Q and A Matrix_1.26.21.pdf

M67854-20-R-7829 Attachment 6 – Solicitation Question and Answer Matrix dated 01/26/2021

RFP Document

(i.e., Attachment J1, Attachment J2…, RFP, etc.)

Page/Section/

Paragraph/etc.

Relevant Text Question Government Answers

1 RFP Page 1 RFP due on 2 Feb

Would the Government consider a 2 weeks extension? The timeframe is not enough to prepare a proposal and get the PPQ’s returned in this timeframe.

The Government release the DRAFT

ECS MATOC RFP and PWS on 21

October 2020, while also issuing multiple amendments based on industry questions and issued the RFP on 15

January 2021, which captured any minor revisions from the DRAFT RFP package. As a result, the Government believes industry has had sufficient time to review the requirements and a proposal submission extension of two weeks will not be granted. However, the Government has granted an extension date of 05 February 2021.

2 RFP General NA

Would the Government please consider providing any incumbent information on who provided this work previously?

This ECS MATOC is a new requirement.

3 RFP Page 97

Offerors shall provide three (3) paper copies of the information identified above in Section A.2.A, and separately bind each copy in three-ring binders. In addition, Offerors shall provide one (1) electronic copy

(e-copy) of the aforementioned information on a CD ROM. E-copies

(i.e., CD ROM) shall be submitted in

Adobe Acrobat, Portable Document

Format (PDF). Individual sections per hard copy volume should be tabbed, removable and replaceable.

Offerors shall designate one paper copy as the “original” and should also be identified as the “official” proposal, should a conflict arise between the paper and electronic submissions.

Would the Government please consider electronic submission instead of e copies via CD ROM for this requirement submitted via email or other electronic means?

Please reference Section A.2.B.7 of the

RFP. The Government will not accept

Email or facsimile submission.

4 PWS Page 97 / Section B.5 “All lines of text shall be consecutively numbered”

The Templates provided by the

Government do not currently have the lines of text enumerated. Should the PDF templates be converted to

Word for enumeration of lines of text?

Please note the attachments are restrictive and contain the following guidance, “Offerors are not to change the spatial structure of this form, i.e., borders, block size, etc.” The provided attachments are not to be altered and the “All line of text…” requirement is not applicable to the attachments.

5 PWS

Page 93 / Paragraph

A.2.2.C “Facility Code”

In paragraph A.2.2.c, the government asks for the Offeror’s facility code. In paragraph A.2.2.d, the government asks for the

Offeror’s CAGE code. As a

Contractor’s CAGE code is usually used as its facility code, what is the difference between paragraphs

A.2.2.c and A.2.2.d and what code is expected to be used for paragraph

A.2.2.c?

Facility codes may be applicable in instances where a company has one cage code but also have multiple business segments under that CAGE code. The individual business segments may be identified as a unique business unit code under the CAGE code.

6 1449 1 Block 5 Solicitation Number

M6785420R7829

Section

B. Proposal Submission

Instructions: Para #7 page 98 states

“REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS –

SOLICITATION M67854-21-R-

8001” Can the Government please deconflict the 1449 Solicitation number VS. the Section B RFP number please.

M67854-20-R-7829 is the solicitation number. An amendment will be issued to correct numbering.

RFP document

General Instructions

General Instructions

A.1 General

Instructions Page 92

Para # 6.

Questions about the solicitation are due by noon Orlando, FL local time, TBD, 2020

Is there a new date for questions to be asked date and Time?

Questions Due January 28, 2021. An

Amendment will be issued to include the date.

RFP and Attachment

Page 97#3 and #4 and Attachment 4

3. Offerors are limited to a total of

10 pages for A.2.A.9 (Organizational

Experience) and are limited to a total of 20 pages for A.2.A.10 (Past

Performance).

