RFP - Actuarial Services rev3 1-17-12.doc

Supplies or Services and Prices/Costs

NOTE: In sealed bid solicitations “offer” and “offeror” mean “bid” and “bidder”.

SOLICITATION

9.

Sealed offers in original and 7 copies for furnishing the supplies or services in the Schedule will be received at the place specified in Item 8, or if handcarried, in the depository located in See Sec L (Proposal due date: February 20, 2012, 12:00 pm EST).

CAUTION – LATE Submissions, Modifications, and Withdrawals: See Section L, Provision No. 52.214-7 or 52.215-1. All offers are subject to all terms and conditions contained in this solicitation.

11. TABLE OF CONTENTS

OFFER (Must be fully completed by offeror)

NOTE: Item 12 does not apply if the solicitation includes the provisions at 52.214-16, Minimum Bid Acceptance Period.

12.

In compliance with the above, the undersigned agrees, if this offer is accepted within _______________ calendar days (60 calendar days unless a different period is inserted by the offeror) from the data for receipt of offers specified above, to furnish any or all items upon which prices are offered at the price set opposite each item, delivered at the designated point(s), within the time specified in the schedule.

13.

Discount for Prompt Payment

(See Section I, Clause No. 52.232-8)

14.

Acknowledgment of Amendments

The offeror acknowledges receipt of amendments to the SOLICITATION for offerors and related documents numbered and dated.

15A.

Name

Code

Facility

16.

Name and Title of Person Authorized to Sign Offer (Type or print) and

Address of

Offeror

15B.

Telephone No. (Include area code)

AWARD (To be completed by Government)

Submit Invoices to Address Shown in Item

10 U.S.C. 2304 (c)( )

41 U.S.C. 253 (c)( )

(4 copies unless otherwise specified)

IMPORTANT – Award will be made on this form, or on Standard Form 26, or by other authorized official written notice.

NSN 7540-01-152-8064

PREVIOUS EDITION NOT USABLE

Prescribed by GSA – FAR (48 CFR) 52.214 (c)

B.1. PBGC-11-001 DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES (AT PBGC SITE) (OCT 2004)

The Contractor shall propose unburdened Labor Rates for the personnel necessary to perform the requirement described in Section C, entitled Performance Work Statement.

B.2. A single award IDIQ contract shall be awarded. The contractor shall perform the effort required by this contract as an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) type contract, where Task Orders will be issued by PBGC on a Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF) basis. The work shall be performed in accordance with the Section C, Performance Work Statement, and the basic contract resulting from this RFP No. PBGC01-RP-11.0019. After contract award, task orders may be issued utilizing the contract vehicle. Issued Task Orders will be performance based.

B.3 Method of Pricing Task Orders. The offeror must submit detailed pricing information for use in negotiating task orders under this IDIQ contract. Upon acceptance/negotiation of the price proposal, pricing will be included in the awarded IDIQ contracts and shall be used by the contractor in submitting proposals for specific task orders.

B.4 MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM AMOUNTS

During the contract period of performance (including any options exercised), PBGC shall place orders with the IDIQ contractor totaling a minimum of $100,000 over the life of the contract. The minimum order amount the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) will guarantee the Contractor for the base year is $100,000.

The maximum IDIQ amount (i.e., the maximum ceiling for the IDIQ holder) shall not exceed $15,030,505.00 over the life of the contract. The award of this Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Contract PBGC01-TBD is unfunded.

B.3. PBGC-44-001 Other Direct Costs

Unless otherwise provided in individual task orders, the Contractor shall be reimbursed for the actual cost of other direct costs determined to be allowable in accordance with Part 31 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation and authorized by the Contracting Officer or his designee prior to the contractor incurring the charge. If Travel and Per Diem are authorized they will be reimbursed in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) in effect at the time the travel is authorized by PBGC. All travel requirements must be met using the most economical form of transportation available and must be scheduled sufficiently in advance to take advantage of offered discount rates unless waived by the Contracting Officer. You may find the FTR at http://policyworks.gov/org/main/mt/homepage/mtt/FTR/FTRHP.shtml B.4. PBGC-16-003 Ceiling Price

