Performance Work Statement CP 2.0_RFI draft.pdf

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS)

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

Office of Information & Technology Benefits and Memorials Services (BAM) Portfolio

Compensation & Pension (C&P) Product Line Help Desk Tier 2 and Deployment Support

Services 2.0

Date: September 2, 2026

VA-27-00007060

PWS Version Number: 2.0

Contents

1.0 BACKGROUND

2.0 APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS

3.0 SCOPE OF WORK

3.1 ORDER TYPE

4.0 PERFORMANCE DETAILS

4.1 PERFORMANCE PERIOD

4.2 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

4.3 TRAVEL

5.0 SPECIFIC TASKS AND DELIVERABLES

5.1 PROJECT MANAGEMENT

5.1.1 CONTRACTOR PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN

5.1.2 REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

5.1.3 TECHNICAL KICKOFF MEETING

5.2 TRANSITION-IN SUPPORT (BASE PERIOD ONLY)

5.3 RELEASE PLANNING

5.4 RELEASE MANAGEMENT

5.5 C&P PRODUCT LINE SERVICE DESK SUPPORT

5.5.1 TIER 2 SUPPORT

5.5.2 TIER 3 / TIER 4 ASSISTANCE SUPPORT

5.5.3 HELP DESK DOCUMENTATION AND REPORTING

5.6 C&P SERVICE DESK SUPPORT (OPTIONAL TASK ONE)

5.7 TRANSITION OUT SUPPORT (OPTIONAL TASK TWO)

6.0 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

6.1 ENTERPRISE AND IT FRAMEWORK

6.1.1 VA TECHNICAL REFERENCE MODEL

6.1.2 ZERO TRUST – VA CRITICAL SECURITY CONTROLS

6.1.3 FEDERAL IDENTITY, CREDENTIAL, AND ACCESS MANAGEMENT

(FICAM)

6.1.4 INTERNET PROTOCOL VERSION 6 (IPv6)

6.1.5 TRUSTED INTERNET CONNECTION (TIC)

6.1.6 STANDARD COMPUTER CONFIGURATION

6.1.7 VETERAN FOCUSED INTEGRATION PROCESS (VIP) AND PRODUCT

LINE MANAGEMENT (PLM)

6.1.8 PROCESS ASSET LIBRARY (PAL)

6.1.9 AUTHORITATIVE DATA SOURCES

6.1.10 SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER (SSN) REDUCTION

6.1.11 GENERATIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE REQUIREMENTS

6.1.11.1 AI SYSTEM/LLM DEVELOPMENT AND OPERATION

DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENTS

6.1.11.2 MONITORING, REPORTING, AND CORRECTIVE ACTION

6.1.11.3 AI MODEL UPDATES AND CHANGE DISCLOSURES

6.2 SECURITY AND PRIVACY REQUIREMENTS

6.2.1 POSITION/TASK RISK DESIGNATION LEVEL(S)

6.2.2 CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL SECURITY REQUIREMENTS

6.3 METHOD AND DISTRIBUTION OF DELIVERABLES

6.4 PERFORMANCE METRICS

6.5 FACILITY/RESOURCE PROVISIONS

6.6 GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY

APPENDIX A

ADDENDUM A – ADDITIONAL VA REQUIREMENTS, CONSOLIDATED

ADDENDUM B – VA INFORMATION AND INFORMATION SYSTEM SECURITY/

PRIVACY LANGUAGE

1.0 BACKGROUND

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of Information & Technology (OIT), Benefits and Memorials Services (BAM) Portfolio, Compensation & Pension (C&P) Product Line strives to provide high quality, effective, and efficient Information Technology (IT) services to those responsible for providing care to the Veterans at the point-of-care as well as throughout all the points of the Veterans’ health care in an effective, timely and compassionate manner. VA depends on Information Management/Information Technology systems to meet mission goals.

The C&P Product Line that is described in Appendix A includes a suite of systems driving Veterans Benefits Administration's (VBA) core modernization efforts, leveraging integration of more functionalities into Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS), increasing utilization of cloud-based commercial products, enhancing currently integrated systems, standardizing record sharing between federal agencies, and replacing or retiring as many legacy systems as possible. Currently, VBA processes more than 12 million benefit transactions every month and distributes billions of dollars in Veteran entitlements each year. To provide benefits in a secure and timely manner, significant enhancements to the Compensation Service and Pension & Fiduciary (P&F) Service require digital modernization of the IT environment.