4. The definition of a page is a single side of paper with text, drawings, data, or similar content. Pages shall be 8.5 by 11 inches in size; no foldouts will be accepted. The text margins shall be no less than one inch. Text font shall be in Times

New Roman or Arial Narrow, no smaller than 11 point. Font for tables, figures, embedded graphics (tables and illustrations) and other graphics shall be no smaller than 8 point

Times New Roman or Arial Narrow.

The Government has provided a

Word table that expands when data is input. The direction under #3 state A.2.A.9 Organization

Experience is limited to 10 pages.

#4 states Test font no smaller than

11 point and tables and graphics no smaller than 8 point. However the instructions in Attachment 4 state no text smaller than 12 point.

Also does the Government required information page for each of the 5 topics count against the 10 pages? If so this reduces the content to only five pages or less because of the required block at the bottom of the last page for Government comments.

Also if your narrative is two pages as an example then that would require the final page noted for

Government comments a full blank page would that then be counted against the page count of 10? Please provide guidance for this section.

The Attachment 4 word documents have been replaced with restrictive

PDF fillable documents, upon issuance of Amendment 01 on 19 Jan 2021.

Please adhere to the specific guidance found within each attachment. Please adhere to the specific guidance found within each attachments.

Increase Page Count of Technical

Submission to 20 Pages.

9 RFP 95, A.2.A.9.4

Organizational Experience #4:

Capability Maturity Model

Integration (CMMI)

The Offeror shall complete

Attachment 4, and provide documentation supporting a CMMI assessment of level 2 or greater. If the Offeror has CMMI level 2 assessment the Offeror shall provide a plan with appropriate schedule to achieve a minimum CMMI Level 3 assessment. An Offeror must meet this requirement, and cannot rely on a CMMI assessment provided to any other entity

Earlier drafts of the RFP stated that the offeror had to have CMMI level

2 certification or “provide a plan with appropriate schedule to achieve a minimum CMMI Level 3 assessment”. The final requirement is quite different, and requires an offeror to already possess some level of CMMI. This rewording eliminates many small business offerors and a CMMI level 2 certification is not meaningful for executing the ECS contract and does not really provide a significant advantage towards achieving CMMI level 3. Request the Government reconsider the requirement and reinstate it as earlier written.

The Government will not reconsider.

ECS RFP Organizational Experience

#4: Capability Maturity Model

Integration (CMMI) requirement was revised for clarity and to align with

ECS MATOC requirements. This revision was included in the RFP daft release updated dated 11/24/2021.

ECS PWS includes requirements for the performance of software engineering (PWS Paragraph 3.1.17).

Based on past software engineering requirements for USMC training systems, we do not believe that it is appropriate that the Government lower the CMMI requirements.

RFP

Attachment 4

RFP A.2.B.3 page 97

Attachment 4 All pages

RFP - Offerors are limited to a total of 10 pages for A.2.A.9

(Organizational Experience)

Attachment 4 for providing

Organizational Experience is 20 pages long, and states offerors shall not change the spatial structure.

A.2.B.3 states that offerors are limited to a total of 10 pages for

Organizational Experiences. Please clarify the page limit for the

Organizational Experience.

Increase Page Count of Technical

Submission to 20 Pages.

11 RFP RFP A.2.B.5, page 97

5. The Offeror shall use a standard page numbering system. All lines of text shall be consecutively numbered.

The instruction in A.2.B.5, page 97 states that all lines of text should be numbered, and does not specify a proposal document. As written, it applies to the entire submission including letters, certifications, Past

Performance, and the

Organizational Experience (which belongs in a template without numbered lines). Additionally, Microsoft Word does not offer functionality to number lines within tables, which is the bulk of the text input being provided. Would the

Government consider changing this requirement to a standard page numbering scheme which consecutively numbers pages? Or, if this requirement is misunderstood, please clarify.

Please note the attachments are restrictive and contain the following guidance, “Offerors are not to change the spatial structure of this form, i.e., borders, block size, etc.” The provided attachments are not to be altered and the “All line of text…” requirement is not applicable to the attachments. The

Government is not requesting that the

Offeror should provide a solution to the limited Microsoft Word functionality with regard to numbering systems. The

Government understands the limitation of Microsoft Word or other word processing software.

