, the gov't states "all large businesses with a Prime/Sub relationship and Offeror Teaming Arrangements consisting of large businesses shall submit a Small Business Participation Plan." Please clarify whether small businesses, submitting for Small Business BPA awards, are required to submit the SBPP. | RFQ/Cover Letter & Attachment 3 - Small Business Participation Plan | RFQ: Factor 4 - Small Business Participation Plan; pg 6 | ||
| Attachment 3 - Small Business Participation Plan | The Small Business Participation Plan (SBPP) has been updated based on this question. Yes, small businesses are required to submit a SBPP. | ||||
| 26 | Gov't states "The offeror must complete attachment 3, Small Business Participation Plan." Within the file entitled "Attachment 3 Small Business Participation Plan", the document is titled in narrative as Attachment 4. Please modify to align title and file names appropriately to avoid confusion. | Attachment 3 - Small Business Participation Plan | Title within document and name of the file | The Small Business Participation Plan (SBPP) has been updated based on this question. | |
| 27 | Is there an opportunity for us to position best-of-breed technology solutions that we feel the contractor should be utilizing for the IRS? | Attachment 1 PWS Draft | 29-30 | Contractors may recommend best-of-breed technology solutions in their proposals; however, the Government is under no obligation to use such tools. | |
| 28 | Section 5.1 – Transition In (LH): “the Government estimates this task will take approximately thirty 90 calendar days to complete from the award date” – will the Government please clarify if this is “thirty” OR “90” days? | Attachment 1 PWS DRAFT 02 April 2024.pdf | Section 5.1/ Page 8 | Section 5.1 Transition-In (LH) has been updated to read as follows: "The Government estimates this task will take approximately sixty (60) calendar days to complete from the award date." | |
| 29 | Sections 6.9/7.9/8.9 – DESIRED OUTCOME: Will the government please confirm the desired outcome for sections 6.9, 7.9, 8.9: Prepare End of Test Report/End of Test Completion Report? Should additional desired outcomes be provided that specifically align with required reporting work products/deliverables as called out in these sections? | Attachment 1 PWS DRAFT 02 April 2024.pdf | Section 6.9/ Page 16 |
Section 7.9/ Page 21
| Section 8.9/ Page 26 | Sections 6.9, 7.9 and 8.9 have been removed from the PWS. | ||||
| 30 | Section 11.0 Task 8, Surge Support (to be provided) (FFP/LH): Understanding the time it takes to onboard new contractor talent, will the government consider pre-clearing surge support at the beginning of the contract against the BPA to ensure a pool of cleared resources only requiring revalidation against a task order (~2 weeks) is available to support necessary surge periods? | Attachment 1 PWS DRAFT 02 April 2024.pdf | Section 11.0/ Page 29 | Surge Support has been revised in the BPA PWS. Surge Support will be included in task order level requirements if required. The Government is not authorized to pre-clear personnel for surge availability. Surge will only be authorized at task order modification level. | |
| 31 | Section 9.0 Task 6, Test Automation Support (FFP/LH): Can the government provide the amount of time, on average, it takes to review/scan/approve new COTS products (test automation tools, for example) for acceptance for use on IRS systems? | Attachment 1 PWS DRAFT 02 April 2024.pdf | Section 9.0/ Pages 26-27 | On average, it will take between six (6) and nine (9) months to accept a COTS product for use on an IRS system. | |
| 32 | Section 13.0 – Key Personnel: “Active Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification” – will the Government accept, in lieu of a PMP, other industry leading certifications like an ITIL Expert certification (along with target experience), for example. Especially given that the ITIL service management framework outlines and prescribes the best practices for delivering IT services as called out in this PWS? If so, will the government consider adding a Methodology to Section 12.0 Skill Requirements: ITIL – ITSM? | Attachment 1 PWS DRAFT 02 April 2024.pdf | Section 13.0/ Page 34 | Project Management Professional (PMP) Certified and/or ITIL expert is acceptable. | |
| 33 | FACTOR 1 - Relevant Corporate Experience: (Volume1) (Phase 1): states that "Experience that has an estimated/actual annual value greater than $10,000,000.000 will be considered." This value does not delineate between Small Business and Large Business. Additionally, the basis for Award states "The Government anticipates awarding up to three (3) Unrestricted BPAs and three (3) Small business BPAs for a total of six (6) BPAs as a result of this solicitation." Since BPA task orders may be of smaller value, especially when set aside for Small Businesses. And In order to allow qualified innovative Small Businesses to complete for the 3 Small Business BPA slots, will the government consider a more appropriate level experience annual value for Small Businesses in FACTOR 1 evaluation? Exeriences with a total value of $3,500,000? | EST BPA Cover Letter 02 April 2024 DRAFT.pdf | Factor 1/ Pages 4-5 |
