ITSS Draft PWS dated January 28 2025.pdf

SBU - CONTRACTING AND ACQUISITIONS

Performance Work Statement for

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

DIPLOMATIC SECURITY

Information Technology Support Services Recompete

Dated January 28, 2025

Page ii

Table of Contents

1.0 BACKGROUND AND MISSION

2.0 SCOPE OF WORK

3.0 REQUIREMENTS

3.1 DEFENSIVE EQUIPMENT & ARMORED VEHICLE DIVISION (DEAV)

3.2 OFFICE OF THE CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER (CTO)

3.3 OFFICE OF POLICY AND PLANNING (PPD)

3.4 SECURITY TECHNOLOGY (ST)

3.5 DS INTELLIGENCE-LED SECURITY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT (DISEL)

3.6 INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS DIRECTORATE (IP)

3.7 OFFICE OF OVERSEAS PROTECTIVE OPERATIONS (OPO)

3.7.1 myMSG

3.7.2 myLGP

3.7.3 myWPS

3.7.4 Operational Support Division, Policy and Special Projects

3.7.5 OPO-T Module

4.0 SECURITY CLEARANCES

5.0 PROTECTION OF INFORMATION

6.0 PLACE OF PERFORMACE

6.1 TRAVEL

7.0 GOVERNMENT FURNISHED EQUIPMENT (GFE)

8.0 DELIVERABLES/DELIVERY SCHEDULE

8.1 TRANSITION PLAN

8.2 WORK PLAN

8.3 WEEKLY/MONTHLY STATUS REPORTS

8.4 AD HOC REPORTS

8.5 AUTOMATED REPORTS

8.6 PROGRAM REVIEWS

8.7 KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER

8.8 ADDITIONAL DELIVERABLES

1.0 BACKGROUND AND MISSION

As the law enforcement and security arm of the Department of State (DOS), the Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS) is responsible for providing a safe and secure environment for the conduct of United States (U.S.) foreign policy. DS fulfills its mission through the hard work of its committed and highly trained security professionals -- special agents, engineers, technical specialists, diplomatic couriers, Civil Service specialists, and contractors -- who work together to ensure that their State Department colleagues can carry out their foreign policy missions safely and securely.

Diplomatic Security is the most widely represented U.S. law enforcement and security organization in the world and protects people, property, and information at 275 State Department missions around the globe. Every diplomatic mission in the world operates under a security program designed and maintained by Diplomatic Security.

To achieve its mission, DS is a leader in discovering and mitigating terrorist threats to American lives and facilities, mounting international investigations, and developing innovations in security training, cyber security, and physical security engineering.

Diplomatic Security trains foreign civilian law enforcement officers in disciplines designed to reduce the threat and repercussions of terrorism throughout the world. The Bureau also provides training to all U.S. Government personnel assigned to work at U.S. diplomatic posts abroad.

In the United States, DS personnel protect the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and foreign dignitaries below the head-of-state level who visit the United States. DS also protects the U.S. Secretary of State around the clock, anywhere in the world. DS also develops and implements security programs to protect the more than 90 domestic State Department facilities as well as the residence of the Secretary of State.

The Bureau assists foreign embassies and consulates in the United States with the security for their missions and personnel. In addition to protective responsibilities, DS investigates passport and visa fraud, conducts personnel security investigations, and issues security clearances.

2.0 SCOPE OF WORK

The Contractor shall provide software design, development, onsite deployment and sustainment support, operations, and maintenance services in support of current listed DS Program Office logistics systems and applications. In addition, the contractor must support any future technologies that are adopted by the government to improve enterprise-wide business systems, to include database development and management, change management, and program support.

3.0 REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor must provide DS with the appropriate services as detailed for each program listed below:

For all modules, the following requirements apply:

Defect Management

If a released product contains defects to include functional departures from the mock-up; spelling errors; functional errors such as text not fitting in a box, broken links, or buttons; core industry best practice deviations such as not alphabetizing lists or not following Federal Disability requirements; the contractor will remedy the defects at their own cost, and without impacting the pace of ongoing development efforts.

Change Management If a released product contains defects due to the Government’s mock-up or instructions being incorrect, or due to providing irreconcilably unclear instructions, or if the Government produces new requirements mid-development that cause other unanticipated problems, then the Government will consider remedying those defects as normal development costs.

Automated Testing The contractor shall utilize automated testing capabilities for regression testing purposes. In the event that the automated testing does not meet acceptable industry testing standards, the government reserves the right to require the contractor to employ an alternative industry-leading solution at no additional cost to the government.