It is anticipated that the total cost to the Government for performance of this contract shall not exceed the ceiling price set forth in Section B for the Base Year Performance Period, and any Option Periods, and the contractor agrees to use its best efforts to perform the work specified in the schedule and all obligations under this contract within the ceiling price. If at any time the contractor has reason to believe that the hourly rate payments and material costs that will accrue in performing this contract in the succeeding 30 days, if added to all other payments and costs previously accrued, will exceed 85 percent of the ceiling price set forth in this clause, the contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer in writing, giving a revised estimate of the total price to the Government for performing this contract, with supporting reasons and documentation. If, at any time during the performance of this contract, the contractor has reason to believe the total price to the Government for performing this contract will be substantially greater or less than the stated ceiling price the contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer in writing, giving a revised estimate of the total price to the Government for performing this contract, with supporting reasons and documentation. If, at any time during the performance of this contract, the Government has reason to believe the work required in performing this contract will be substantially greater or less than the stated ceiling price, the Contracting Officer will so advise the contractor, giving them the revised estimate of the total amount of effort to be required under this contract. The ceiling price for each contract period is shown in the clause title Price/Cost. The Government shall not be obligated to pay the contractor any amount in excess of the ceiling price, and the contractor will not be obligated to continue performance, if to do so would exceed the ceiling price, unless and until the Contracting Officer notifies the contractor in writing that the ceiling price has been increased and of the new ceiling price of the contract. Once the Contracting Officer increases the ceiling price, any otherwise allowable hours and material costs incurred by the contractor which were in excess of the previous ceiling price before the increase shall be allowable to the same extent as if the hours had been expended or costs incurred after the increase in the ceiling price.

B.5. PRICE/COST

All work performed as direct labor under this contract must be provided with in the specific hours and at the hourly rate established for each labor category herein. The offeror shall propose unburdened labor rates. See Section J, Attachment A, Format for Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee Proposal.

B-6. The base or fixed fee (as applicable) set forth under this contract will be paid in installments at the time of each monthly provisional payment. The amount of each such base or fixed fee installment shall be paid in equal, monthly installments unless otherwise indicated at the task order level.

NOTE: The payment of fixed fee is subject to the withholding provisions of FAR 52.216-8, entitled Fixed Fee. Any balance of fixed fee shall be paid to the contractor at the time specified in FAR 52.216-8.

B-7. Under 41 U.S.C. 254 (b), the fixed fee shall not exceed 10 percent of the estimated cost of the contract, exclusive of the fee.

PRICING SCHEDULE

Item Supplies/Services

Max

Not to Exceed

No.

Qty Unit Unit Price Max Amount

BASE YEAR

The Base Year Period of Performance is from date of award through 12 months dd/mm/12.

Task Orders, Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF) Indefinite Lot

$ (TBD)

$ (TBD)

The Contractor must perform services in accordance with the Performance Work

Statement, Section C. This Contract Line

Item No. (CLIN), will be utilized for Cost

Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF) Task Orders.

The CPFF amount will be identified in each individual task Order.

Other Direct Costs (ODCs)

TBD IN INDIVIDUAL TASK ORDERS

ODCs if required, and may include, but not limited to travel and travel related expenses, hardware and software unique to, and required in performance of task order projects, and necessary supplies in support of the issued task order projects. The ODC amount will be identified in each individual task Order.

(Estimated costs $5,000.00)

OPTION YEAR 1

Not to Exceed Not to Exceed

The Option Year 1 Period of Performance

Unit Unit Price Max Amount is from mm/dd/12 through 12 months 2013.

Task Orders, Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF).

Indefinite Lot

$ (TBD)

Statement, Section C. This CLIN will be utilized for Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF) Task

Orders. The CPFF amount will be identified in each individual task Order.

OPTION YEAR 2

The Option Year 2 Period of Performance

Unit Unit Price Max Amount is from mm/dd/13 through 12 months 2014.

Task Orders, Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF).

Indefinite Lot

$ (TBD)

OPTION YEAR 3

The Option Year 3 Period of Performance

Unit Unit Price Max Amount is from mm/dd/14 through 12 months 2015.

Task Orders, Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF) Indefinite Lot

$ (TBD)

OPTION YEAR 4

The Option Year 4 Period of Performance

Unit Unit Price Max Amount is from mm/dd/15 through 12 months 2016.

Task Orders, Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF) Indefinite Lot

$ (TBD)

Actuarial Expertise and Systems Support

Performance Work Statement

1 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (hereafter referred to as the Corporation /PBGC) was established to develop and administer the pension plan termination program as provided by Title IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974. The mission of the Corporation is to operate as a service-oriented, professionally managed agency that protects participants’ benefits and supports a healthy retirement plan/system by: (i) encouraging the continuation and maintenance of private pension plans, (ii) protecting pension benefits in ongoing plans, (iii) providing timely payments of benefits in terminated pension plans , and (iv) making the maximum use of resources and maintaining premiums and operating costs at the lowest levels consistent with statutory responsibilities. The termination insurance program currently covers roughly 30,000 defined benefit pension plans.

