AMP_Questions_and_Answers_18_Jul.pdf

HTC711-13-R-D008 / Analysis of Mobility Platform Questions and Answers

Number Question Answer

As part of the submission of a cost-plus-fixed-fee (CPFF) proposal, it is customary for the Offeror to provide the Government with an auditable cost volume that includes an adequate level of detail to ensure that traceability and substantiation can be established, as required by the FAR. This documentation normally includes not only the rates and factors used in computing the price, but also addresses both the prime and its team of subcontractors. For this reason, normally cost volumes do not have page limitations. In light of the 10-page limit established for Volume 5, Price Proposal, please specify the level of substantiation desired.

The page limits have been removed for the pricing volume. Section L of Amendment 0001 has been revised and now states that the labor rates submitted on Attachment 9 shall include G&A, overhead, and fringe (if applicable).

On page 77, it is understood that the Offeror’s response shall include RFP sections A through K, excluding B; however, so doing will cause the Offeror to exceed the 10 page limit established on page 78.

Therefore, will these sections not be included in the 10 –page count limit?

See Answer to Question #1; the page limit for the pricing volume has been removed.

Is it the expectation of USTRANSCOM that the Offeror shall complete the chart contained in Section D (Page 43) for the entire Offerors are not required to complete CLIN Delivery / Task Order complete the chart contained in Section D (Page 43) for the entire IDIQ vehicle; namely, the Delivery / Task Order Minimum/Maximum CLIN Value? If so, please explain how the offeror should calculate the optional periods?

Offerors are not required to complete CLIN Delivery / Task Order Minimum / Maximum Quantity and CLIN Order Value chart on page 43.

Pages 78 and 82 both direct the Offeror to submit pricing for Task Order 0001 at the subtask level. However, Attachment 8 calls for delineation only to level 1, which is the Task Area level. Therefore, should the Offeror submit its subtask summary in a format of its own choosing?

Yes, the offerors may choose which format to provide the subtask level pricing.

Is it the expectation of USTRANSCOM that the rate table at Attachment 9 will also include labor rates proposed for subcontractors? If not, please indicate how the prime offeror should substantiate subcontractor costs?

Subcontractors' labor rates should be included in Attachment 9. See revised instructions in Section L (Amendment 0001).

On page 82, please explain/clarify the following statement “Because this contract will have a fixed fee, offerors shall not include profit, G&A or overhead in their labor rates.” We understand that profit should not be included in labor rates, but, regarding overhead and G&A, is it the Government’s intention to disallow the application of overhead and G&A charges on labor? If so, please explain the justification? Assuming overhead and G&A are allowed on labor, if the offeror does not include them as part of the labor rate, where in the Government’s pricing template should overhead and G&A costs be shown?

See Amendment 0001 as well as the Answer to Question #1..

Indirect costs such as G&A, overhead, and fringe may be included in the offerors labor rates. However, all indirect costs must be broken out. Only profit is to be excluded in the proposed labor rates.

With regard to the burdening of subcontractor labor costs, how should an offeror present these costs using the Government’s pricing templates? Normally, these costs would be included as a burden on the subcontractors’ hourly labor rate

Offerors should provided back-up documentation in the pricing volume (Attachment 9) to substantiate the labor rates proposed.

Also, see answer to Question #1.

On page 17, under section 4.4, it states “NOTE: General and Administrative overhead charges will not be accepted or paid for approved ODC purchases.” This is in conflict with statements on both pages 48 (Section G, paragraph F) and 82 (Section 5), which state that G&A may be applied to both travel and ODCs.

See Amendment 0001. The PWS has been revised. (Overhead and G&A may be applied to travel and ODCs).

On page 17 under Sections 4 2 and 4 4 the statement “Contractor

On page 17, under Sections 4.2 and 4.4, the statement Contractor invoices (along with associated receipts)” shall support all ODC/Travel reimbursement requests. Does this mean the contractor must submit supporting receipts with its invoices or rather maintain these records for audit purposes? Please clarify.

Contractors with DCMA-approved Accounting /Billing systems normally are not required to submit copies of receipts with their invoices.

Yes, receipts shall be submitted so the COR can track.

10 For offeror’s that impute cost of money, where in the Government’s pricing templates should cost of money be identified?

The cost of money is below the cost line and should be computed IAW DFARS 230.7000. Also, see Answer to Question# 7.

In Section C, Paragraph 1.3.7.2.2, there is a requirement that “the contractor development environment shall be physically and logically isolated from other networks, to include its enterprise unclassified network.” It appears that this requirement means that the contractor will be required to incur significant costs for additional computer equipment and infrastructure to establish this isolated network. Does the government intend to provide government furnished equipment for the implementation of this network? If not, should the costs associated with this separate network be included as a direct cost to the contract or as an indirect cost?