3.1 DEFENSIVE EQUIPMENT & ARMORED VEHICLE DIVISION (DEAV)

The Bureau of Diplomatic Security’s Physical Security Programs Defensive Equipment and Armored Vehicle (DS/PSP/DEAV) Division requires contract support to deploy, operate, maintain, enhance, and support the Integrated Logistics Management (ILMS) and Secure Integrated Logistics Management System (S-ILMS) and its global users, including any/all associated mobile applications.

This scope of work may include software design, development, on-site deployment and sustainment support, operations, and maintenance services for modules and functional areas utilized by DS/PSP/DEAV, and as directed and prioritized by the government. DS/PSP/DEAV functional support is intended to sustain the end-user experience by providing functional and technical support for analyzing and resolving issues, as well as implement bug fixes, mission critical enhancements and federally mandated enhancements.

Background

The Department of State’s ILMS/ S-ILMS are mission critical systems available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, enabling users to procure and deliver necessary goods and services worldwide. It provides a global logistics platform that integrates operations at headquarters, regional support centers, and overseas posts, allowing an efficient and seamless end-to-end supply chain, and 24x7 logistics operations. Continuity of service and uninterrupted operations of ILMS/S-ILMS is paramount to the Department’s mission.

The system’s success is contingent on successful integration with other Departmental systems, timely deployments, improved efficiencies, and user acceptance around the world. As a complete supply chain management system that leverages Application Platform and a Service (aPaaS) and commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products to provide an integrated solution, ILMS will require operations and maintenance support (including security monitoring and patching), federally mandated and mission critical enhancements, and customer outreach and training.

Using a suite of integrated technologies, ILMS/S-ILMS supports the requisition, procurement, warehousing, transportation, receipt, and tracking of goods and services, domestically and overseas. ILMS also enables asset and fleet management as well as diplomatic pouch and mail (DPM) service. While ILMS provides a range of services and functions, the system is viewed as one comprehensive technology product with various subproducts.

ILMS is a complex collection of COTS and custom software components with over 40 modules supporting more than 50 functions. The major components include:

Out-of-the-box and customized COTS products Enterprise low-code products, like ServiceNow and PeopleSoft Custom programs developed in Microsoft .NET Oracle SOA Integration software

The system’s technical architecture, composed of over 80 distinct technologies, calls for many of these components to integrate among themselves and with external systems. Currently there are 560 integration points that occur between three ILMS enterprise COTS solutions (Ariba, PeopleSoft, and Chevin); custom low-code ServiceNow and PeopleSoft modules; custom modules developed in .Net; and external applications such as DOS’s enterprise financial management system, DOS’s enterprise HR system, DoS’s Center for Analytics, beta.SAM, Citibank’s CitiDirect system, Health and Human Services’ GRANTS.gov system, and GSA’s GSAXCESS system.

ILMS/S-ILMS technical activities are subject to Federal and DOS IT policies and requirements, including OpenNet requirements - for example, many technologies are currently hosted in a DOS-managed data center, therefore access is restricted to users logged into OpenNet.

For all modules under DS/DEAV, the following requirements apply:

Defect Management If a released product contains defects to include functional departures from the mock-up; spelling errors; functional errors such as text not fitting in a box, broken links, or buttons; core industry best practice deviations such as not alphabetizing lists or not following Federal Disability requirements; the contractor will remedy the defects at their own cost, and without impacting the pace of ongoing development efforts.

Change Management If a released product contains defects due to the Government’s mock-up or instructions being incorrect, or due to providing irreconcilably unclear instructions, or if the Government produces new requirements mid-development that cause other unanticipated problems, then the Government will consider remedying those defects as normal development costs.

Scope of Work

The Bureau of Diplomatic Security’s Physical Security Programs Defensive Equipment and Armored Vehicle (DS/PSP/DEAV) Division utilizes ILMS and S-ILMS in support of its core global logistics and secure supply chain mission and supporting functions. The Division serves as the Department’s sole procurement authority and program of record for a variety of defensive equipment assets and armored vehicles that meet Overseas Security Policy Board (OSPB) standards/requirements. This applies to applicable assets assigned to individuals, domestic offices, and overseas posts. DS/PSP/DEAV’s Armored Vehicle (AV) Program utilizes ILMS on OpenNet while the Defensive Equipment Program uses both ILMS and S-ILMS in support of end-to-end asset management.

The sections below provide an overview of the functions ILMS and S-ILMS support based on the following product and service groupings. This is followed by a table which summarizes which functions DS/PSP/DEAV uses and on what systems.

Requisition and Purchasing

Summary: In ILMS, users request goods and services, and procurement agents procure them by preparing the necessary contracting documentation and managing all supporting procurement workflows. ILMS supports simplified acquisitions and complex contracting, including numerous contracting actions such as purchase orders, purchase card orders, blanket purchase agreements (BPAs) and associated BPA calls, and indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contracts and associated delivery orders/task orders, etc. ILMS catalog functionality allows requestors to choose common items from vendor catalogs with pre-negotiated prices, thereby streamlining the acquisition process.