| Basis for Award/ Page 13 | Please refer to the official RFQ for updates on the Corporate Experience requirement for Small Businesses. | |||
| 34 | FACTOR 4 - Small Business Participant Plan (Volume 4) (Phase 2): states "The Offeror must complete Attachment #3, Small Business Participation Plan (SBPP). The SBPP will be incorporated into the contract and shall be binding on the Offeror. The Government will evaluate the Offeror’s approach and techniques that will be used to achieve small business participation." Is FACTOR 4 only required for large business offers? Are Small Businesses excluded from completing Attachment #3, Small Business Participation Plan (SBPP)? | EST BPA Cover Letter 02 April 2024 DRAFT.pdf | Factor 4/Page 6 |
| Factor 4 - Small Business Participation Plan/ Page 11 | Factor 4 applies to both small and large businesses | ||||
| 35 | How long will potential bidders have to submit Phase 1? | EST BPA Cover Letter 02 April 2024 DRAFT.1712153798698 | EVALUATION PROCEDURES/METHOD OF AWARD, page 2 | This information will be in the official solicitaiton. | |
| 36 | How long will potential bidders have to submit Phase2? | EST BPA Cover Letter 02 April 2024 DRAFT.1712153798698 | EVALUATION PROCEDURES/METHOD OF AWARD, page 2 | This information will be in the official solicitaiton. | |
| 37 | Can the experience for Factor 1 be a sub to the teaming partner? | EST BPA Cover Letter 02 April 2024 DRAFT.1712153798698 | EVALUATION PROCEDURES/METHOD OF AWARD, page 4 | Yes. However, all criteria for Factor 1 remains applicable. | |
| 38 | Will contract values under $10M annually be considered as well? | EST BPA Cover Letter 02 April 2024 DRAFT.1712153798698 | EVALUATION PROCEDURES/METHOD OF AWARD, page 5 | No. Please refer to the official RFQ for updates on the Corporate Experience requirement for Small Businesses. | |
| 39 | Will there be a template for Phase 1 Corporate Experience? | EST BPA Cover Letter 02 April 2024 DRAFT.1712153798698 | EVALUATION PROCEDURES/METHOD OF AWARD, page 4 | No. | |
| 40 | Is the Government’s intent that key personnel other than the ITPM will be proposed with the BPA proposal or only at the TO level? | Attachment 1 PWS DRAFT 02 April 2024.1712153809647 | 13.0 KEY PERSONNEL, page 34 | Offerors shall submit labor rates for all labor categories in Attachment 4 Price Matrix. | |
| 41 | Is a subcontracting plan required if the prime is a small business? | EST BPA Cover Letter 02 April 2024 DRAFT.1712153798698 | EVALUATION PROCEDURES/METHOD OF AWARD/Factor 4, page 5 | No. However, a Small Business Participation Plan is required. | |
| 42 | When does the Government intend to release Phase one? | General | General | TBD. | |
| 43 | How long should the Offerors proposal be valid? | General | General | 180 days. | |
| 44 | The list of locations does not include New Carrollton or Lanham, Maryland. Will these cities as well as teleworking from remote locations be included as places of performance for this BPA? | BPA Cover Letter | Performance Locations, Pg.1 | New Carrollton Federal Building (NCFB) is listed in the PWS section titled, "ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT PROPERTY AND FACILITIES". The BPA coverletter has been updated to include this location. | |
| 45 | To allow for more detailed illustrations/drawings, will the Government allow 8 pt Arial narrow? | BPA Cover Letter | Submittal Format, Page 2 states: For illustrations, drawings, and tables a 10-point font size is required. | No. | |
| 46 | To allow sufficient information in tables will the Government allow Arial narrow font type? | BPA Cover Letter | Submittal Format, Page 2 states: For illustrations, drawings, and tables a 10-point font size is required. | No. | |
| 47 | Will the government please modify the requirement as follows: ‘The Offeror shall provide the information indicated below for three (3) contracts of its own experience, and each reference must be similar in size, scope, and complexity, current or active in the past five years. If the offeror is including a teaming partner, the offeror shall provide a at least two contracts of its own experience and at least one of its teaming partners for a maximum of three (3) contracts. The reference(s) from teaming partner(s) should be similar in size, scope, and complexity, and must be current or active in the past five years.’ ? | BPA Cover Letter | FACTOR 1 – Relevant Corporate Experience: (Volume 1) (Phase 1), Page 4 states: If the offeror is including a teaming partner, the offeror shall provide a at least two contracts of its own experience and at least one of its teaming partners for a maximum of three (3) contracts, |