PBGC regularly produces financial statements. On PBGC's balance sheet, the largest liabilities are those for the present value of future benefits (PVFB) for the Single-Employer Program and the present value of nonrecoverable future financial assistance for the Multiemployer Program. The PBGC has computer software and control procedures to calculate, analyze, and report these liabilities and related items for PBGC's financial statements (see http://pbgc.gov for copies of recent Annual and Actuarial Reports). The computer systems are collaboratively managed by BAPD (Benefits Administration and Payment Department) and Office of Information Technology (OIT).

The purpose of this contract is to acquire a combination of actuarial expertise and systems support expertise services:

1. Actuarial Expertise

2. Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Services and Enhancement of Actuarial Expert Systems

3. Actuarial Studies and IPVFB Related Special Projects

4. Modernization Roadmap

5. Development/Modernization

PBGC expects to achieve the services above through an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ), performance-based contract; the length of the contract is one base year with four (4) option years, with the period of performance of 12 months each. At least two Task Orders will be issued each year, one for Actuarial Expertise and one for O&M Services and Enhancement.

The Scope section below provides additional details.

2 SCOPE

The scope of this contract is to acquire a combination of actuarial expertise with systems support expertise to achieve the five items below:

1. Actuarial Expertise - On-site actuarial expertise to sustain business operations in support of the development, operation and evaluation of the Integrated Present Value of Future Benefits (IPVFB) application and related tasks.

2. O&M Services and Enhancement of Actuarial Expert Systems - Steady State / Operations & Maintenance and enhancement to existing Actuarial expert systems that support the development, operation and evaluation of the IPVFB application and related tasks.

3. Actuarial Studies and IPVFB Related Special Projects - Actuarial and/or technical expertise necessary to complete actuarial studies and/or special IPVFB related projects that will enhance the accuracy, reliability, or auditability of the PVFB process, and related efforts. PBGC will issue task orders as necessary.

4. Modernization Roadmap - Based on the outcomes of PBGC’s Architectural Analysis, develop a modernization roadmap. PBGC will issue task orders as necessary.

5. Development/Modernization - Modernize the existing system to improve the ability to maintain the system and keep the system aligned with technological advances, while developing new components, as necessary, to improve the overall actuarial and related business operations of the system. PBGC will issue task orders as necessary.

The contractor will work under the direction of the Chief Valuation Actuary and other key professionals from various areas of PBGC, including professionals from OIT, to achieve the objectives of this contract. PBGC has chosen the use of an IDIQ contract as the vehicle to provide work to the contractor. The contract will result in a Single IDIQ Award to one offeror who will be proposing and competing for the IDIQ Contract Award.

PBGC will generate task orders based upon approved projects. Task orders will be primarily Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF). All projects will be assigned and invoices approved by the Contract Officer’s Technical Representative (COTR). Our overall goal is to:

1. Create a reasonably-priced contract with flexible pricing provisions that will meet the needs of IPVFB and related requirements.

2. Allow for negotiated Task Orders throughout the five (5) year acquisition life cycle of the IDIQ contract that satisfy customer needs without long lead-times.

3. Use Performance-Based contracting techniques for issued task orders that will provide task order metrics to assess contractor performance

The contractor shall perform the necessary services to successfully meet the objectives described in this Performance Work Statement (PWS). The objective of this PWS is to provide the information and standards needed so that the contractor will provide expert advice and support in all areas of the IPVFB system, and provide user enhancements and modernization to the IPVFB system.

This PWS addresses the need for support due to legislative mandates and the demand for infrastructure, security, and architecture changes due to audit findings. This includes any changes that improve the efficiency and power of the application in order to support PBGC in fulfilling its mission and corporate and strategic goals.

The Contractor shall provide highly qualified professional expertise to the Corporation in accordance with all terms of this contract. All communications between the Contractor and the Corporation shall be with the Contractor's personnel in the Washington Office unless PBGC grants prior permission to do otherwise.

The contractor shall ensure a separation of duties between operations/production staff, and development staff. Personnel designated to perform development tasks shall not be granted operational access to the production environment. A separation of duties policy between development and operations is being monitored and enforced by PBGC.

We expect to issue two (2) critical task orders immediately after this contract is awarded.

1. Actuarial Expertise

2. O&M Services and Enhancement of Actuarial Expert Systems PBGC currently calculates the Present Value of Future Benefits (PVFB) each fiscal year as of four dates: December 31, March 31, June 30, and September 30. The September 30 valuation is the most important of the four, because it is the fiscal year-end valuation. The December 31 valuation is not as extensive as the other valuations. PBGC conducts all valuations under strict and often demanding schedules (including weekends) which PBGC must meet. The calculation of the PVFB includes the use of actuarial knowledge, PBGC’s IPVFB application and any other information and data required to properly calculate the PVFB. The contractor shall provide actuarial expertise as needed in support of the Operations and Maintenance as required.