Electronic Filing and Document Management

ILMS facilitates a paperless solution to document management and furnishes a centralized location to house all procurement documentation. ILMS generates and stores applicable documents (solicitation documents, awards, receiving reports, invoices, etc.) automatically at the appropriate point in the procure-to-pay (P2P) process.

Purchase Card Management and Purchase Card Reconciliation

ILMS furnishes DOS users worldwide with a single portal to accomplish purchase card tasks such as applying for a purchase card, requesting one-time or permanent threshold changes to an existing card or changes to merchant category code blocks, requesting authority for a one-time purchase, and tracking pending requests. Approving Officials and Quality Controllers review and approve purchase card management transactions electronically and review compliance annually.

ILMS automates the purchase card reconciliation process by integrating with Citibank to upload purchase card charges automatically, enabling purchase card holders to assign purchase card transactions to the associated awards. ILMS then routes reconciled purchase card transactions to invoice processing for review and approval by voucher examiners and certifying officers.

Property and Warehouse

ILMS/S-ILMS supports the management, monitoring, and reporting of property through reliable and efficient processes for stocked goods, effective property tracking and inventory reporting, and mobile capabilities to support a global workforce.

Final receipt: ILMS enables customers to mark goods and services as received and generate the required DS-127 receiving report.

Warehouse management: ILMS warehouse management is an inventory and distribution tool that tracks the movement of goods from vendor receipt domestically to overseas fulfillment.

Asset management: Asset management enables users to manage and inventory property.

ILMS recommends creation of assets for commodities above $500 in Final Receipt and automatically creates the assets unless the user chooses to bypass this feature for a particular asset. Property managers use the asset management function to manage the utilization of assets throughout the assets’ life. In addition, ILMS furnishes reporting capabilities, enabling management to observe post operations and analyze ways posts can improve order cycle time, tracking, and internal business processes for high customer satisfaction and optimal efficiency.

Expendable supplies management: Posts use ILMS to manage its expendable supplies.

Customers can request expendable supplies using a catalog, and expendables supply clerks approve, pick, and deliver requested expendables items systematically. ILMS assists with inventory replenishment when supplies get low and produces helpful reports, including International Cooperative Administrative Support Services (ICASS) billing reports.

Loanable property management: Loanable property supplies a uniform way to track loan issuance and return of property and furnishes comprehensive reporting for non-accountable and accountable assets.

Shipping, Pouch, and Mail

ILMS supports efficient processing and visibility of a broad network of warehouses to enable worldwide transportation services of supplies and equipment, including the movement of employee household effects for permanent change of station (PCS) and Diplomatic Pouch and Mail (DPM).

Transportation: ILMS facilitates the end-to-end process of moving personal effects for

DOS, Department of Defense, and other agency employees as they transition to assignments in diplomatic missions overseas. Regional dispatch agencies and post shipping offices use ILMS transportation to receive, book, and track the status of all personal effects and supply shipments managed by DOS. The transportation module interfaces with carriers to provide required shipping information.

Mail messenger service (MMS): MMS tracks domestic mail between DOS annexes as well as DOS headquarters and pouching facilities.

Diplomatic post office (DPO): DPO integrates with the United States Postal Service to track delivery of mail to recipients at overseas posts.

DPM: ILMS securely manages, tracks, and analyzes global classified and unclassified pouch and mail services. DPM personnel use this function to receive items and build diplomatic pouches, prepare and manage shipments, manage payments to service providers, capture receipt of pouches, prepare ICASS reports, and reconcile invoices.

Motor Pool

ILMS supports management of DOS’s global fleet operations. Vehicle assets recorded through asset management flow to fleet management where motor pool personnel manage customers’ trip requests, track fuel usage and maintenance records, and maintain driver training and certification records. DS/PSP/DEAV solely focuses on armored vehicle assets fielded domestically and overseas (unarmored vehicles are outside its mission purview and responsibilities).

Status Tracking

From the initial creation of a procurement request to the arrival of an item at the post, status tracking enables users to search, view, and track the status of requests. Users can search for items across seven functional areas using order number, keywords, and other key data points.

Analytics and Data Forensics

ILMS analytics and data forensics is a flagship service, highly praised by post and domestic management for pinpointing problem areas in the supply chain with recommendations for actionable resolution, informing better decision-making and improving supply chain performances. Supply chain analytics supplies dashboards, reports, and subscriptions that include management reporting and insights on property, expendables, P2P, fleet, shipping, and federal assistance. In addition, ILMS performs data forensics and offers ad hoc analysis to address customer-specific requests. Data forensics identifies, combats, and prevents non-compliant behavior and fraud at posts overseas. Data forensics deep dives furnish post-level drill-down analysis of ILMS data to flag trends, discrepancies, or anomalies.

