Questions - 08012012 - Redacted.pdf

Questions and answers – 1 August 2012

1. What is the targeted award date for this contract?

ANSWER: Ideally by 1 September. However, that is largely dependent on the number of proposals received, if any extensions to the due date are required, the length of time the evaluators take to require proposals, etc.

2. What is the targeted launch date for the program?

ANSWER: See C.2 of the SOW - "Assessments shall be uploaded for government review NLT 14 days after receipt from the government and be available for testing NLT 7 days after government approval". The vendor should have the capability to test right away, however, since DSS will have to provide the contractor with information it is anticipated testing would start on approximately 1 October 2012. It is expected the contractor and the contracting officer’s representative (COR) will meet shortly after award to discuss the assessments.

3. As stated on RFP page 2, the vendor must include a listing of test centers. Is DSS requesting a list of all vendor test center locations or a list of the vendor’s on‐base test center locations?

ANSWER: All locations.

4. Regarding Enclosure 1, Statement of Work, C.2 (page 2), could DSS please provide a list of the base OCONUS locations in Great Britain, Japan, Germany, and Italy?

ANSWER: There are not location preferences for these locations. The offeror will provide a list of all tests center locations, indicating location and if they are on military bases.

5. Enclosure 1, Statement of Work, C.2 (page 3) states, “The list of military bases is included in appendix A.” Can DSS please provide Appendix A? or does this refer to Enclosure 5?

ANSWER: Enclosure 5.

6. Regarding Enclosure 5, what does the list of sites represent? Ex., are these the only US locations where DSS requires test centers?

ANSWER: This is the current list of bases. See Section C.2, Electronic Test Administration Services: “At a minimum, testing services must be available in 40 states.” “If testing cannot occur on a military base, the contractor must be able to provide an alternate test administration location within 75 miles of the base.”

7. At what locations in the United States does DSS wish to have test centers?

ANSWER: See Section C.2, Electronic Test Administration Services: “At a minimum, testing services must be available in 40 states.”

8. In what countries internationally does DSS wish to have test centers?

ANSWER: See Section C.2, OCONUS locations include Great Britain, Japan, Germany and Italy.

9. Regarding Enclosure 1, Statement of Work, C.2, how many event and/or conference tests will be held annually? How long are the events? Can DSS provide additional information, such as the number of candidates to be tested?

ANSWER: Unknown at this time as this largely depends on other DoD agencies requesting testing at their conferences.

10. Regarding Enclosure 1, Statement of Work, C.2 (page 2), could DSS please confirm that DSS will be responsible for setting up and operating test centers at their operational offices?

ANSWER: I do not understand this question. Nowhere does the SOW state DSS will be setting up and operating test centers at their operational offices, rather, Section C.6 requires the contractor to produce a report outlining how CDSE can become a test center.

11. Please provide the following information regarding the exams:

• the number of exams

• the number of items per each exam

• the length of each exam

• the number of times each exam is republished (ex., annually)

• whether the exams are form‐based or pool‐based

• if the exams are form‐based, how many forms there are for each exam

ANSWER: See Section C.2: “Assessments are two hours in duration.” “DSS expects, at a minimum, twelve updates to each certification assessment instrument per year; currently there are six certifications in production”.

The current assessments are form-based and only two certifications currently have one than one form - (those two certifications have two forms). Each assessment currently in production has between 100 – 225 items, depending on the certification.

12. Are the exams delivered in any language other than English?

ANSWER: No.

13. Enclosure 1, Statement of Work, C.1.a. (page 2) states, “Program manager shall be responsible for providing a monthly report to the contracting officer’s representative (COR) detailing tasks performed, to include the candidate management and test administration data.” will provide a monthly status report to include a high‐level list of work performed. Detailed program reports will be available on demand to authorized users. Is this acceptable?

ANSWER: At a minimum, the monthly report shall meet the requirements in Section C.1.

Variations to the report may be agreed upon between the contractor and the COR after award.

14. Enclosure 1, Statement of Work, C.1.a. (page 2) describes training to be provided by the program manager to CDSE and SPēD personnel. Will DSS be open to an alternative process that has been effectively utilized by to launch multiple examination programs?

ANSWER: Training must be provided per the requirements in Section C.1.c. The type of training and content will be agreed to between the contractor and COR following award.

15. Regarding Enclosure 1, Statement of Work, C.5., please clarify what “Information Assurance Artifacts” refers to.

ANSWER: Information Assurance Artifacts refer to documentation that demonstrates the implementation of the offeror’s security practices to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of DSS data in transit and at rest.

16. Regarding Enclosure 1, Statement of Work C.1.b, please clarify what is required in the “chain of custody” report.

ANSWER: At a minimum the report shall meet the requirements of Section C.1.b: “The program manager shall develop a report that details the security chain of custody for test data and candidate management data”. The granularity of detail shall be agreed upon between the contractor and COR after award.

17. Is it mandatory that all the test centers used be fully owned by the test administration company?

ANSWER: No, however, see C.2 of the SOW - "This includes proctoring, administering and conducting computer-based testing at contractor-owned and contractor-operated testing centers Monday through Friday during normal business hours; excluding Federal holidays". "Test administration services are required at contractor-owned and operated facilities". While your company may not own the test center, your company must be able to meet the test administration requirements of the SOW.

18. Is there a vendor currently providing these services?

ANSWER: No.

19. Is mandatory that the vendor have test centers on military bases?

ANSWER: Yes, however, see SOW section C.2 where it states, "If testing cannot occur on a military base, the contractor must be able to provide an alternate test administration location within 75 miles of the base".

20. If testing is to occur on a military base will the government provide staff to proctor the tests

ANSWER: No. See SOW section C.2 - "This includes proctoring, administering and conducting computer-based testing at contractor-owned and contractor-operated testing centers Monday through Friday during normal business hours; excluding Federal holidays".

21. Page 2 of SOW, can you provide the exact number forms there are?

ANSWER: See SOW section C.2, "DSS expects, at a minimum, twelve updates to each certification assessment instrument per year; currently there are six certifications in production".

22. Page 3 of SOW, is it the governments expectation that the candidate management system be inclusive with the test administration system?

ANSWER: No, however, both candidate management and test administration must meet the requirements of the SOW.