12 RFP RFP A.2.B.1

1. Offerors shall provide three (3) paper copies of the information identified above in Section A.2.A, and separately bind each copy in three-ring binders. In addition, Offerors shall provide one (1) electronic copy

(e-copy) of the aforementioned information on a CD ROM. E-copies

(i.e., CD ROM) shall be submitted in

Adobe Acrobat, Portable Document

Format (PDF). Individual sections per hard copy volume should be tabbed, removable and replaceable.

Offerors shall designate one paper copy as the “original” and should also be identified as the “official”

Due to COVID concerns with in-person coordination required in order to print, collate, and prepare a printed proposal, will the

Government consider allowing a

SAFE submission? Especially considering that some contractors have already submitted a digital-only version of Past Performance, and it has been requested not to re-submit previously submitted information.

No, the Government has provided clear guidance on proposal submission and

SAFE submission will not be accepted.

Please reference A.2.B.7 proposal, should a conflict arise between the paper and electronic

13 RFP Page 92/ Item #6

Questions about the solicitation are due by noon Orlando, FL local time, TBD, 2020 with the information below identified clearly. Questions shall be submitted via email to alvaro.l.pineda@usmc.mil.

Telephone inquiries will not be accepted nor addressed. Please be advised that the Government has the absolute discretion to answer any question that it receives, and the

Government is not obligated to answer any question. Moreover, the

Government does not intend to respond to questions which the

Government believes contain proprietary information or which would require the disclosure of proprietary information.

The due date for questions is not provided. When are RFP questions due?

Due date updated to 01/28/21, 12 p.m.

EST

14 RFP

Block 8 or page 1 of the solicitation.

OFFER DUE DATE/LOCAL

TIME12:00 PM 02 Feb 2021

Can the proposal due date be extended 2 weeks to 16 Feb 2021?

The Government release the DRAFT

ECS MATOC RFP and PWS on 21

October 2020, while also issuing multiple amendments based on industry questions and issued the RFP on 15

January 2021, which captured any minor revisions from the DRAFT RFP package. As a result, the Government believes industry has had sufficient time to review the requirements and a proposal submission extension of two weeks will not be granted. However, the Government has granted an extension date of 05 February 2021.

15 RFP

Page 96, section, item c.

Forward a copy of the Past

Performance Questionnaire (PPQ)

(Attachment 5) attached to this RFP to the past performance contract customer’s Contracting Officer’s

Representative (COR) for any past performance example under

Should the CPARS Reports be included in the past performance proposal?

If available, the Government will utilize the completed CPARS in lieu of a completed PPQ. Yes, the CPAR Report shall be included in the past performance proposal.

paragraph a. that does not have a completed CPARS Report. If available, the Government will utilize the completed CPARS in lieu of a completed PPQ.

16 RFP

Page 96, section, item c.

Forward a copy of the Past

Performance Questionnaire (PPQ)

(Attachment 5) attached to this RFP to the past performance contract customer’s Contracting Officer’s

Representative (COR) for any past performance example under paragraph a. that does not have a completed CPARS Report. If available, the Government will utilize the completed CPARS in lieu of a completed PPQ.

If CPARS reports should be included in the past performance proposal, do the CPARS reports count against the 20 page limit for past performance?

If CPARS reports are include with the past performance proposal, they will not count against the 20 page limit.

17 RFP

Page 97, Item #1 under B. Proposal

Submission

Instructions

Offerors shall provide three (3) paper copies of the information identified above in Section A.2.A, and separately bind each copy in three-ring binders. In addition, Offerors shall provide one (1) electronic copy

(e-copy) of the aforementioned information on a CD ROM. E-copies

(i.e., CD ROM) shall be submitted in

Adobe Acrobat, Portable Document

Format (PDF). Individual sections per hard copy volume should be tabbed, removable and replaceable.