ILMS Function DE Program Use? AV Program Use? Function in ILMS? Function in S-ILMS?

Requisition and Purchasing Yes Yes Yes No Electronic Filing and Document Management Yes Yes Yes Yes

Overseas Invoice Processing No No Yes No Purchase Card Management & Reconciliation Yes Yes Yes No

Property and Warehouse Yes Yes Yes Yes Shipping, Pouch, and Mail Yes Yes Yes Yes Motor Pool No Yes Yes No Status Tracking Yes Yes Yes No Analytics and Data Forensics No Yes Yes No

Capability Areas

DS/PSP/DEAV requires that the contractor support the following capability areas:

Program Management and Support

This capability area focuses on program management and support. The objective of Program Management and Support is to develop a cooperative, partnering relationship to assist DS/PSP/DEAV in achieving its mission through timely, effective ILMS/S-ILMS support, including mobile applications. The contractor shall work with the government to define common goals and objectives, perform benefit/cost analyses, and provide management reports and administrative support.

Program Office (DS/PSP/DEAV) Support The primary objective of this capability area is to provide input and support for programmatic activities related to contract tasks. The contractor shall provide relevant input for these activities as needed. For example, the contractor may be asked to provide input for activities such as requests for information, financial management (including budgeting), strategic planning, risk management, schedule and cost management, and resource management. The contractor may also be asked to provide relevant input for other programmatic activities that emerge during the contract period.

Performance Management The primary objective of this capability area is for the contractor to ensure it is meeting its mutually agreed-upon performance metric targets outlined in the performance-based contract. The contractor shall be responsible for tracking performance metrics and provided a self-assessment every six months. The contractor shall manage the daily activities of its staff to ensure the capabilities and required support for all task orders is executed on-plan and on-schedule. The contractor shall provide for the highest quality standards, consistent with best industry practices, to ensure timely provision of services and optimum DOS satisfaction. The Contractor shall conduct quality assurance, day-to-day inspection, and monitoring of all work performed to ensure compliance with contract requirements.

Transition Management The primary objective of this capability area is to facilitate and manage contractor transitions to ensure continuity of support and to maintain system availability, reliability, and customer satisfaction performance standards. The contractor shall be responsible for transition-out support to ensure a smooth changeover in management and personnel.

Agile Development

ILMS/S-ILMS are complex systems, with a highly agile customer-focused system. The Agile Development capability area focuses on customer-centric agile development. To support Agile Development, it is critical that the contractor has deep supply chain and logistics knowledge that allows it to deliver mission critical and federally mandated enhancements. It is also crucial that the contractor have a strong understanding of supporting ILMS technologies and experience with complex highly integrated system architectures. The Agile Development sub-capability areas address the primary activities necessary to execute a flexible and adaptable product management approach while maintaining the current ILMS software. The contractor shall provide an integrated, scalable, and agile development approach to support the design, development, testing, and release of bug fixes and federally mandated and mission critical enhancements.

When providing Agile Development, the contractor shall be responsible for tracking the agile teams' performance and to predict workload capacity. The contractor shall identify key contractor roles with the right mix of relevant skills and abilities to support these roles. The sub-capability areas will integrate with other teams as appropriate. The contractor shall provide Agile Development for other DOS logistics and supply chain systems as applicable.

User Experience Design The primary objective of this capability area is to conduct all activities necessary to identify customer and user requirements and design solutions using a human-centered design approach. The contractor may be required to perform any or all of the following user experience design functions: requirements analysis, storyboarding, journey mapping, meeting facilitation, user and subject matter research, user interface performance monitoring, prototyping, and testing. This list of related functions is not comprehensive, and other functions may be proposed or requested depending on solution.

Development The primary objective of this capability area is to assess requirements as prioritized by the government product owner, and continuously perform the necessary development activities using an agile and integrated approach that maximizes proposed productivity measures. The contractor may be required to perform any or all of the following development functions: backlog requirements assessment, Continuous Integration (CI)/Continuous Delivery (CD) pipeline management (e.g., DevSecOps), tier 3 break/fix and federally mandated and mission critical enhancements, and sprint management. This list of related functions is not comprehensive and other functions may be proposed or requested depending on solution.

Testing The primary objective of this capability area is to develop and conduct all testing activities needed to ensure production-ready solutions/delivery. The contractor may be required to perform any or all of the following testing functions: unit testing, system testing, integration, performance, and regression testing; application of automated testing;

coordination with Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) testing; and support of user acceptance testing. This list of related functions is not comprehensive and other functions may be proposed or requested depending on solution. Note: IV&V testing is performed by an independent contractor. The ILMS IV&V contractor, functional subject matter experts, support the ILMS program by ensuring all user requirements are met, designs are comprehensive and account for impacts to other ILMS modules, software is bug-free and ready to migrate to production. In support of these activities, the ILMS contractor shall work with the IV&V contractor functional subject matter experts throughout the Agile development process to identify requirements, review designs, and conduct testing.