with the inclusion of its businesses commitment partners that are similar in size, scope, and
| complexity within the past five years. | No change. | ||||
| 48 | Will the Government clarify the expected content? | BPA Cover Letter | FACTOR 3 – Management Approach / Staffing Plan / Key Personnel (Volume 3) (Phase 2); Pg. 5 , The last sentence of Paragraph 1 states: "The offeror shall ensure there are separate sections in the management approach for the BPA." | Offerors shall use their own discretion on how to sepate sections for Management Approach, Staffing Plan and Key Personnel. Note: Page number limits remain unchanged. | |
| 49 | Is the Government expecting a management approach for just the BPA level or at the task order level? | BPA Cover Letter | FACTOR 3 – Management Approach / Staffing Plan / Key Personnel (Volume 3) (Phase 2); Pg. 5 , The last sentence of Paragraph 1 states: "The offeror shall ensure there are separate sections in the management approach for the BPA." | The offeror shall address Management Approach at the BPA level. | |
| 50 | Will the Government confirm whether Attachment 6 - Past Performance Questionnaires are to be submitted directly to the Contracting Officer by the proposal due date? | BPA Cover Letter | FACTOR 5 – Past Performance (Volume 5) (Phase 2);Pg. 6 states: "The offer shall submit a completed Past Performance Questionnaire (Attachment 6) for each reference." |
Attachment 6 Past Performance in the drafted letter to client States:We, therefore, request that you complete the attached Past Performance Questionnaire and email the required response as an attachment to
| Contracting Officer at Megan.M.McMullen@irs.gov | Please see updated BPA instructions stating that "The Offeror shall distribute Attachment 6, Past Performance Questionnaire (PPQ) to POCs with instructions that the POC shall submit the completed PPQs directly to the Contracting officer via email. Completed PPQs shall only be submitted by the POC, not the offeror. Submission emails shall contain “RFQ 1696978 Enterprise System Testing (EST) Contractor Support Services” in the subject line. The references for all contracts must have been associated with the contract during the last five (5) years. All completed PPQs must be received by the Government by the due date for quotation submission. The offeror, not the Government, shall be responsible for ensuring PPQs are submitted timely." | ||||
| 51 | Does “Proposal meets 40% or more small business subcontracting opportunities” mean that 40% or more of the small business soioeconomic category based on total dollars to be subcontracted? | BPA Cover Letter | Page 11 - FACTOR 4 – SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION PLAN; Factor 4 BPA Small Business Participation Plan Ratings | Yes | |
| 52 | What is the anticipated timeframe after BPA awards does the Government intend to solicit Task Order RFQs? | BPA Cover Letter | Basis for Award Para. 1 states: "The Government anticipates awarding up to three (3) Unrestricted BPAs and three (3) Small business BPAs for a total of six (6) BPAs as a result of this solicitation. The Government intends to solicit Task Order RFQs after BPA awards." | TBD. | |
| 53 | In section 5.0 of the BPA PWS government estimates 60 days for Ramp Up/Knowledge Transfer and in Section 5.1 Transition-In the government mentions, “The Government estimates it will take thirty 90 calendar days to complete from award date.” |
| Will the government please clarify the anticipated ramp up/knowledge transfer period? | Draft PWS | TASK 2, RAMP-UP KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER / TRANSITION-IN / TRANSITION-OUT | ||
| (LH) | Section 5.1 Transition-In (LH) has been updated to read as follows: "The Government estimates this task will take approximately sixty (60) calendar days to complete from the award date." | |||
| 54 | Can offerors add labor categories to the list of mandatory LCATs provided in the pricing matrix to provide the government with diverse experience levels and specialty across a broad software toolset over the period of performance? | Pricing Matrix | FFP LH Ordering Yr 1 |
FFP LH Ordering Yr 2 FFP LH Ordering Yr 3 FFP LH Ordering Yr 4
| FFP LH Ordering Yr 5 | All LCATS proposed by offerors must be crosswalked with LCATs listed in Attachment 4 Price Matrix | |||
| 55 | Can the government please confirm the labor categories in the pricing matrix. Journeyman Software Quality Assurance Engineer and Tester, Senior Software Quality Assurance Engineer and Tester were listed twice. | Pricing Matrix | FFP LH Ordering Yr 1 |