2.1 Actuarial Expertise

The contractor shall provide onsite support to facilitate the completion of the PVFB valuation process in a timely and successful manner. Examples of such support are:

a. correcting unforeseen IPVFB system problems that impede the timely completion of the PVFB process;

b. checking and resolving anomalous results given by the IPVFB system;

c. giving expert advice regarding IPVFB operational problems as they occur;

d. providing any approved support necessary to complete the PVFB process in timely manner;

e. providing regular progress reports (both oral and written) to management, weekly or as required.

2.2 O&M Services and Enhancement of Actuarial Expert Systems

For over 15 years PBGC has used an application called IPVFB to calculate the present value of future benefits (PVFB). The IPVFB system values eligible pension plans using seriatim (individual participant) data from the PBGC payment database. PBGC values the remaining pension plans at the pension plan level using a non-seriatim database maintained by actuaries within the Actuarial Service Division (ASD). The IPVFB system combines the pension plan valuations to obtain PBGC's total liability for the PVFB. The IPVFB is currently a Windows, LAN-based system using Windows 2003 whose component computer programs are written in FORTRAN, C++, Oracle Stored Procedures, Visual Basic, and Crystal Reports. (PBGC expects to change the computer environment of the system over the course of the next few years to more modern languages (e.g., Java)).

PBGC will use this task order to obtain Steady State / Operations & Maintenance and Enhancement support to existing Actuarial expert systems that support the development, operation and valuation of PBGC’s PVFB. Also, the contractor may be asked to provide support for actuarial studies and related special projects that will enhance the accuracy, reliability, or auditability of the PVFB process, and other such efforts. The services described below relate to the calculation of the PVFB. In what follows, the term PVFB shall mean the present value of future benefits and expenses for PBGC's Single-Employer and Multiemployer Programs and the present value of nonrecoverable future financial assistance for PBGC's Multiemployer Program.

Examples of such support are:

a. giving ongoing expert advice to users on all areas of the IPVFB system, its operation, and its capabilities;

b. leading the effort to analyze, prioritize and conduct meetings to determine system enhancements;

c. maintaining a "problem log" of reported IPVFB problems. The "problem log" is an up-to-date list of IPVFB system problems which have been reported to the contractor either by application users or by the contractor's own personnel;

d. determining the scope and cost (in time and dollars) of proposed enhancements or corrections to the existing IPVFB system;

e. making those enhancements or corrections to the IPVFB as requested and approved by the Subject Matter Expert (SME) according to an agreed upon schedule;

f. providing regular progress reports (both oral and written) to management, weekly or as required.

g. developing and maintaining a Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) for IPVFB and participating in the COOP exercise.

Currently, there are two main IPVFB system documents:

a. IPVFB User Procedures Guide,

b. IPVFB Technical Reference Guide.

PBGC will provide these documents electronically upon request. The contractor shall:

a. become familiar with the structure and content of the IPVFB documentation;

b. determine the scope and cost (in time and dollars) of proposed enhancements or corrections to the documentation;

c. make approved enhancements or corrections to the documentation according to an agreed upon schedule;

Provide regular progress reports (both oral and written) to management, weekly or as required.

2.3 Actuarial Studies and IPVFB Related Special Projects

PBGC will issue a separate task order as necessary to complete actuarial studies or IPVFB related special projects as the need arises during the life of the contract. Actuarial studies may include, but are not limited to, mortality studies, retirement studies, expense studies, etc.

2.4 Modernization Roadmaps

Based on the outcomes of PBGC’s Architectural Analysis, PBGC will issue task orders for development of modernization roadmaps.

The contractor will have a period of time to study, analyze and understand PBGC’s IT and business environments along with the Architectural Analysis as they pertain to actuarial calculations. In this process the contractor will conduct an Options Analysis as they utilize the Architectural Analysis for the actuarial system. At the conclusion of the study period, PBGC expects to receive from the contractor three (3) different options regarding the development, modernization and enhancement of the actuarial system. The options could include, for example, designing a completely new system or upgrading the existing system and integrating the existing or other applications into the upgraded system.

The contractor shall develop a phased development and implementation approach for each proposed option that will allow for incremental software releases to the business users to reduce overall project risk. In designing these options, the contractor shall consider the impact of the following considerations on each proposed option:

1. Existing applications

2. Interfacing with other agency applications

3. Migration of current data

4. Business and Technical requirements as listed below

5. Risks of each option

6. Time required to implement each of the options

7. Any necessary or desirable process re-engineering

Note: Business and technical dependencies among the above considerations also shall be considered.