Release Management The primary objective of this capability area is to manage the technical release of features throughout the development lifecycle. The contractor may be required to perform any or all the following release management functions: coordination of various releases, including scheduling and adherence to service level agreements; software configuration management; and control of software release code. This list of related functions is not comprehensive, and other functions may be proposed or requested depending on solution.

Data Management and Analytics Operations

This capability area focuses on data management and analytics operations. ILMS Supply Chain Analytics is a flagship service highly praised by post and domestic management for pinpointing problem areas in the supply chain with recommendations for actionable resolution, informing better decision-making, and improving supply chain performance. Supply Chain Analytics data enables senior leaders and managers to make informed management decisions that maximize the resources available to support U.S. foreign policy and national security missions globally. ILMS Supply Chain Analytics mines 15+ years of Department supply chain data to deliver dashboards, reports, and management alerts with hundreds of key performance indicators (KPIs). The Department’s logistics managers globally rely on this data to: manage more than 3.5 million personal property assets by evaluating age, location, disposal and inventory status; identify transportation bottlenecks in real time and reconcile improperly addressed or misdirected items in transit reducing holding and storage costs; and optimize vehicle utilization based on customer demand, fuel usage and maintenance costs, with the added benefit of providing high-quality data to fleet rightsizing and right-typing reviews.

The contractor will leverage integrated and agile methods for data operations (e.g., DataOps) to maximize the availability and accessibility of high-quality data, easily produce relevant analytics dashboards, and quickly conduct research that improves DS/PSP/DEAV customer operations and user experience.

Program Data Management The primary objective of this capability area is to maintain the ILMS data management program that maximizes the availability and accessibility of high-quality data for consumption by a diverse set of stakeholders. The contractor will propose an effective approach along with appropriate measures that ensures existing data is 1) ready to be consumed, and 2) accessible for consumption.

Data Access and Integration Program Management The primary objective of this capability area is to provide a central point of contact to coordinate with offline relationships with external entities that require integration with the program’s technical products and data. The contractor shall be responsible for communicating with these stakeholders, including providing updates on technical changes and updates that will affect them as well as maintenance awareness of changes to other integrated systems that may affect the program’s technical products. In addition, the contractor is responsible for maintaining how-to documentation and aids to support integrations with external entities and works closely with data governance to develop a clear and concise data and information sharing policy.

This sub-capability area focuses on managing the non-technical aspects of data access, integration, and sharing while the previous sub-capability area focuses on the managing the technical aspects.

Embedded Analytics The primary objective of this capability area is to support the development and implementation of embedded user-friendly data dashboards within the program’s technical products.

Technology Management

The primary objective of this capability area is to manage the technical system, including sub-components and supporting technologies; and to ensure overall system reliability, flexibility, and availability with minimal disruptions to service. The contractor shall be responsible for maintaining the system’s technical architecture and infrastructure, maintaining appropriate supporting documentation, maintain logs, coordinating with product and data management teams as needed, implementing infrastructure and COTS updates and patches, and monitoring system performance, including internal and external integrations and automations for supported business processes. The contractor shall conduct performance management to identify system performance issues and conduct tuning activities to rectify issues and improve overall performance. In addition, the contractor shall be responsible for managing application configuration updates, business process modifications, and software updates.

Enterprise Architecture, System Management, Configuration The primary objective of this capability area is to manage the technical system, including sub-components and supporting technologies; and to ensure overall system reliability, flexibility, and availability with minimal disruptions to service. The contractor shall be responsible for maintaining the system’s technical architecture and infrastructure, maintaining appropriate supporting documentation, maintain logs, coordinating with product and data management teams as needed, implementing infrastructure and COTS updates and patches, and monitoring system performance, including internal and external integrations and automations for supported business processes. The contractor shall conduct performance management to identify system performance issues and conduct tuning activities to rectify issues and improve overall performance. In addition, the contractor shall be responsible for managing application configuration updates, business process modifications, and software updates.

Customer Support and Services

This capability area focuses on customer support and services, a critical capability for ILMS/S- ILMS. Customer enablement, experience, and satisfaction are of paramount importance to the ILMS program. ILMS customers must be able to effectively leverage ILMS’s capabilities to optimize and improve their operations. Globally located customers must also have access to support representatives 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (24x7), to resolve issues and keep operations running smoothly. Quality customer support and services ensure acceptance and adoption of important supply chain modules and services. Quality customer support and services include the following activities:

Customer support desk representatives shall resolve customers’ issues expeditiously and to the customers’ satisfaction, demonstrating a deep understanding of ILMS’s business processes, systems, and technologies.

