JPES JA - Redacted.pdf

Joint Planning and Execution Services (JPES) Technical Writer

CUI

JUSTIFICATION & APPROVAL (J&A) FOR FEDERAL ACQUISITION

REGULATION (FAR) SUBPART 16.5 ACQUISITIONS

EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY

Multiple Award Schedule/Multiple Award Contract (MAC)

Orders under MAC/ Fair Opportunity – FAR 16.505(b), Department of Defense FAR Supplement 216.505(b), Procedures, Guidance, and Information 216.505(b)

MIPR / Purchase Request Number: HC1085450347 Contract Number: HC104719D2024 Order Number: HC104721F2082 Procurement Title: Joint Planning and Execution Services (JPES) Technical Writer Estimated Value:

Statutory and Regulatory Authority: 10 U.S.C. 3204(a) and FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(C).

Exception to Fair Opportunity Number: N/A

Upon the basis of the following justification, I, as the Contracting Officer, hereby approve this exception to fair opportunity pursuant to the authority of FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(C). The agency requires a sole source for this service in the interest of economy and efficiency because it is a logical follow-on to an order already issued under the contract.

1. REQUIRING AGENCY AND CONTRACTING ACTIVITY: FAR 16.505(b)(2)(ii)(B)(1))

Requiring Agency:

Joint Command & Control (JC2), Services Directorate 4 (SD4)

Contracting Activity:

DISA/Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization, Procurement Services Directorate

2. NATURE/DESCRIPTION OF ACTION(S): (FAR 16.505(b)(2)(ii)(B)(2)).

This will be a new contract modification to the Global Command and Control System - Joint (GCCS-J) Strategic Engineering and Technical Support (HC104719D2024/HC104721F2082) contract/order. The type of order is Firm Fixed Price, and Fiscal Year ‘24 Operations & Maintenance funding will be utilized in the estimated amount of .

3. DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES: (FAR 16.505(b)(2)(ii)(B)(3)).

The JPES Program Management Office (PMO) provides information technology capabilities in support of the Department of Defense’s JC2 mission to plan and execute military operations and exercises world-wide. This includes the capability to develop, refine, and maintain time-phased force deployment data, enable the identification and management of force requirements, and track the sourcing of those force requirements in accordance with global force management and joint planning processes.

The JPES PMO currently manages the following legacy systems: Joint Operation Planning and Execution System (JOPES) and Joint Capabilities Requirements Manager (JCRM). The legacy systems architectures are aging and require increasingly expensive sustainment efforts thus the reason for modernization to a net-centric, service-oriented architecture. JOPES is the joint system used to monitor, plan, and execute mobilization, deployment, employment, and sustainment activities associated with joint operations and exercises. JCRM is the joint system used to identify force requirements in support of the Global Force Management allocation process.

The contractor shall work with JPES PMO members to prepare instruction manuals, convert complex technical documentation to language suitable for multiple audiences, prepare documentation in support of the PMO engineering team, and produce technical documentation in support of various DISA and Department of Defense requirements to include, compliance documentation for agency governance boards and panels, updates to Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Manuals in support of the JC2 mission, engineering documents and diagrams, acquisition strategy, lifecycle, and oversight documents, and other technical documentation as may be required.

4. SUPPORTING RATIONALE, INCLUDING A DEMONSTRATION THAT THE

PROPOSED CONTRACTOR’S UNIQUE QUALIFICATIONS OR THE NATURE OF THE

ACQUISITION REQUIRES USE OF AN EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY: (FAR

16.505(b)(2)(ii)(B)(4)).

(a) Exception to Fair Opportunity. The following exceptions apply to exception to fair opportunity accomplished in accordance with 16.505.

(1) The agency need is for a sole source order for this service in the interest of economy and efficiency as a logical follow-on to an order already issued under this contract.

(b) Justification.

(1) Description of the Justification and discussion regarding cause of the sole source situation.

The JPES PMO is requesting that the GCCS-J PMO add two (2) technical writers to the Strategic Engineering and Technical Support contract/order to support an emerging need in the JPES PMO for this service as a modification to the existing contract. There is a backlog of documentation that requires support for completion to support various DISA governance boards and acquisition lifecycle requirements. The technical writers will also engage with external stakeholders such as the Joint Interoperability Test Command and Director, Operational Test and Evaluation to extrapolate system requirements and create the documents that define and direct JPES PMO activities. The DISA Director recognizes this need and has directed that the PMO pursue this support as soon as possible. The JPES PMO system and support contracts do not include technical writer support so in the interest of economy and efficiency have turned to the GCCS-J PMO to leverage their Strategic Engineering and Technical Support contract as it provides this technical support and constitutes a logical follow to attain these services for the time requested.

(2) Minimum Government requirements.

The minimum requirement for the government is two (2) full time equivalents, Labor Category:

Subject Matter Expert – Senior, for 400 labor hours.

(3) Proposed sole source contractor and demonstration of unique source.

BluestoneLogic and the Global Command and Control System - Joint (GCCS-J) Strategic Engineering and Technical Support contract is the most efficient and economic option to satisfy the JPES technical writer requirement. The Strategic Engineering and Technical Support contract is in execution and can be modified to include this service. No other contract within the JPES PMO provides this service and the time and effort it would take to execute a new contract for this service would exceed the timeframe in which this service is required.