At a time and place to be determined by the PBGC, the contractor shall present each option to PBGC for its selection and approval of one option (or a combination of options). The presentation shall include a discussion by the contractor of its recommended phased approach for each proposed option. The phased approach shall allow for development by discrete task orders issued by PBGC as well as incremental software releases to the business users. The contractor also will discuss how each option addresses the seven considerations identified above with emphasis on the timing to develop each option and the contractor’s efforts to reduce overall project risk.

Based on the contractor’s presentation, PBGC will select an option (or combination of options) and inform the contractor of its selection.

2.5 Development/Modernization

Modernize the existing actuarial system to improve the ability to maintain the system and keep it aligned with technological advances, while developing new components as needed, to improve the overall actuarial and related business and technical operations of the system. PBGC will issue task orders as necessary.

Development/Modernization services are changes to the scope of existing applications that provide for new, changed and deleted functionality, features or capabilities. Changes are generally requested to improve software in response to PBGC business processes, user interface, technology advancements or changes, and industry mandates. In addition, other activities include moving the current capabilities to the target architecture necessary to support the PBGC’s strategic goals for customer service and the President’s Management Agenda.

Once the contractor is informed of the selected option, the contractor will be allowed a specific period of time to develop and submit to the COTR the following two deliverables in regard to the selected option:

1. Project Charter

2. Project Management Plan (PMP)

PBGC will review and may revise the two documents as necessary in discussions with the contractor. PBGC approval will be necessary before the contractor begins drafting for each phase of the selected option the following two deliverables:

a) Detailed scope of work

b) Detailed, resource loaded, Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) compliant with the

Information Technology Systems Life Cycle Methodology (ITSLCM) and OMB

Requirements.

In order to support the Development Modernization and Enhancement (DME) efforts, the contractor shall:

1. Perform and complete project initiation, planning, analysis, design, development, and testing and also implement any approved modernization enhancements and requirements to the existing application in compliance with (ITSLCM) or any future methodology.

2. Schedule and coordinate the DME releases with the appropriate teams and deliver the releases on time and within budget.

3. Deploy quality DME software releases in production and minimize downtime in production due to quality issues.

4. Ensure the design is interoperable with other integrated systems and meets Enterprise Architecture (EA) guidelines and other PBGC standards.

5. Coordinate extensively with all involved areas such as OIT, BAPD, Enterprise Information Security Office (EISO), and other applicable divisions and systems within PBGC and Federal Government to ensure all impacts are identified before project implementation.

6. Deploy all software enhancements through releases according to established PBGC Software Configuration Management Procedures and Change and Release Management Policy, Processes and Procedures and PBGC security policies to ensure the agency standards are accurately captured and incorporated into the releases.

7. Work in partnership with OIT in anticipating and responding to future initiatives and technology evolutions that will enable OIT to respond to the customer and provide an efficient and robust system.

8. Conduct appropriate system testing types for projects (e.g., unit testing, parallel testing, regression testing, end-to-end testing, integration testing, performance testing, load testing, functionality testing) to ensure the quality of releases. The contractor may be required to use automated testing tools.

9. Support and assist application users in User Acceptance Testing of the application, including, but not limited to, (1) the preparation of test plans, test cases/scripts and test results, (2) the use of automated testing tools, and (3) the development and maintenance of operation system documentation and procedures.

10. Effectively coordinate the notification of the deployment of DME releases to users, stakeholders, Service Desk, COTR, and other impacted parties in a timely manner in order to provide impacted parties time to prepare for the release.

2.6 General Tasks

2.6.1 Transition Plans

The offeror shall provide phase-in and phase-out plans describing actions, plans, and procedures to ensure a smooth transition from contract award to full operational status.

A. Phase In/Start Up Plan: The offeror shall propose a Phase-In Transition of Operations Plan to ensure uninterrupted support and services are rendered while the transfer of knowledge and files is accomplished. The Phase-In plan shall begin at a date specified by the Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative and be accomplished in no more than 90 calendar days. Immediately following award, the contractor shall develop a Plan to transition services that shall include, but not be limited to:

• Continuance of any scheduled deliverables.

• Continuance of standard operations during the 60-day transition period.

• Transition of records, knowledge, files, procedures or other designated information important to the successful completion of this requirement.

B. Phase Out/Shut Down Plan: The offeror shall propose a Phase Out/Shut Down plan, describing how the offeror would ensure the timely and efficient transition of their operations to the successful follow-on Contractor if there is any future procurement.

2.6.2 Training

An important part of the system’s success is whether the users can use the application effectively. Users must be trained on the application so that they can complete their job functions in a timely manner. In order to meet the users and business need, PBGC expects the contractor to perform the following tasks as requested:

1. Develop and perform timely, flexible, and cost effective training for the IPVFB application to ensure that users are trained successfully in using the application in support of their daily operations. Tailor the training to efficiently meet specific user needs and conduct the training as necessary to support new IPVFB application users, after major upgrades, and to meet ad hoc customer requests.