Change management, communications, and training/deployment personnel shall also effectively communicate system changes and new services and assist customers through the deployment of new services.

Consulting resources shall apply supply chain insights to identify operational inefficiencies and assist customers in capitalizing on ILMS’s capabilities to improve their business operations.

ILMS’s unique global environment requires a deep understanding of logistics and supply chain business processes and the complexities of supporting customers worldwide. To successfully support this capability area, the contractor must have the experience and capabilities to provide logistics and supply chain subject matter expertise, customer support, communications, training, and deployment services to worldwide customers from diverse cultural backgrounds. This includes customers and users with varying degrees of computer literacy and for which English is often their second language.

The Customer Support and Services sub-capability areas address the primary activities necessary to execute an effective customer service program. The contractor will provide several capabilities to ensure the program’s customer and user support interactions are streamlined and effective. In addition, the contractor will provide ILMS Integrated Suite training and consulting services to support the program’s customers with other related needs. The contractor shall deploy new ILMS functionality and features to ILMS customers worldwide.

The contractor shall provide Customer Support and Services for other DOS logistics and supply chain systems as appropriate.

Customer Support The primary objective of this capability area is to provide 24x7 Tier 0, 1, and 2 customer and technical support using multiple support channels (e.g., chatbots, voice, in-application assistance, and so forth).

Tier 0 Support: The contractor shall provide Tier 0 support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Tier 0 is automated assistance provided through chatbots and other embedded intelligent application assistants that provides users with interactive help while using the system for various business processes. Users can also reset their passwords or authorization credentials using Tier 0 support tools.

Tier 1 Support: The contractor shall provide Tier 1 support, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Tier 1 support includes serving as the single point of contact for all user issues, identifying and tracking issues, classifying and prioritizing issues, diagnosing and resolving issues, closing or escalating issues as appropriate, monitoring issues, and communicating issue resolution to users.

Tier 2 Support: The contractor shall provide Tier 2 support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Tier 2 support includes conducting root cause analysis and issue identification, resolving issues in a timely manner, closing or escalating issues if appropriate, monitoring issues, communicating issue resolution to users, and preparing issue documentation and trend analysis.

The contractor shall be responsible for providing customer support desk personnel with the required technical and interpersonal training needed to deliver appropriate levels of service. The government will not pay for training related to interpersonal skills. The contractor shall be responsible for managing the activities of the customer support desk personnel, including issue resolution which provides customers and users comprehensive support services.

Change Management and User Communications The primary objective of this capability area is to identify, develop, and facilitate targeted multi-channel strategic and tactical communications with users about a program’s or system’s strategic transformation, upcoming events, available resources, and changes to the user interface and related business processes for updated modules and deployment of new modules. Change management involves communications at many levels from individual project teams communicating process changes to strategic customer outreach.

Strategic outreach and transformation initiatives involve significant changes in programmatic and technical directions for many reasons, including changes in administration that shift priorities, new industry trends, and technical innovation.

Customers must be able to seamlessly adapt to these changes despite challenges based on cultural differences, varying degrees of computer literacy, and unreliable internet connectivity, for example. The contractor’s change management approach and delivery of strategic outreach and transformation services shall account for these influences and challenges to optimize the customer’s experience.

Training The primary objective of this capability area is to provide comprehensive multi-modal instructional systems design and delivery services to customers and users, including many non-native or non-English speaking personnel, using adult learning theory. The trainings will focus on product user experience and related business processes of existing as well as new functionality and features. In addition, the contractor shall be responsible for the design, development, delivery, and evaluation of multi-modal trainings to include, but not limited to, 1) self-paced online training, 2) instructor-led virtual training, and 3) instructor-led in-person training. The trainings can also include less formal modes of content delivery such as short video tutorials, webinars, and walk-through automations demonstrating key functionality. In-person training may be delivered domestically, at a regional training location, or at a specific post or mission elsewhere.

In conjunction with the government, the contractor shall develop an overall training strategy and delivery approach that incorporates adult learning principles and addresses DOS’s multi-cultural environment with varied language proficiency, computer literacy, and learning styles. The contractor shall conduct ongoing analysis of user training needs to ensure that the overall training strategy and approach, including the type of training, mode, curriculum, and frequency, remains responsive to the needs of existing users worldwide and is up to date with the current system functionality and industry standards.

Therefore, the contractor shall be responsible for identifying new training modes and developing curriculum to resolve gaps that exist. Cost effectiveness and quality are two criteria that inform the Government’s training offerings.

DEAV-Specific Deliverables

Below are the formal DEAV-specific deliverables and work products associated with this effort.