FFP LH Ordering Yr 2 FFP LH Ordering Yr 3 FFP LH Ordering Yr 4
| FFP LH Ordering Yr 5 | Attachment 4 Price Matrix has been updated. | ||||
| 56 | Will the government please provide labor category description or requirements? | Pricing Matrix | Labor Category descriptions will be provided with the official RFQ in the pricing matrix attachment. | ||
| 57 | Will the government allow the offeror the propose additional Key Personnel, beyond the 1 listed, in order to provide the government full coverage across the requirements stated in the PWS? | RFQ | Factor 3 | The Offeror can propose at their discretion. However, all instruction and evaluation criteria remain applicable. | |
| 58 | The government has removed the "Information Technology Program Management" on Ordering Years 2-5. Since this is a Key Personnel that would be required during the duration of the contract, would the government allow offerors to modify the pricing spreadsheet to add in case it is needed? | Pricing Matrix | FFP LH Ordering Yr 2 |
FFP LH Ordering Yr 3 FFP LH Ordering Yr 4
| FFP LH Ordering Yr 5 | Attachment 4 Price Matrix has been updated. | ||||
| 59 | Since the government indicates "The Contractor will be allowed limited access to the government's facilities", can the government please confirm that labor categories should be mapped to "Contractor site" rates rather than "Government site" rates? | PWS | 17.0 ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT PROPERTY AND FACILITIES | No. Government site rates | |
| 60 | Will the government allow multiple Phase (1 or 2) email submissions if a single email is at or exceeds 10MB? | RFQ | Submittal Format, page 2 | No. Submissions will be required to be submitted via GSA ebuy. | |
| 61 | Given the requirements under the BPA are firm-fixed-price (FFP) and labor hour (LH), will the government remove 52.216-11 Cost Contract – No Fee (Apr 1984)? | Attachment 2 – BPA Provisions and Clauses | 52.216-11 Cost Contract - No Fee (Apr 1984), page 1 | 52.216-11 is applicable in solicitations and contracts when a cost-reimbursement contract is contemplated that provides no fee and is not a cost-sharing con- tract or a facilities contract. | |
| 62 | Will the contractor staff have to be onsite or remote? | Attachment 1 PWS DRAFT 02 April 2024 | To be specified in the Task Order | ||
| 63 | What level of Clearance do the Key Personnel require? | Attachment 1 PWS DRAFT 02 April 2024 | 13.0 | Page 34 | Public Trust | |
| 64 | Will IRS sponsor contractor for clearance if necessary? | Attachment 1 PWS DRAFT 02 April 2024 | 13.0 | Page 34 | No. | |
| 65 | Any specific integration points or dependencies that need to be considered during Final Integration Testing? | Attachment 1 PWS DRAFT 02 April 2024 | 7.0 | Page 16 | Yes, however, this level of detail will be approached/provided during the test planning activities under the Task Order. | |
| 66 | Can Agile replace Waterfall completely for Test Automation? | Attachment 1 PWS DRAFT 02 April 2024 | 3.0 | Page 4 | Agile testing methodology is the goal and will be used for Test Automation. | |
| 67 | Should the offeror be responsible for submitting the completed PPQ along with the proposal to the DOT ICIO, or should it be sent directly to the DOT OCIO from the designated reference point of contact? | Attachment 6 Past Performance Questionnaire | 1 | Please see updated instructions in official RFQ for PPQs. | |
| 68 | What is the percentage of work a prime is required to set-aside as part of small business participation? | General | Geneal | Refer to Factor 4 in the BPA Instructions and Evaluation Criteria | |
| 69 | What is the current spend on this effort | General | Geneal | The current award amount is $23,653,706.12. | |
| 70 | Would the Government consider past performance from commercial organizations? | General | Geneal | Yes. Refer to the past performance instructions and evaluation criteria. | |
| 71 | What is the procurement timeline for this effort? | General | Geneal | TBD. | |
| 72 | The place of performance includes multiple locations. Will the government allow remote work? ie., be in one IRS location remotely perform work for another IRS location. | General | Geneal | Performing work in an IRS location for a different IRS location is permitted. | |
| 73 | Can the Government quantiy ('$ value or FTEs) the surge work performed by the incumbent? | Typically incumbent surge support does not exceed 10 - 15% of value of given Task Order. This BPA we state surge support will not exceed 25% of a TO value. | |||
| 74 | What is the level of security clearnace required to perform work on this contract? | General | Geneal | Public Trust | |
| 75 | Is US Citizenship required to work on this contract? | Yes. | |||