The Government does not intend to provide GFE for implementation of this network. The costs of this network can be included as a direct or indirect cost, depending on the offeror's accounting system.

In the technical proposal volume, subfactor 1 is a technical approach for the ID/IQ Performance Work Statement and subfactor 2 is a technical approach for the Task 0001 PWS. There is a significant amount of overlap between the requirements of the ID/IQ PWS and the Task 0001 PWS with the primary difference being that the requirements of Task 0001 have more detail than the ID/IQ PWS.

Does the government want bidders to submit a separate approach to each PWS, which would mean that much of the same information for th ID/IQ h ld b t d i th T k 0001 h?

Reference Section L-4 of the RFP. The Government wants a sound plan for the ID/IQ and a sound plan for Task Order 0001.

the ID/IQ approach would be repeated in the Task 0001 approach?

Would it be acceptable to prepare a combined approach to both PWS’s or to make cross references between the two approaches in areas where the technical approach is identical for the ID/IQ and Task 0001?

In the Technical Volume, there is a requirement for a Phase‐In Plan.

Does the government plan for there to be an overlap period between the contract of the current AMP contractor and the new contractor to promote an orderly transition of the contract? If so, how long of a transition period is anticipated? Is it permissible to propose travel costs so that we can visit the facility of the existing contractor to facilitate the transition process?

The current contract is expected to be extended thru 31 October 2013 and the new contract is scheduled to begin on 1 November 2013, therefore the Government does not expect any overlap. There are no funds to support travel costs to the existing contractor facility for a transition process.

One of the past performance areas that the government will evaluate for each past performance example is performance complying with small business utilization and small business subcontracting plan requirements. How will the government evaluate performance in this area for past performance examples where a small business is the prime contractor? In the area of compliance with FAR 52.219‐8, it would appear that a high rating would be deserved since the prime is a small business. In the area of compliance with FAR 52.219‐9, the small business is not required to submit a subcontracting plan or associated reports, so it would appear that this part of the evaluation would not apply. Is this interpretation correct?

FAR 52.219-8 and FAR 52.219-9 are included in the Small Business Proposal, which is Factor 4 of this solicitation. Therefore, Amendment 0002 removes this example from Past Performance.

The price proposal instructions on page 82 of the solicitation contains the following instructions: “Because this contract will have a fixed fee, offerors shall not include profit, G&A, or overhead in their labor rates.” We assume that this means that the labor rates to be provided in attachment 9 are to be unloaded labor rates the exclude all indirect costs. However, we further assume that the contractor should include indirect costs but no profit in the subtask level pricing Reference the Answer to Question #6. Overhead, G&A, and fringe b i l d d ith th l b t15 should include indirect costs but no profit in the subtask level pricing that it will prepare for Task Order 0001. Is this correct? What level of documentation and information does the government need the bidder to provide regarding its proposed indirect costs? Will the contract specify the indirect rates that are to be used for preparing future task orders (just as the labor rates in attachment 9 will be included in the contract)?

may be included with the labor rates.

The price proposal instructions on page 82 indirect that “The fixed fee cannot exceed 10% of labor costs, in accordance with FAR 15.404‐4(c)(4)(i)(C).” This FAR requirement appears to limit the amount of fixed fee to 10% of total cost of the contract. Please clarify whether the fee is limited to 10% of labor cost or 10% of total cost (which would include indirect costs as well as labor costs).

10% of the the total estimated cost. Section L of the solicitation has been revised. See Amendment 0001.

The page limitation for the pricing volume is ten pages. Five of those ten pages will be required to for the forms in Attachments 8 and 9, which leaves five pages for a subtask level costing of several dozen tasks from Task 0001 (showing proposed level of effort as well as proposed indirect costs) as well as supporting cost information. We believe that a well‐document cost proposal at the subtask level may require twenty or more pages. We ask that the government consider removing the page limitation on the cost proposal.

See Answer to Question #1.

Attachment 8 provides the government’s estimate values for travel (CLIN 0012) and ODC’s (CLIN 0013). Page 82 of the solicitation indicates that actual costs will be paid for travel or ODC’s, which can include indirect costs. Are the dollar values in Attachment 8 the estimated base travel and ODC’s costs (meaning that bidders should add any applicable indirect costs) or are they the estimated total costs, including the bidder’s indirect costs?

The totals on CLINs 0012 and 0013 are the total estimated costs, including the offeror's indirect costs.

“Proposals shall be submitted according to the following: Electronic copies of the proposal shall be submitted to Ms. Jennifer Knobeloch copies of the proposal shall be submitted to Ms. Jennifer Knobeloch and Ms. Lisa Gross, via the e-mail addresses listed in L-1, in a format that can be read and edited by Microsoft (MS) Word 2000, MS Excel 2000, MS Project 2000, and MS Power Point 2000 (or newer versions, thru MS Office 2007). In the event hard copy and soft copy content conflict, soft copies will take precedence over hard copies. For submission purposes, electronic copies will be considered the official copy.”