Type Name Description Frequency

Work Product Monthly Program Review Provides status for completed activities, upcoming activities, project highlights, and risks/issues. Monthly.

Work Product Basis of Estimate Includes comprehensive level of effort estimate identifying resources required to complete projects.

Once for each initiative or system enhancement.

Updated as required.

Work Product Detailed Project Plans For each initiative, a detailed project plan identifying project activity, planned schedule, key milestones and responsible personal

As Dictated by Project Plan Approved by USG

Work Product Backlog by Functional Area Backlog of all bug fixes and federally mandated and mission critical enhancements. Upon request.

Work Product Agile Design Products Agile design products for each bug fix and federally mandated and mission critical enhancements.

During design of Agile process.

Work Product Agile Testing Products Agile testing products such as test scenarios and testing status and results for reach bug fix and federally mandated and mission critical enhancement.

During design of Agile process.

3.2 OFFICE OF THE CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER (CTO)

Within DS, the Office of the Chief Technology Officer (DS/CTO) contains the staff, resources, authority, and responsibility for managing and implementing the priority Information Technology (IT) program requirements of the Bureau in a manner that facilitates the achievement of the Bureau performance goals. The mission of the CTO is to provide effective information resource management for the Bureau: to maximize the accessibility and utility of information for all DS personnel and stakeholders through excellence in service delivery, program management, and innovative technology applications. DS/CTO provides the resources necessary to collect, assimilate, and distribute the information essential to the Bureau’s primary mission of providing a secure environment for the conduct of American diplomacy and the promotion of U.S. foreign policy worldwide.

The accomplishment of DS’s mission is supported by the IT applications developed and maintained by CTO, many of which involve integrating cloud-based and on-premises systems within the Department, the Government, and the Intelligence and Law Enforcement communities world-wide. These systems require careful policy and IT coordination because of their complex integration and data-sharing requirements. Strong technical competence and mature management and development processes are required to support this dynamic environment, where change is a constant, and modernization and improvement projects utilize a blend of on-premises and cloud, custom developed and COTS software applications.

For all modules under DS/CTO, the following requirements apply:

Defect Management

If a released product contains defects to include functional departures from the mock-up; spelling errors; functional errors such as text not fitting in a box, broken links, or buttons; core industry best practice deviations such as not alphabetizing lists or not following Federal Disability requirements; the contractor will remedy the defects at their own cost, and without impacting the pace of ongoing development efforts.

Change Management

If a released product contains defects due to the Government’s mock-up or instructions being incorrect, or due to providing irreconcilably unclear instructions, or if the Government produces new requirements mid-development that cause other unanticipated problems in the ServiceNow instance, then the Government will consider remedying those defects as normal development costs.

To support the objective noted above CTO requires the contractor to provide Infrastructure and Support Services to DS entities utilizing the DS ServiceNow contract. This will include:

Assign appropriate staff to provide Program management communications, coordination, and reporting to the DS/CTO Systems Solutions Division Chief on work requirements across all task orders or Contract Line Item Numbers (CLINs) as well as on-going project level interfaces for initiatives in the development lifecycle under this contract.

Provide DS/CTO with ongoing operations and maintenance support for the existing DS systems using the ServiceNow platform.

Provide DS/CTO performance metrics for review and approval for ongoing monitoring and reporting. Support the development of Service Level Agreements between organizations as needed to support ongoing activities.

Adhere to DS/CTO policies and procedures for software development and IT project management.

Incorporate processes to support disaster recovery, security compliance and audit, automated testing and customer service feedback and support.

Ensure all development/construction activities incorporate appropriate cyber security best practices and integrate need controls and interfaces needed to meet DOS cyber security and other information security requirements.

Adhere to all relevant federal regulations and standards, providing regular compliance reports and supporting DS/CTO in audit processes. The contractor must ensure that all activities, systems, and data management practices are in full compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and guidelines.

Adhere to DS/CTO IT project management and system/software development lifecycle policies and procedures are employed during the life of an application or system for all activities under this contract.

Conduct detailed requirements gathering and analysis and develop solution concepts for DOS review and approval prior to initiating development work.

Identify platform interfaces and dependencies with other applications, systems, or external entities and design needed secure solutions to support proposed development solutions.

Provide platforms to support development work by other ServiceNow DS vendors working on approved DS IT projects, across needed platforms – prem, cloud, Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU) and classified.

Provide needed information and support to facilitate Department governance reporting through DS input into the Department’s iMatrix processes. This may be direct reporting at a program office level or as input to consolidated reporting provided by DS/CTO.

Direct or consolidated reporting is generally based on the categorization and scope of an application or system and will be determined in coordination with DS/CTO.