2.0 APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS

In the performance of the tasks associated with this Performance Work Statement (PWS), the Contractor shall comply with the following:

1. “Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014”

2. Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) Publication 140-3, “Security Requirements for Cryptographic Modules”, March 22, 2019

3. FIPS Pub 199. “Standards for Security Categorization of Federal Information and Information Systems,” February 2004

4. FIPS Pub 200, “Minimum Security Requirements for Federal Information and

Information Systems,” March 2006

5. FIPS Pub 201-3, “Personal Identity Verification of Federal Employees and

Contractors,” January 2022

6. 10 U.S.C. § 2224, "Defense Information Assurance Program", as amended

7. 5 U.S.C. § 552a, as amended, “The Privacy Act of 1974”

8. Public Law 109-461 (P.L. 109-461), Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and

Information Technology Act of 2006, as amended, Title IX, Information Security Matters

9. 42 U.S.C. § 2000d “Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964”, as amended

10. VA Directive 0710, “Personnel Vetting Program,” September 8, 2025, https://www.va.gov/vapubs/index.cfm

11. VA Handbook 0710, “Personnel Vetting Program,” September 8, 2025, https://www.va.gov/vapubs/index.cfm

12. VA Directive 6102, “Internet/Intranet Services,” August 5, 2019 https://www.va.gov/vapubs/index.cfm https://www.va.gov/vapubs/index.cfm http://www.va.gov/vapubs http://www.va.gov/vapubs

13. 36 C.F.R. Part 1194 “Information and Communication Technology Standards and Guidelines,” as amended

14. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-130, “Managing Federal Information as a Strategic Resource,” July 28, 2016

15. 32 C.F.R. Part 199, “Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS)”, as amended

16. NIST SP 800-66 Rev. 2, “Implementing the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Security Rule: A Cybersecurity Resource Guide,” February 2024

17. 45 C.F.R Parts 160 and 164, Subparts A and E, the Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information (“Privacy Rule”); and 45 C.F.R.

Parts 160 and 164, Subparts A and C, the Security Standard (“Security Rule”); as amended

18. Sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. § 794d), as amended

19. Homeland Security Presidential Directive (12) (HSPD-12), August 27, 2004

20. VA Directive 6500, “VA Cybersecurity Program,” February 24, 2021 (see VA

NOTICE 24-18, dated September 27, 2024, “Update to VA Directive 6500 Cybersecurity Program”, and VA Notice 25-07, dated 3/18/25, “Amending VA Directive 6500 to incorporate M-24-15”)

21. VA Handbook 6500, “Risk Management Framework for VA Information Systems VA Information Security Program,” February 24, 2021 (see VA Notice 25-01, dated October 15, 2024, “Update to VA Handbook 6500 Risk Management Framework for VA Information Systems VA Information Security Program”, and VA Notice 25-06, dated 3/18/25, “Amending VA Directive 6500 to incorporate M-24-15”, VA Notice 25-16, dated September 15, 2025, “Amending VA Handbook 6500 to Replace Enterprise Mission Assurance Support Services Tool With Office of Information Technology Governance Risk Compliance Tool, and VA Notice 25-17, dated September 22, 2025, “Rescission Of Office Of Information Security (OIS) Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) Memorandum – Requirements of Proper Plan of Action and Milestones (POA&M) Completion)

22. VA Handbook 6500.2, “Management of Breaches Involving Sensitive Personal Information (SPI),” June 30, 2023

23. VA Handbook 6500.6, “Contract Security,” March 12, 2010 (see VA Notice 24-12, dated April 22, 2024, “Update to VA Handbook 6500.6, Contract Security, Appendix C VA Information and Information System Security/Privacy Language For Inclusion Into Contracts, As Appropriate”)

24. VA Handbook 6500.8, “Information System Contingency Planning,” March 25, 2025

25. VA Handbook 6500.10, “Mobile Device Security Policy,” February 15, 2018 (see VA NOTICE 25-10, dated June 9, 2025, “Use of Personally Owned Mobile Devices Policy Amendment of Department of Veterans Affairs Handbook 6500.10”, and VA Notice 25-15, dated August 22, 2025, “Update to VA Handbook 6500.10 Mobile Device Security Policy”)