| 76 | Test Data Management task requires resources with specific skills and the Labor categories listed in the attachment 4 Pricing Matrix might not be sufficient. Would the government consider adding other labor categories needed to support the TDM? | General | Geneal | The Government is open to considering adding labor categories proposed by the vendor to support TDM. | |
| 77 | Since the Government is seeking to award 3 unrestricted and 3 small business BPAs as a result of this solicitation, we suggest relaxing phase 1, factor 1 past experience requirements for small businesses. Currently, the experience requirements are the same for small businesses and unrestricted bidders. Please allow for small businesses to show 1 prime experience of its own and 2 from teaming partners; and reduce the size and scale of $10,000,000.00 annually to $10,000,000.00 total to increase small business participation. | RTCP | Phase 1, Factor 1, page 4 | No. | |
| 78 | The Transition-In task permits for an effective transition from incumbent(s) Contractor to a new Contractor. The Government estimates this task will take approximately thirty 90 calendar days to complete from the award date. Successful transition can be defined by its capacity to maintain full continuity of operations, high productivity, and exemplary service quality. Can the Government clarify the 30 or 90 day transition requirements for a multi award BPA? | Attachment 1 PWS DRAFT | Section 5.1 TRANSITION-IN (LH), page 8 | Section 5.1 Transition-In (LH) has been updated to read as follows: "The Government estimates this task will take approximately sixty (60) calendar days to complete from the award date." | |
| 79 | Are there any custom automation testing tools used currently? If so, what Framework are they using? | N/A | N/A | The IRS used custom automation testing tools. Frameworks include Java, SoapUI, Selenium, Microsoft .NET, Microsoft VBA, RTVS, Unisys, RFT, IBM Assembler, COBOL, REXX, C, ALC and ECL. | |
| 80 | Will 508 Compliance Testing be included within the scope of this BPA? If not, is 508 Compliance Testing provided as part of the scope of a different contract? If part of this BPA, please provide details on specific requirements, goals, and outcomes to support Section 508 of the Americans with Disabilities Act. | PWS | |||
| Task 3 Functional Testing | 6.0/10 | Section 508 compliance testing is out of scope for this BPA. | |||
| 81 | In the October Draft Solicitation, the IRS included Draft Performance Work Statements for three Calls (Functional, Integration, and Performance Testing). Does IRS intend to include these PWS's in the final solicitation? If so, will they be considered Sample Calls or Awardable Calls? | General | N/A | The government does not intend to include these calls in the official Base BPA solicitation. | |
| 82 | The required $10M per year scale for the three Corporate Experience examples should be reconsidered to be more realistic for small (and mid-size) businesses to achieve. The Corporate Experience scale requirement should reflect the scale of the work anticipated for each Call Order rather than the BPA ceiling – the individual Calls for Functional, Integration, Performance Testing and others are not likely to approach the $10M per year required for the three examples. | Cover Letter | |||
| Factor 1 | Page 5 of 13 | The Corporate Experience requirement for Small Businesses has been reduced to $5,000,000. | |||
| 83 | Does Attachment 4 Small Business Participation Plan DRAFT cover all the questions that need to completed for the Plan? | Attachment 4 Small Business Participation Plan DRAFT | N/A | Yes. The SBPP is attachment 6. | |
| 84 | "3. Dollar Value of your participation as a prime Offeror". Does this include subcontractor value or only Prime value? | Attachment 4 Small Business Participation Plan DRAFT | Question #3 | This question pertains to prime value. | |
| 85 | "All percentages should use the TOTAL CONTRACT VALUE as a baseline." Should this value be the same as the value in Questions #2? | Attachment 4 Small Business Participation Plan DRAFT | Questions #4 | Question 2 shall be the total sum of questions 3 and 4. | |
| 86 | "If the submitted quote contains a “contractor team arrangement” as defined in FAR 9.601, provide information that describes the contractor team arrangement to include any information that will help the Government understand the contractor team arrangement purpose and benefit." Is the Government referring to a Contractor Teaming Agreement/Joint Venture (9.601(1)) or a Teaming Arrangement as a Prime/Sub relationship (9.601(2))? | EST BPA Cover Letter 02 April 2024 DRAFT |
| Cover Page (Volume 1) | Page 4 of 13 | The required information is based on the applicable far reference. | |