2. Support ongoing training of application users on application releases. Develop training materials to help users quickly become familiar with the changes to the system. Develop job aids (quick reference guides), training labs, step-by-step procedures, and online tutorials that can be used to train the users on changes in the software releases.

3. Maintain training documents on the PBGC intranet and other agreed upon specific locations so that users can have ongoing access to the training materials.

4. Deliver training plans and schedules prior to a release implementation. Ensure users are trained in a timely manner to coincide with the rollout of the software changes into the production environment.

5. Work with the other teams to address training needs and issues. Facilitate meetings with other application teams to develop strategies to inform users of the changes that are being implemented for the application. Provide training assistance to teams that are impacted by the application releases.

6. Assess user training needs and develop appropriate training material in order to support the user training needs.

7. Coordinate with Business Representatives, PBGC training professionals and other key stakeholders to recommend and share best training approaches and practices; develop training materials and/or tools and classroom or online instruction in support of the application.

8. Provide access to all training artifacts produced to all users, Process and Product Quality Assurance (PPQA) team and other project teams.

9. Use WEBEX tool or any other web conferencing software approved by PBGC for remote training; this is a critical component of a successful system implementation strategy. The contractor shall use this tool to train remote users and troubleshoot issues, when appropriate, in order to assist PBGC in reducing travel cost and other expenditures associated with training users. After approval by the COTR and/or designated Contract Monitor (CM), the contractor shall provide training at the Field Benefit Administration (FBA) offices or other offices as requested.

2.6.3 Technical Writing

During the life of a system, many changes are made to improve the operational efficiency of the system. It is critical to document the changes throughout the system lifecycle so that the development teams and users can have reference materials that reflect the changes. The contractor shall do the following in order to maintain and provide documentation of the changes to the system:

1. Add and update the technical, user, test plans, test results, configuration management and change control documentation for the application. Documents shall be added or updated as new or enhanced application releases are implemented and as procedures are modified as a result of these releases. The actual documents added or updated shall be based on the nature of the work and the schedule and priorities established by the COTR and/or designated (CM).

2. Prepare and deliver narrative documentation such as requirements and technical specifications, test plans, test results, report code, issue tracking (e.g., Problem Resolution Report) and spreadsheet analyses to PBGC in electronic form using the PBGC standard or other software designated by the COTR and/or designated CM.

3. Develop and prepare documentation including, but not limited to, functional and data requirements, functional and technical specifications, flowcharts (e.g., functional decomposition, data flow diagrams), system design, user manuals, and code.

4. Prepare and deliver graphical documentation for flowcharts and other types of graphics.

5. Develop and produce technical documentation specified and approved by the COTR and/or designated CM for each new and modified change for each release.

6. Utilize the PBGC’s Portal and internal web site for information sharing, where appropriate, and support converting the electronic version of the documentation to PBGC’s Intranet, adhering to OIT standards.

7. Develop user and technical documentation, reference materials (online and/or paper), demonstration materials, and/or Web user help files. The contractor shall conduct or support demonstrations and training sessions (e.g., train technical staff and internal and external users), develop and provide training materials, and develop and utilize training aids (e.g., online training screens and information).

8. Deliver appropriate online help files, user manuals, and training guides with releases.

9. Provide access to all the artifacts produced to integrated teams in PBGC.

10. Maintain and update the application web site on the PBGC intranet portal.

3.0 OPERATIONS SUPPORT

In order to maintain the IPVFB application in production and provide user support, the contractor shall do the following in order to meet the customer’s needs and the organization’s goals and objectives to provide timely, accurate and responsive customer service.

1. Respond to and resolve operational problems and Service Desk tickets assigned to the application support team. Contact users and provide technical assistance to ensure issues are resolved timely. Effectively communicate with the users to provide the status of the open issues.

2. Provide Service Desk support, follow OIT Service Management, Incident and Problem

Management processes (using HP Service Manager Incident Queue or any future tools), and participate in root cause analysis in order to resolve production and user support issues. The Service Desk is the single point of contact for the PBGC users on a day-to-day basis. The Service Desk has the total ownership of the incident reported by users; therefore it is the obligation of the Service Desk to inform users of the status of incidents.

3. Conduct analysis of problems reported by users. Recommend business, functional and/or technical improvements for the affected systems and business processes, including the addition of business and technical features to existing software. Provide alternative solutions to improve the related processes and assist in exploring possibilities of using new features, functions and modules.

4. Develop, run and evaluate ad-hoc reports to ensure the reports meet the business and sponsoring organizations requirements.