Is this the 1 Soft copy referenced in (b) Number of Copies/Markings?

(Ref: L-2 Proposal Submission Requirements-1. RFP Submissions)

Yes, the electronic copy referenced in L2 is the same as the soft copy referenced in Section L3.

Will PDF be acceptable for documents requiring signature? (Ref: L-

2. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS - 1. RFP

Submissions)

Yes, please reference the change to Section L2 made in Amendment 0002.

21 In which Volume do we place the Cover Letter, SF 33, and Sections B & K? (Ref: Contract Documentation)

Reference Section L3 of Amendment 0002. Contract Information shall be submitted with Volume 5, Price. Also, reference Section L3, Guidelines, which states proposals shall include RFP Sections A through K, and exclude Section B.

In which Volume do we place the OCI response? (Ref: H-1.

Submission Requirements, Organization Conflict of Interest (OCI):

The Contractor’s attention is directed to FAR, Subpart 9.5, “Organizational and Consultant Conflicts of Interest.”)

Reference Answer to Question #21.

“Times New Roman 12 point font shall be used except for figures and diagrams, where small is acceptable as long as it is readable.”

Are tables considered “figures?” (Ref: L-3. PROPOSAL PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS part ( c ))

Tables have been added to Section L3, Organization/Number of Copies/Markings in Amendment 0002.

Are the generic resumes described in this section considered part of the page count for the Staffing Volume? (Ref: PWS Pg. 10 of 87,

1.3.1 Task Area 1)

The PWS has been revised to state labor category descriptions, which are required in Section L, Staffing Approach. These descriptions are part of the staffing approach, which has a page limit of 15 pages (Amendment 0001).

In order to bid maintenance and emergency releases accurately, the source which will be maintained and/or updated needs to be analyzed. Will a bidder’s library of existing source code be provided? (Ref: 1.3.4.3 Task Area 4 Subtask 4 – AMP Software Releases

1.3.5.1 AMP Software Maintenance

Source code is included on the Tech Data Package (TDP) CD, listed in Section J.

Can the government provide the current software configuration(s) which AMP executes on? (Ref: 1 3 4 1 Task Area 4 Subtask 1 – AMP complies with Air Force Standard Desktop Config and the US 26 which AMP executes on? (Ref: 1.3.4.1 Task Area 4 Subtask 1 – General Support) Army standard.

Can the government provide the current SRS and any other current requirements for the system? (Ref: 1.3.4.1.1 Task Area 4 Subtask 2

The SRS is included on the TDP CD as well as RDDs for many of the major requirements. The Government does not intend to provide any further requirements documents.

28 The PWS references “Government AMP CMP documentation”. Can the government provide the Government AMP CMP documentation?

The latest version of the CMP will be sent via email upon written request to Ms. Knobeloch; however, there is expected to be a new version released in the next 60 days.

The PWS states “The contractor shall keep the AMP Application Administration Manual updated.”

Can the AMP Application Administration Manual be provided? (Ref:

1.3.6 Task Area 6 – Application Administration)

See the User Manual on the AMP TDP CD.

30 Can the current AMP Training Materials be provided? (Ref: 1.3.6.2 Task Area 6, Subtask 2 – Update AMP Training Materials.) See the User Manual on the AMP TDP CD.

Is there a bidder’s library where we can have access to the current capability and get a better appreciation of the software? (Ref:

Current AMP capability)

This is included in the AMP TDP CD.

L-3 (c) states that 1” margins and Times New Roman 12 font for text is to be used for all volumes. L-4 (3) states we should use RFP Attachment 3.

Should offeror’s use the Attachment 3 as provided or should they modify the form to comply with L-3(c) for their submission? (Ref: L-3 ( c ); L -4 (3); Attachment 3)

Offerors shall use Attachment 3 as provided.

33 Is there a page limit for each Attachment 3? (Ref: L -4 (3);

Attachment 3) No, see clarification made in Section L of Amendment 0002.

34 What are USTRANSCOM’s SB Goals?

USTRANSCOM's Prime SB Goals are as follows:

Prime SB: 15%.

Simplified Acquisition Procedures Threshold: 53.99%.

Small Disadvantaged Business: 2.89%.

Service Disabled Veteran Owned SB: 0.59%.

Women Owned SB: 2.10% Certified HUBZone SB: 0.44%

35 How is USTRANSCOM currently performing to SB goals?

USTRANSCOM's Prime SB FY13 Achievement as of the end of the 3rd Qtr (31 May 2013) is 17.75%. Other achievements are as follows:

Small Disadvantaged Business: 3.24%. 35 How is USTRANSCOM currently performing to SB goals? Small Disadvantaged Business: 3.24%.