| 87 | "If the submitted quote contains a “contractor team arrangement” as defined in FAR 9.601, provide information that describes the contractor team arrangement to include any information that will help the Government understand the contractor team arrangement purpose and benefit." What information should be included within the 1 page cover letter limit? | EST BPA Cover Letter 02 April 2024 DRAFT |
| Cover Letter (Volume 1) | Page 4 of 13 | This information is contained in the cover letter instructions. | |||
| 88 | "The plan shall clearly describe the following specific elements: 1. The Contractor’s approach for achieving small business participation; 2. How the plan is integrated within the overall management processes for this effort; 3. The measure used to achieve small business subcontracting in a cost- effective manner to the Government." Attachment 4 does not provide a section to address these inquiries. Where should offerors provide detailed responses regarding small business participation? | EST BPA Cover Letter 02 April 2024 DRAFT & Attachment 4 Small Business Participation Plan DRAFT | Cover Letter Factor 4 | Volume 4. | |
| 89 | In the Attachment 4 Pricing Matrix, the "FFP LH BPA Ordering Yr 1 " Tab has the LCAT Information Technology Program Management, that is not present in Yrs 2-5. Should this LCAT be present for all option years? | Attachment 4 Pricing Matrix DRAFT.1712179308558 | FFP LH BPA Ordering Yr 1 | The Price Matrix has been updated based on this question. | |
| 90 | Please clarify the language in the first paragraph of Factor 1, which states: "If the offeror is including a teaming partner, the offeror shall provide at least two contracts of its own experience and at least one of its teaming partners for a maximum of three (3) contracts, with the inclusion of its businesses commitment partners that are similar in size, scope, and complexity within the past five years..." If the intent is to require two from the prime and one from the partner, please consider removing the two instances of "at least" and replace "a maximum of" with "a total of" to read: "If the offeror is including a teaming partner, the offeror shall provide two contracts of its own experience and one of its teaming partners for a total of three (3) contracts, with the inclusion of its businesses commitment partners that are similar in size, scope, and complexity within the past five years..." | Cover Letter | |||
| Factor 1 | Page 4 of 13 | No change. | |||
| 91 | In the tools list, it is mentioned that the tester will be required to be skilled in using number of tools for testing. We assume that IRS will arrange all user licenses for all paid tools. Please confirm. | Attachment 1 PWS DRAFT 02 April 2024.1712153809647.pdf | Section 12, Page 29-34 | The Government will arrange for all user licenses for the testing tools it provides. | |
| 92 | Do you have any standards defined for small business participation? | Attachment 3 Small Business Participation Plan DRAFT.1712153799405.pdf | Please refer to the evaluation criteria for small business participation | ||
| 93 | What is the basis of arriving at the annual estimated labor hours for each defined labor category? | Attachment 4 Pricing Matrix DRAFT.1712179308558.xlsx | Historical data. | ||
| 94 | Is there a possibility to provide the number projects in a quarter and the tentative number of hours in a typical project? | Attachment 4 Pricing Matrix DRAFT.1712179308558.xlsx | No. | ||
| 95 | Please provide a high level description of your overall application ecosystem including their high level capabilities and tech stack. We understand that that there may be some applications that will fall under legacy category and we will require assessing the support capabilities required. | Attachment 1 PWS DRAFT 02 April 2024.1712153809647.pdf | The IRS places high importance on proven testing track records including success in automating testing, testing thought leadership, and demonstrated experience testing within agile development methodologies. Contractor must ensure that personnel quoted have sufficient knowledge, skills and experience identified to accomplish designated tasks. The Contractor shall provide resources with the following specialized experience, expertise and skillsets:(please see the attached word file for the whole list of skillsets. ) | ||
| 96 | Please provide a high level description of your DevOps infrastructure. | Attachment 1 PWS DRAFT 02 April 2024.1712153809647.pdf | Using Agile processing, the development, deployment, testing collaborate modernize legacy applications and processes with a focus on communication and interactions, customer collaboration, responding to change and software development. | ||
| 97 | What percentage of the work will require onsite presence and what can be done remotely? | Attachment 1 PWS DRAFT 02 April 2024.1712153809647.pdf | Currently, contractors are required to work a minimum of one day per week in office. This practice is subject to change. | ||