Offerors shall designate one paper copy as the “original” and should also be identified as the “official” proposal, should a conflict arise

Will the government consider electronic proposal submission via email instead of hard copy mail/hand delivered proposals?

No, the Government has provided clear guidance on proposal submission and electronic submission will not be accepted.

18 RFP

Page 97, item #5 under B. Proposal

Instructions

5. The Offeror shall use a standard page numbering system. All lines of

Does this mean all lines in the Past

Performance and Organizational

Experience proposals need to consecutively numbered?

Yes, except for Attachments 4 and 7.

text shall be consecutively numbered.

19 RFP Page 97, Para.B.3

There is no page limitation for the submissions associated with paragraphs A.2.A.1 through A.2.A.8.

Offerors are limited to a total of 10 pages for A.2.A.9 (Organizational

Experience) and are limited to a total of 20 pages for A.2.A.10 (Past

Performance).

Does the Government expect submittal of three (3) separate volumes for 1)the information associated with paragraphs A.2.A.1 through A.2.A.8, 2) Organizational

Experience and 3) Past Performance or one proposal volume broken into these three (3) sections? If

Volumes, what title does the

Government expect for Volume I?

The Government expects the Offeror to provide three (3) paper copies of the information identified above in Section

A.2.A

Please reference Section A2.B.1 for specific proposal submission instructions.

The Government is not dictating a specific name for Volume I.

20 RFP

Page 94, Para

A.2.A.4

As such, Offerors shall submit a copy of the confirmation of receipt notification (e-mail) for verification of successful submission of VETS

4212 report. If a Contractor, for any reason, cannot produce a confirmation notification, then they may contact the VETS-4212 Service

Center to request a verification search to be performed.

If the Offeror is a new entity proposed as a joint venture, this confirmation will not be available.

Will it be considered acceptable, to simply provide a statement to that effect?

Email confirmation is the only acceptable method for this requirement.

21 RFP 95, A.2.A.9.4

Organizational Experience #4:

Capability Maturity Model

Integration (CMMI)

The Offeror shall complete

Attachment 4, and provide documentation supporting a CMMI assessment of level 2 or greater. If the Offeror has CMMI level 2 assessment the Offeror shall provide a plan with appropriate schedule to achieve a minimum CMMI Level 3 assessment. An Offeror must meet this requirement, and cannot rely on a CMMI assessment provided to any other entity

Earlier drafts of the RFP stated the offeror had to have CMMI level 2 certification or “provide a plan with appropriate schedule to achieve a minimum CMMI Level 3 assessment”. The final requirement is different, and now requires the offeror to already possess some level of CMMI. This rewording eliminates many small businesses and the teams that have formed.

Also the CMMI level 2 certification is not meaningful for executing the

ECS contract and does not provide a significant advantage towards achieving CMMI level 3. Request the Government reconsider the requirement and reinstate it as earlier written.

No, the Government will not revise.

ECS RFP Organizational Experience

#4: Capability Maturity Model

Integration (CMMI) requirement was revised for clarity and to align with

ECS MATOC requirements. This revision was included in the RFP daft release updated dated 11/24/2021.

ECS PWS includes requirements for the performance of software engineering (PWS Paragraph 3.1.17).

Based on past software engineering requirements for USMC training systems, we do not feel that it is appropriate that the Government lower the CMMI requirements.

22 RFP

91 of 103/Section J/

List of Attachments Attachment 2 CDRLs

Row 2 lists all the CDRLs A0001-

A016 but does not list A017 although it is part of the released

That is correct; CDRL A017 was omitted from the attached CDRLs list.

documents. Is this a required

CDRL?

An amendment will be issued to add this CDRL to the list.

Please note, the list of CDRL are anticipated CDRLs and are not part of the MATOC requirement. Actual required TO CDRLs will be defined at the TO level.