(4) Procurement discussion.

a) The primary constraint for this procurement is schedule. Due to the multiple contracting actions the PMO is facing throughout calendar year ‘25 and the corresponding oversight, the PMO is unable to accomplish its technical writing and governance requirements. Timely award is essential for the JPES PMO is satisfy its requirements relating to this effort.

b) This requirement is not for a bridge contract. This requirement involves adding scope to the Global Command and Control System - Joint (GCCS-J) Strategic Engineering and Technical Support contract/order, to include Technical Writer support to the JPES PMO.

c) This service has not been previously acquired. The JPES PMO has awarded contracts HC104720D2045 and HC102818D0026, neither of which includes direct strategic engineering and technical support to the JPES PMO. The Technical Writer requirement is out of scope all existing JPES contracts/TOs.

(5) Impact.

If the technical documentation is not completed according to the accelerated schedule, additional delays, costs, and operational risk to military forces will be incurred. Specifically, delays in completing the requisite documentation would cause a “waterfall effect”, whereby contract actions and task order awards would be delayed. This would cause additional schedule delays in sunsetting the legacy JOPES system that will affect system performance due to the continued use of legacy software that have reached end-of life and have been technologically superseded.

5. COST/PRICE FAIR AND REASONABLE DETERMINATION: (FAR

16.505(b)(2)(ii)(B)(5)).

The Contracting Officer has made a fair and reasonable price determination by utilizing one or more of the procedures found in FAR 15.404-1. Additionally, the Government has already determined that the hourly rates for the fixed priced services offered under HC104719D2024 / HC104721F2082 were fair and reasonable at time of award. The contractor’s proposal for this additional level of effort will be consistent with the existing labor categories and rates previously negotiated and incorporated into the contract; the PMO Technical Evaluator will analyze labor skill mix and number of hours for technical acceptability and the Contracting Officer will analyze the proposed rates against the existing IDIQ rates to determine technical acceptability and price reasonableness. The results of the price and technical evaluations will be used to substantiate the Government’s determination of a fair and reasonable price and best value determination.

6. MARKET RESEARCH:

Based on current market research, dated August 12, 2024, it has been determined that only the Technical Writer services provided by BluestoneLogic, can fully meet the Government’s need.

At this time, given the immediate need for this, no other services offerings can meet the Government’s requirement. The Government will continue to evaluate its requirement and will continue to conduct market research if the urgency for these services decreases or subsides.

Market research was conducted in preparation for exercising Option Year 2 of HC104721F2082.

At the time, market research indicated that the Option Year was the most advantageous method in fulfilling the Government’s needs, considering pricing and continuity of services. The analysis provided support that the pricing accepted under the original order is competitive and fair.

Current market conditions have not changed significantly enough to impact prior market research findings and recommendations.

7. ANY OTHER SUPPORTING FACTS: The Government effort to update critical acquisition documentation is support of product lifecycle management and acquisition strategy, and critical technical documentation that breaks down the JPES system into understandable and operable terminology for system users, operational support managers, operational assessment teams, and joint operations planners, is in jeopardy of falling behind system implementation and deployment. This has the potential to decrease the readiness of the JPES system to support global contingency operations and cause a ripple effect across the entire Joint Planning and Execution Community’s effort to update their process and documentation to align with the modernized JPES system.

8. ACTIONS THE AGENCY MAY TAKE TO REMOVE OR OVERCOME BARRIERS

THAT LED TO THE EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY:

(a) JPES Procurement History.

Contract number: HC104720D2045/HC104724F0013 (TO5)

Contract period of performance: 4/20/2024-3/17/2025 Contract value:

Contractor name: Enterprise Resource Planning International (ERP Int’l) Contractor business size: small Method of acquisition: 8(A) Small Business Vehicle (GSA, SETI, Open Market): Open Market

Contract number: HC104720D2045/HC104723F0007 (TO4) Contract period of performance: 12/28/2022-4/19/2024 Contract value:

Contractor name: Enterprise Resource Planning International (ERP Int’l) Contractor business size: small

Contract number: HC104720D2045 / HC104721F2085 (TO3) Contract period of performance: 9/28/2021-12/27/2022 Contract value:

Contractor name: Enterprise Resource Planning International – 8(A) Small Business Contractor business size: small

Contract number: HC104720D2045 / HC104721F0005 Contract period of performance: 28 December 2020 – 27 September Contract value:

Contractor name: Enterprise Resource Planning International – 8A Small Business Contractor business size: Small Business

Vehicle Open Market

Contract number: HC104720D2045 / HC104720F0110 Contract period of performance: 25 September 2020 – 27 December Contract value:

Contractor name: Enterprise Resource Planning International – 8A Small Business Contractor business size: Small Business

Vehicle Open Market

(b) This procurement action is unique and required due to the timing of development delays, multiple simultaneous administrative requirements, and limited KSAs across the JPES PMO. Future exceptions are not anticipated. The PMO is working to train and hire to satisfy this requirement without contracted support in the future.

(c) There was no prior award for this effort.