| 98 | Will it be okay if the team works in the same time zone, in case they work remotely? Does all of your development teams work in the same time zone? | Attachment 1 PWS DRAFT 02 April 2024.1712153809647.pdf | Teams are not required to work in the same time zone. | ||
| 99 | You have mentioned that one of your objective to this project is to ensure delivery of application to production with zero defects. We hope that the objective is to bring the defects closer to zero. | Attachment 1 PWS DRAFT 02 April 2024.1712153809647.pdf | Page 2 | Noted. | |
| 100 | For the technical response, you have set a page limit of 25 pages. A typical technical approach requires number of thematic representations/diagrams. For them to be legible, it will typically cover one full page each. Can we be allowed to add them in appropriate annexures and they will not be counted under page limits? | EST BPA Cover Letter 02 April 2024 DRAFT.1712153798698.pdf | Page 3 | No changes. | |
| 101 | Please elaborate your surge support requirements. What will be a typical surge that you foresee at any given time? | Attachment 1 PWS DRAFT 02 April 2024.1712153809647.pdf | Page 5 | TBD. Surge requirements will be addressed at the task order level.The IRS may require surge support. Surge modifications will be within scope of the contract and provide increased support for the defined task areas of this PWS. Surge support over the life of the contract will not exceed 25% of the Contractor’s total proposed cost/price for the Base or Option Year period, excluding the six-month extension of services pursuant to FAR 217-8. The increase will be captured via bilateral contract modification, at which time surge will be reduced by the price of the increase. | |
| 102 | What challenges did you experience with the current vendor on this support that you would like to get addressed while working with new vendor? | EST BPA Cover Letter 02 April 2024 DRAFT.1712153798698.pdf | No response for this question | ||
| 103 | Do you have any defined SLAs and KPIs for the support in place? | General | The RFQ Pricing Matrix attachmnet will include the labor categories and estimated labor hours for each year. The pricing matrix identifies the LCAT as senior, journeyman, etc. Offerors will be required to fill out their labor rates for each of the LCATs as part of the RFQ. | ||
| 104 | In order to support small businesses we ask that you reduce the estimated/annual value of Relevant Corporate Experiences from $10,000,000 to $5,000,000. This would allow small businesses a chance to compete for this work. | EST BPA Cover Letter | Phase 1/Page 4 | Please refer to the official RFQ for updates on the Corporate Experience requirement for Small Businesses. | |
| 105 | Since the government has made a decision to make this a Multiple award BPA, as a small business we would like to encourage the government to set aside a couple award for small business. Often time even when Small Business Contracting plans are required the Small business just do not get an opportunity for work. | EST BPA Cover Letter | 1 st page | Task(s) will be set aside for small business. | |
| 106 | For a small business to be competitive as a prime we would request the Annual/Actual value be 3 million. The actual/annual value of 10M automatically disqualifies a lot of qualified small vendors. | EST BPA Cover Letter. Relevant Corporate Experience | Top of page 5 | Please refer to the official RFQ for updates on the Corporate Experience requirement for Small Businesses. | |
| 107 | Can the government please provide the average Task Order size it anticipates awarding under this contract? | General | No Reference | TBD | |
| 108 | Phase 1, Factor 1 requirements do not seem to align to the historical or projected level of effort and seem designed to dissuade well-qualified small businesses from participating (i.e., "Experience that has an estimated/actual annual value greater than $10,000,000.00 will be considered" and "These examples of relevant experience shall be contracts that are ongoing or completed within the past five (5) years for projects of the same size, scope and complexity as required in this Request for Quote (RFQ)"). Given the size uncertainty, we recommend revising the Factor 1 requirements by eliminating minimum dollar thresholds for experience relevancy determination. Additionally, we recommend setting aside a portion of the anticipated contract awards to well-qualified small businesses. | RFQ | FACTOR 1 – Relevant Corporate Experience: (Volume 1) (Phase 1), Pages 4-5 | Please refer to the official RFQ for updates on the Corporate Experience requirement for Small Businesses. Task(s) will be set aside for small business. |
File details come from the government source that posted it. Updated .