23 RFP

28 of 103/Clauses

Incorporated by

Reference

Clauses Incorporated by Reference

What NIST SP 800-171 assessment level is required for the RFP award in accordance with DFAR 252.204-

7019 and 252.204-7020, due to the

CUI anticipated by this award?

Please note, the use of the provision at

DFARS 252.204-7019, Notice of NIST

SP 800-171 DoD Assessment

Requirements, is required in all solicitations, including solicitations using FAR part 12 procedures for the acquisition of commercial items, except for solicitations solely for the acquisition of commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) items. There is no specific NIST SP 800-171 requirement at the ECS MATOC level.

The use of DFARS 252.204-7020, NIST SP 800-171 DoD Assessment

Requirements, is required in all solicitations and contracts, task orders, or delivery orders, including those using FAR part 12 procedures for the acquisition of commercial items, except for those that are solely for the acquisition of COTS items.

There is no specific NIST SP 800-171 requirement at the ECS MATOC level.

24 CDRL A005 1/BLK 2 and 16 Engineering Change Proposal

Title refers to Engineering Change

Proposal but in 16 Blk 12-13 item references Cyber Incident Report for content. Is this correct?

This was an error that will be revised in the amended RFP.

Please note, the list of CDRL are anticipated CDRLs and are not part of the MATOC requirement. Actual required TO CDRLs will be defined at the TO level.

25 RFP

95/Section

A2A9/Organization

Experience

Organization Experience

Will the Government confirm offerors are to only use Attachment

4 to complete the Organizational

Experience requirement?

Yes

26 RFP

95/Section

A2A9/Organization

Experience

Organization Experience

If Offerors are to use Attachment 4, offerors will have to alter the structure of the document to include line numbering as this was provided as a pdf only.

Please note the attachments are restrictive and contain the following guidance, “Offerors are not to change the spatial structure of this form, i.e., borders, block size, etc.” The provided attachments are not to be altered and the “All line of text…” requirement is not applicable to the attachments.

27 RFP

97/Section

A2B4/Proposal

Submission

Instructions

Proposal Submission Instructions

Attachment 4 states offerors shall use a font no smaller than 12 pt, however the RFP states text shall be no smaller than 11 point. Please clarify.

Please note the attachments are restrictive and contain the following guidance, “Offerors are not to change the spatial structure of this form, i.e., borders, block size, etc.” The provided attachments are not to be altered and the “All line of text…” requirement is not applicable to the attachments.”

28 RFP

95/Section

A2A9/Organization

Experience

Past Performance

The Past Performance (Attachment

8, submitted early), and the

Organizational Experience

(Attachment 4) information could be the same information if a single contract contained all of the experience requirements as listed in section A2A9. Is the Government anticipating the possibility of the same information in both

Attachments?

The Government is anticipating that each Offeror will make their business decision on how to prepare their proposal based on the ECS MATOC

RFP requirements. The Government will not influence one approach over another.

29 RFP

95/Section

A2A9/Organization

Experience

Past Performance

Please clarify, if offeror submitted

Past Performance early, the

Government does not intend for offeror to resubmit their past performance information.

Please note General Information, Section #20.: If early Past Performance was submitted during the Pre-

Solicitation Phase, the Government requests that the industry partner not resubmit previously submitted Past

Performance again with the FINAL

RFP and confirm the early Past

Performance submission is still valid.

Contractor format of confirmation is acceptable and will not count against the total page limitation of the proposal submission.

30 RFP

97/Section

A2B4/Proposal Proposal Submission Instructions

With the COVID-19 restrictions, will the Government consider

No, the Government has provided clear guidance on proposal submission

Instructions allowing industry to submit electronic as done with the early submission?

and electronic submission will not be

31 Question & Answers

Question 57, 58, 70, 71 states there is additional guidance to be provided in the final RFP. The final

RFP does not contain info on early submission. Can the government clarify if industry submitted past performance information early, does the government want industry to resubmit a completed package?

Please note General Information, Section #20.: If early Past Performance was submitted during the Pre-

Solicitation Phase, the Government requests that the industry partner not resubmit previously submitted Past

Performance again with the FINAL

RFP and confirm the early Past

Performance submission is still valid.