Establish consolidated support reporting of service level activities (service desk Tier 2 and Tier 3) for all service applications in use under this contract.

Support IT operations and maintenance services for on-going and new applications supported in the contract.

Conduct training or provide training materials needed to support Tier 0 and 1 service desk activities managed by the DS IT Operations 24x7 service desk team. Training materials will be based on system development documentation related to lifecycle shift from development/construction to operations. Training or service desk support information may require additional components to align to operational practices and processes.

Provide DS/EX/CTO analysis and review of new technologies or innovations that may impact DS business processes.

Provide periodic activity reporting and support management and project level meetings and briefings as needed to inform DOS with detail information on goals, risks, or other issues.

Adhere to CTO's comprehensive change management processes to effectively manage any alterations in service requirements, technology updates, or contractual modifications.

This includes documentation, approval, and communication strategies to maintain transparency and alignment with DS/CTO objectives.

Develop and maintain disaster recovery and business continuity plans that outline the steps and measures to be taken to ensure service continuity or swift recovery in the event of a disruption. These plans must be regularly tested and updated in accordance with best practices and DS/CTO requirements.

Implement mechanisms for capturing and analyzing user feedback to continuously improve service delivery and user satisfaction. This includes periodic surveys, feedback loops, and user engagement forums to ensure that services are user-centric and meet the evolving needs of DS entities.

Foster an environment of innovation and continuous improvement by periodically proposing and implementing new technologies, processes, or methodologies that can enhance service delivery, efficiency, or security. Such initiatives should be aligned with DS/CTO strategic objectives and subject to DOS review and approval.

Staffing Needs

CTO oversight and support roles require the following contractor positions:

Program Project Manager (PM) – interface with DS/CTO leadership, the contract oversight board, and other DS stakeholders to provide contract level (all task) project reporting and contractor oversight.

Business Analyst – support PM role and perform data correlation of metrics data for reporting to DS management (CTO and contract oversight board). Support iMatrix reporting.

Cyber Security analyst – support adherence to cyber security requirements for CTO specific systems and support / coordinate cyber security activities requirements of other DS ServiceNow applications.

Solutions architect – ServiceNow – platform and development experience – provide analysis and informed recommendations on ServiceNow proposed solutions for new applications or development and modifications or enhancements to existing DS ServiceNow applications/systems.

Standards/Regulations

All applications and software prepared under this order must be adhere to Section 508 Compliance regulations:

Section 508 - The Contractor shall build accessibility and 508 compliance into their product. A member of each team shall be trained and assigned responsibility for designing-in and testing Section 508 compliance. In addition, at least one individual on the Contractor’s staff shall be accredited as a Section 508 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Trusted Tester to support the development of compliant user interfaces.

The designated individual must be properly vetted and certified as a DHS Trusted Tester by the start date of the contract. The Contractor shall adopt evolving DS design and coding standards during their application development.

The Contractor shall ensure that all work is completed in accordance with US Government and DOS standards, policies, procedures and guidelines as provided.

5 FAM 100 Information Technology Management 12 FAM 500 Information Security 12 FAM 600 Information Security Technology 5 FAH-5 Information Technology Systems Handbook 5 FAH-11 Information Assurance Handbook DS CTO Policies and Procedures (these are FAM implementation procedures tailored to

CTO needs and approved and managed through the DS/CTO Process Management Group

– available after award)

Specific Product

AccessDS application: Provided new development support for selected work areas on a To BE Determined (TBD) basis with expectation that one instance will be needed in 2026 for AccessDS modification/upgrade.

3.3 OFFICE OF POLICY AND PLANNING (PPD)

The Bureau of Diplomatic Security Office of Policy and Planning (DS/MGT/PPD) requires technical support services for the continued support of enterprise-wide systems, as well as new development activities and other technical solutions to business process problems. This section identifies services the Contractor will provide to DS/MGT/PPD organization.

The primary existing system managed by DS/MGT/PPD, including the myPPD platform, are based in ServiceNow. Other existing technical solutions may be based in Sharepoint, Microsoft Dynamics, or other Microsoft Office Suite products. Many modules of the existing myPPD system capture complex calculations and display requirements, whilst other modules function as a form-and-list-based repository. The systems are internal to the Department of State and are not public facing.

For all modules under DS/PPD, the following requirements apply:

Defect Management

If a released product contains defects to include functional departures from the mock-up; spelling errors; functional errors such as text not fitting in a box, broken links, or buttons; core industry best practice deviations such as not alphabetizing lists or not following Federal Disability requirements; the contractor will remedy the defects at their own cost, and without impacting the pace of ongoing development efforts.

Change Management If a released product contains defects due to the Government’s mock-up or instructions being incorrect, or due to providing irreconcilably unclear instructions, or if the Government produces new requirements…