Service Disabled Veteran Owned SB: 0.93%.

Women Owned SB: 2.19% Certified HUBZone SB: 0.72%

36 How is the incumbent performing in regards to SB participation? Subcontracting is a requirement on the current contract; however, their progress cannot be released.

37 Is there any requirement on the physical location of the contractor facility for development activities? No.

What software tools are currently being used on AMP to support the Systems Engineering processes (Requirements Management, Risk Management, Program Management, Scheduling, Defect Management, etc.)?

Requirements are currently being managed via a proprietary, contractor owned system but the Government is open to using other requirements management systems such as DOORS, Rational etc.

For IMS/scheduling, the Government requires schedule/status updates be delivered via MS Project as per IDIQ PWS paragraph

1.3.1 and 1.4. No formal risk management tool/system is currently used.

39 What tools are used to support development and modeling? (IDIQ and Task Order 0001)

The tools used currently are part of the incumbent's unique approach and therefore will not be disclosed.

40 What existing tools, files, and documentation will be transferred to the awardee?

In addition to the GFE and GFE listed in the PWS for Task Order 0001, the Government, upon request from the contractor, can release deliverables that the Government has accepted under the current contract.

Please clarify what is meant by the “or” in: “(a) Performance of system or modeling and simulation software development projects and/or programs that” include identification and development of requirements, scheduling, and life-cycle management.” (Ref: Page 80 part 3 )

The Government is asking for system software development OR modeling and simulation software development. One or the other will satisfy this past performance criteria.

There are pdf files referenced (in Attachment_6_- AMP_TO_0001_PWS Appendix A: Contract Data Requirements List

– pg. 31) as embedded documents which are not accessible. Will these be provided?

The embedded documents are now posted on FBO with the RFP.

There are pdf files referenced (in Appendix F (pg 41 of 87) & Appendix G (pg. 42 of 87)) as embedded documents which are not accessible. Will these be provided?

See the answer to Question #43.

On pages 2 thru 3, and again on page 83, the Offeror is directed to assume a start date of 1 November 2013 for both the ID/IQ as well as Task Order 0001 However on page 18 the Base Period is PWS Paragraph 4.5 has been updated to show a start date of 1 44 as Task Order 0001. However, on page 18, the Base Period is defined as 1 October 2013 to 30 September 2014. Please confirm that the Offeror should assume a start date of 1 November 2013.

g p p November 2013.

Will the Government provide requirements and source code for ETEM research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) prototype? (Ref: Attachment 6 PWS Para. 1.3.11.1.1)

The final source code for ETEM has not been delivered so it cannot be made available. However, the RDT&E proposal, prepared by the Government, is available and can be requested from Ms. Knobeloch.

The proposal will be emailed.

Given this statement: “The Defense Information Systems Agency’s Windows Gold Disk project will be terminated Dec. 31, 2012. The last updated version of the tool will be released in October. Previous Gold Disk users will transition to enterprise-level security scanning solutions.” Is there an enterprise level security scanning solution that is required in place of the Gold Disk? (Ref: IDIQ PWS Para 1.3.7.2.3)

Currently USTRANSCOM uses Nessus as its enterprise level scanner. Offerors can access DISA STIGs at the IASE website http://iase.disa.mil.

47 Will the Government provide the source and documentation for Rapid COA Analysis Tool? (Ref: Attachment 6 PWS Para. 1.3.11.5)

The source code and executable for AMP v14.4.1, which contains RCAT as a thick client in the AMP federation. DVDs containing AMP v14.4.1 are available upon written request to Ms. Knobeloch.

48 Will the Government provide a copy of the current Configuration Management Plan? (Ref: Attachment 6 PWS Para. 1.3.9.1)

The current copy is available and can be requested from Ms.

Knobeloch. The plan will be emailed. The Government is currently rewriting the CMP and plans to release the new version in September.

49 Will the Government provide the AMP Contingency Plan? (Ref:

Attachment 6 PWS Para 1.3.8)

The AMP Contingency Plan is available and can be requseted from Ms. Knobeloch. The plan will be emailed.

Will the Government provide the current self paced training materials or indicate what specific content in the bidders library is the self paced training materials? (Ref: Attachment 6 PWS Para. 1.3.6.2)

The self-paced training materials will be delivered for the first time with AMP v14.5, which has not been delivered to the Government.

The tutorial found on the AMP software executable along with the Users manual and Users Guide is located on the AMP TDP CD.

51 Would it be acceptable for the offeror to provide a one-page contract description for each Past Performance Attachement 3?

The Government will be able to obtain a contract description from PPIRS and the Past Performance Questionnaires. Therefore, the offerors shall complete Attachment 3 as is.