Contractor format of confirmation is acceptable and will not count against the total page limitation of the proposal submission.

32 RFP 98/Section A2B7 Proposal Submission Instructions

Item 7 states to mark boxes with

“REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS –

SOLICITATION M67854-21-R-

8001” however the Final RFP

Solicitation number is M67854-20-

R-7829. Please clarify.

Language will be updated to reflect

M6785420R7829 in an amendment.

M678520R7829+RF

P.pdf Page 97/ Section B.1

Offerors shall provide three (3) paper copies of the information identified above in Section A.2.A, and separately bind each copy in three-ring binders. In addition, Offerors shall provide one (1) electronic copy

(e-copy) of the aforementioned information on a CD ROM. E-copies

(i.e., CD ROM) shall be submitted in

Adobe Acrobat, Portable Document

Format (PDF). Individual sections per hard copy volume should be tabbed, removable and replaceable.

Offerors shall designate one paper copy as the “original” and should also be identified as the “official” proposal, should a conflict arise

Due to the Global Pandemic, does the Government still require hard copy delivery? Would email submission be acceptable?

No, the Government has provided clear guidance on proposal submission and

Attachment+ 7+

Past+ Performance+

Proposal

Will the government be providing attachment 7 as a Word document?

Attachment #7 is provided in a fillable

PDF format. The attachment title is mislabeled attachment 8 and the table within the RFP identifies it as 1 page when it is actually 17 pages. An

Amendment will be issues to correct this error.

Attachment+ 4+

Organizational+

Experience+

Information+ Sheet

Will the government be providing attachment 4 as a Word document?

No, Attachment 4 has been revised as of the release of Amendment 01. The document has been converted into a fillable PDF document.

36 RFP 97/B.1

Offerors shall provide three (3) paper copies of the information identified above in Section A.2.A, and separately bind each copy in three-ring binders.

In response to a question on the

Draft RFP the Government stated

“The Government is considering electronic submission due to

COVID-19. Updates will be provided in the final solicitation.”

The final RFP still requires hard copy mailed or hand delivered proposals. Will the Government please reconsider and allow electronic submission via email?

No, the Government has provided clear guidance on proposal submission and

37 RFP 98/B.8

“For hand delivery, the following additional instructions apply:“

If proposals must behand delivered or mailed, will he Government please consider moving the time offers are due to later in the afternoon, like 3 pm, vice 12 am to allow ample time for delivery?

Unfortunately, the Government will not change submission time.

38 RFP Page 95 Section 10

“Offerors will be required to identify three (3) contract efforts of recent and relevant past performance that demonstrates the Offeror’s ability to successfully perform in accordance with the PWS.”

If we want to highlight the performance from 2 different opportunities for the same

‘Question’, should we submit separate Attachment 8 Volumes for each reference or is this practice discouraged?

Please note Section A.2.A10 a.

Offerors will be required to identify three (3) contract efforts of recent and relevant past performance that demonstrates the Offeror’s ability to successfully perform in accordance with the PWS. Attachment 7 Past

Performance Proposal_Past

Performance References, may be used, in any combination of Software

Development, Post Deployment

Software Support, Cybersecurity

Efforts, Capability Maturity Model

Integration (CMMI), and

Geographically Dispersed Contract

Performance, to support three contract efforts of recent and relevant past performance. The Government will not influence Offeror proposal submission business decisions.

Attachment+ 7+

Past+ Performance+

Proposal

Heading Heading

The heading for Attachment+ 7+

Past+ Performance+ Proposal says

Attachment 8 instead of Attachment

7. Will the Government be changing the heading in the attachment or the name of the attachment file?

Attachment #7 is provided in a fillable

PDF format. The attachment title is mislabeled attachment 8 and the table within the RFP identifies it as 1 page when it is actually 17 pages. An

Amendment will be issues to correct this error.