5. Effectively respond to questions about the system outages and errors. Resolve technical issues with Information Technology Infrastructure Operations (ITIO), production Oracle Database Administrators (DBA’s), network support, other PBGC teams, other systems and databases such as Genesis.

6. Monitor stored procedures; preset automated jobs, and other executables that are run periodically in production to support operations.

7. Enhance controls to ensure complete and correct processing of periodic jobs.

8. Conduct analysis of problems reported by user and recommend business, functional and technical improvements for the affected systems and business processes in order to ensure the application is providing the greatest benefit to users.

9. Provide support to ITIO to resolve application production issues. This includes working with ITIOD to eliminate developers’’ access to production or provide auditable documentation with justification to have access to production with a plan to eliminate the need for developers’ to have access to production.

10. Provide alternative solutions to improve the related processes and assist in exploring possibilities of using new features, functions and modules that will increase operational efficiency of the application and reduce complexity of applications without introducing workarounds.

11. Prepare recommendations for training based on any operational changes.

12. Maintain and update operation procedures, operations guide, and supporting documentation to reflect revisions and corrections of errors to the application.

13. Support system administration duties as needed.

14. Support application and system audits from external and internal auditors.

15. Participate in corporate-wide IT initiatives such as Security Plan Updates and assist with the application’s security certification and accreditation related tests.

16. Provide after-hours and weekend support to users/stakeholders as requested by PBGC during quarterly processing and other critical times.

17. Provide technical assistance to PBGC as needed. Examples include, but are not limited to, testing and migration of applications to future versions of software, database and operating systems on servers.

18. Retire applications. The contractor may propose processes, and methods for retiring and archiving applications, as long as they do not conflict with the current PBGC and BAPD guidelines and are approved by the COTR.

19. Plan and Participate in Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) testing for the IPVFB applications; develop COOP testing scenarios; work with users and COOP team to execute COOP tests and document results. Contractor shall identify key resources to ensure COOP, in case of COOP incident and shall ship the necessary resources to COOP location.

20. Support activities for transitioning applications from/to other teams.

21. Support other PBGC teams responding to questions related to the IPVFB application, and conducting analysis of issues that affect continuing operations.

22. Provide other production support as needed.

4.0 MAINTENANCE SUPPORT

Maintenance support enables systems to operate according to the most recent set of approved requirements and does not change functionality, features or capability of the existing applications. The timing of maintenance requests is generally predictable; however, the nature of the request may not be as predictable. In order to respond to requests and changes that impact the IPVFB application, the contractor shall perform the following:

1. Perform and complete project initiation, planning, analysis, design, development and testing and implement any approved changes to the existing IPVFB application in compliance with the Information Technology System Life Cycle Methodology (ITSLCM) or any future methodology.

2. Schedule and coordinate the maintenance releases with the appropriate teams and deliver the releases on time and within budget.

3. Deploy quality maintenance software releases in production and minimize downtime in production due to quality issues.

4. Analyze and evaluate software problems to perform corrections/minor changes (e.g., data fixes) to support applications users. Validate the corrections, minor changes and enhancements identified, define the requirements, design the correction, analyze the impact of the correction on the application, test the corrected application, analyze and evaluate the test results for the corrected application, and then implement the corrected application according to an approved plan.

5. Conduct appropriate system testing types for projects (e.g., unit testing, parallel testing, regression testing, end-to-end testing, integration testing, performance testing, load testing, functionality testing) to ensure the quality of releases. The contractor may be required to use automated testing tools.

6. Deploy all software changes through releases according to established PBGC Software

Configuration Management Procedures and Change and Release Management Policy, Processes and Procedures and PBGC security policies to ensure the agency standards are accurately captured and incorporated into the releases.

7. Coordinate maintenance support efforts and implement maintenance changes with OIT and other impacted systems to ensure the smooth deployment of the application. Support includes obtaining and understanding relevant technical information including installation instructions, release notes, file listings, known problems document, data dictionary changes and support policy guidelines.

8. Maintain, coordinate and provide technical assistance and support for the testing and upgrading of all standard software with the Testing Center Operation (TCO) group and in all environment location instances including the Common Development Environment – Team Specific (CDE-T), Common Development Environment – Integrated (CDE-I), Integration Testing Center (ITC) and alternative sites (to support COOP).

9. Continuously evaluate emerging technology for applicability to the IPVFB application and provide system improvement recommendations for new technology initiatives. Maintain and modify the IPVFB application to meet new technical requirements, including end of life service. Reduce complexity of applications without introducing workarounds.

10. Conduct an impact analysis when a new software version adds new or modified functionality or when any current version that is being used must adapt to a new operating system or server environment.

11. Provide technical assistance to migrate the IPVFB application, database and operating systems on servers to future software versions.

12. Provide comprehensive analytical support to determine new requirements for existing IPVFB application software. Implement and maintain processes for proactively researching, identifying and recommending new technologies. Implement capabilities that will eliminate duplication, increase organizational efficiency, improve customer satisfaction and capitalize on industry best practices.

13. Conduct technical and functional reviews of the latest application releases and provide technical and functional support to areas such as OIT and BAPD staff in maintaining the IPVFB application.

14. Effectively coordinate the notification of the deployment of maintenance releases to users, stakeholders, Service Desk, COTR, and other impacted parties in a timely manner in order to provide impacted parties time to prepare for the release.

15. Develop and publish Release Notes for each maintenance release so that users understand the changes that were made to the release.

16. Propose/Recommend processes and methods for retiring and archiving existing legacy application applications to eliminate redundant system functionality in production.

17. Maintain and update the information, instructions and technical requirements targeted to software developers (e.g., schemas), and troubleshoot software-related issues that develop.

18. Provide after-hours and weekend support to users/stakeholders as requested by PBGC during quarterly processing and other critical times.

19. Comply with PBGC’s ITSLCM and EA guidelines to maintain and support IPVFB application and related systems.

20. Present defects at the periodic status meetings, with COTR and business representatives, to prioritize and decide on releases and schedules. The contractor’s Serena PVCS Tracker and Version Manager repository shall be audited at any given time. Results of the audit may require the contractor to fix deficiencies in their repository in a given time frame.

5.0 GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY

The Government shall provide, the facilities, equipment, materials, and/or services listed below.

The Government will furnish office furniture, telephone, fax, computer equipment and internet backbone access for contractor employees at the Government site. The contractor shall be the hand receipt holder for all assigned Government equipment in use by the contractor.

All utilities in the facility will be available for the contractor's use in performance of duties outlined in this PWS. The Contractor shall instruct employees in utilities conservation practices. The contractor shall be responsible for operating under conditions that preclude the waste of utilities.

The Government will furnish the necessary workspace for the contractor staff to provide the support outlined in this PWS.

6.0 APPLICABLE DIRECTIVES COMPLIANCE

6.1 Information Technology System Life Cycle Methodology

The Contractor shall adhere to and comply with the PBGC’s Information Technology Systems Life Cycle Methodology (ITSLCM), or any future methodology, Policy and Process Flow for all IT solutions. A copy of the latest ITSLCM Policy, Process Flow and other related documents can be obtained at http://www.pbgc.gov/docs/im_05_7.pdf The contractor shall follow all processes, procedures and templates established under the SLCM.

The contractor shall comply with and adhere to any future life cycle methodologies, directives and policies.

6.2 Enterprise Architecture

The Contractor shall adhere to and comply with the PBGC Enterprise Architecture (EA) guidelines. The Contractor shall support and comply with the standards and technologies of the PBGC target architecture as described in the PBGC Enterprise Architecture Blueprint. A copy of the latest EA Blueprint and other related documents can be obtained at http://www.pbgc.gov/docs/enterprise%20architecture%20blueprint.pdf.

The contractor shall comply with and adhere to any future EA guidelines and standards.

6.3 Security

The contractor shall ensure that all software design and development comply with PBGC’s Information Security Policy (ISP) and Information Assurance best practices and standards and allow for customization as security policies and procedures are modified.

The contractor shall obtain certification and accreditation from EISO before deployment of enhancement projects.

The contractor shall also comply with other government standards including Office of Management and the Budget (OMB) Circular A-130, Computer Security Act of 1987 (Public Law 100-235), Privacy Act of 1974 as amended, and the Freedom of Information Act as amended.

The contractor shall ensure timely and effective identification, isolation, containment, and coordination of security incidences in compliance with EISO standards and policies.

The contractor shall comply with and adhere to any future Security directives and policies.

6.4 Government Regulations and Standards

The contractor shall be responsible for compliance with applicable Federal Government regulations and standards for software development and maintenance. These include OMB guidelines for system security and internal controls, the Government Paperwork Elimination Act, standards from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Section 508 of the American with Disabilities Act, and local PBGC standards.

The contractor shall ensure that the IPVFB application meets all relevant Federal internal control standards. For example, the IPVFB application must be in compliance with OMB circulars A-123, A-127, and A-130, the Computer Security Act of 1987, the Privacy Act of 1974, government auditing standards, PBGC specific security standards, and Enterprise Architecture Planning Committee requirements.

The contractor may recommend and propose additional processes, methods and standards, as long as they do not conflict with the current PBGC and BAPD processes, methods, and standards and are approved in writing by the COTR and/or designated CM.

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