26. VA Handbook 6500.11, “VA Firewall Configuration,” August 22, 2017

27. OIT Process Asset Library (PAL), OIT Process Asset Library.

28. One-VA Technical Reference Model (TRM) (reference at https://www.va.gov/trm/TRMHomePage.aspx)

29. VA Directive 6508, “Implementation of Privacy Threshold Analysis and

Privacy Impact Assessment,” October 15, 2014

30. VA Directive 6510, “VA Identity, Credential and Access Management,”

September 3, 2024

31. VA Handbook 6510, “VA Identity, Credential and Access Management,”

September 27, 2024

32. VA Directive and Handbook 6513, “Secure External Connections,” October

12, 2017

33. VA Directive 6300, “Records and Information Management,” September 21,

34. VA Handbook, 6300.1, “Records Management Procedures,“ March 24, 2010

35. NIST SP 800-37 Rev 2, “Risk Management Framework for Information

Systems and Organizations: A System Life Cycle Approach for Security and Privacy,” December 2018

36. NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5, “Security and Privacy Controls for Federal Information Systems and Organizations,” September 23, 2020 (includes updates as of 12/10/2020)

37. VA Directive 0735, “Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12) Program,” October 26, 2015

38. VA Handbook 0735, “Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-

12) Program,” March 24, 2014

39. OMB Memorandum 05-24, “Implementation of Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD) 12 – Policy for a Common Identification Standard for Federal Employees and Contractors,” August 5, 2005

40. OMB Memorandum M-19-17, “Enabling Mission Delivery Through Improved Identity, Credential, and Access Management,” May 21, 2019

41. OMB Memorandum, “Guidance for Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD) 12 Implementation,” May 23, 2008

42. Federal Identity, Credential, and Access Management (FICAM) Architecture, June 30, 2023 (FICAM Architecture (idmanagement.gov))

43. NIST SP 800-116 Rev 1, “Guidelines for the Use of Personal Identity Verification (PIV) Credentials in Facility Access,“ June 2018

44. NIST SP 800-63 Rev 4, 800-63A-4, 800-63B-4, 800-63C-4, “Digital Identity Guidelines,” August 1, 2025

45. NIST SP 800-157, “Guidelines for Derived PIV Credentials,” December 2014

46. VA Memorandum, VAIQ #7100147, “Continued Implementation of Homeland

Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12),” April 29, 2011 (reference https://www.voa.va.gov/documentlistpublic.aspx?NodeID=514)

47. IAM Identity Management Business Requirements Guidance document, May 2013, (reference Enterprise Architecture Section, PIV/IAM (reference https://www.voa.va.gov/documentlistpublic.aspx?NodeID=514) https://digital.va.gov/process-asset-library/ https://www.va.gov/trm/TRMHomePage.aspx https://www.idmanagement.gov/arch/#:%7E:text=FICAM%20is%20the%20federal%20government%E2%80%99s%20enterprise%20approach%20to,identity%20processes%2C%20practices%2C%20policies%2C%20and%20information%20security%20disciplines.

https://www.voa.va.gov/documentlistpublic.aspx?NodeID=514 https://www.voa.va.gov/documentlistpublic.aspx?NodeID=514

48. VA Memorandum “Personal Identity Verification (PIV) Logical Access Policy Clarification,” July 17, 2019, https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DocumentID=4896

49. Trusted Internet Connections (TIC) 3.0 Core Guidance Documents, https://www.cisa.gov/publication/tic-30-core-guidance-documents

50. OMB Memorandum M-19-26, “Update to the Trusted Internet Connections (TIC) Initiative,” September 12, 2019

51. OMB Memorandum M-08-23, “Securing the Federal Government’s Domain Name System Infrastructure,” August 22, 2008

52. Sections 524 and 525 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, (P.L. 110–140), December 19, 2007

53. Section 104 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, (P.L. 109–58), August 8, 2005

54. Executive Order 13221, “Energy-Efficient Standby Power Devices,” August

2, 2001

55. Executive Order 14148, “Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and

Actions,” dated January 20, 2025

56. VA Directive 0057, “VA Environmental Management Program,” October 25,

57. Office of Information Security (OIS) VAIQ #7424808 Memorandum, “Remote

Access,” January 15, 2014, https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentListPublic.aspx?NodeId=28

58. Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996, 40 U.S.C. §11101 and §11103

59. “Veteran Focused Integration Process (VIP) Guide 4.0,” March 2021, https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DocumentID=4371

60. VA Memorandum “Proper Use of Email and Other Messaging Services,”

January 2, 2018, https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentListPublic.aspx?NodeId=28

61. “Product Line Management Transformation Playbook” version 3.1, August 2023, https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DocumentID=4946

62. NIST SP 500-267B Revision 1, “USGv6 Profile,” November 2020

63. OMB Memorandum M-21-07, “Completing the Transition to Internet Protocol

Version 6 (IPv6),” November 19, 2020

64. Social Security Number (SSN) Fraud Prevention Act of 2017

65. Section 240 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) 2018, March 23,

66. C.F.R Title 15 Part 7, “Securing the Information and Communications

Technology and Services (ICTS) Supply Chain”, as amended

67. Executive Order 14028, “Executive Order on Improving the Nation's

Cybersecurity,” May 12, 2021, https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2025/01/16/executive-order-on-strengthening-and-promoting-innovation-in-the-nations-cybersecurity/

68. OMB Memorandum M-22-09, “Moving the U.S. Government Toward Zero Trust Cybersecurity Principles”, January 26, 2022, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/M-22-09.pdf.

69. NIST SP 800-52 Revision 2, “Guidelines for the Selection, Configuration, and Use of Transport Layer Security (TLS) Implementations https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DocumentID=4896 https://www.cisa.gov/publication/tic-30-core-guidance-documents https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentListPublic.aspx?NodeId=28 https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DocumentID=4371 https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentListPublic.aspx?NodeId=28 https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DocumentID=4946 https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2025/01/16/executive-order-on-strengthening-and-promoting-innovation-in-the-nations-cybersecurity/ https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2025/01/16/executive-order-on-strengthening-and-promoting-innovation-in-the-nations-cybersecurity/ https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2025/01/16/executive-order-on-strengthening-and-promoting-innovation-in-the-nations-cybersecurity/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/M-22-09.pdf

70. OMB M-26-05, “Adopting a Risk-based Approach to Software and Hardware Security,” January 23, 2026

71. OMB M-21-31, “Improving the Federal Government’s Investigative and Remediation Capabilities Related to Cybersecurity Incidents,” August 27,

72. NIST SP 800-88 Revision 1 “Guidelines for Media Sanitization,” December

73. CISA Binding Operational Directive (BOD) 19-02: “Vulnerability Remediation Requirements of Internet-Accessible Systems,” April 29, 2019, BOD 19-02:

Vulnerability Remediation Requirements for Internet-Accessible Systems |

CISA

74. CISA BOD 22-01: “Reducing the Significant Risk of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities,” November 3, 2021, BOD 22-01: Reducing the Significant Risk of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities | CISA

75. CISA BOD 23-01: Improving Asset Visibility and Vulnerability Detection on Federal Networks.” Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), BOD 23-01: Improving Asset Visibility and Vulnerability Detection on Federal Networks | CISA

76. VA Directive 6550, Pre-Procurement Assessment and Implementation of Medical Devices/Systems, June 03, 2019

77. VA Memorandum, “VA Security Controls,” January 17, 2025, https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DocumentID=5010

78. E.O. 13960, “Promoting the Use of Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence in the Federal Government,” December 3, 2020

79. E.O. 14319, “Preventing Woke AI in the Federal Government,” July 23, 2025

80. OMB Memorandum M-25-21, “Accelerating Federal Use of AI through

Innovation, Governance, and Public Trust,” April 3, 2025

81. OMB Memorandum M-25-22, “Driving Efficient Acquisition of Artificial

Intelligence in Government,” April 3, 2025

82. OMB Memorandum M-26-04, “Increasing Public Trust in Artificial Intelligence

(AI) Through Unbiased AI Principles,” December 11, 2025

3.0 SCOPE OF WORK

The Contractor shall provide all support services necessary to accomplish the tasks and associated deliverables required in this PWS in support of the C&P Product Line. The Contractor shall perform internal Contractor program management services to plan, monitor and control the tasks outlined in the PWS. The Contractor shall also support the deployment of several products within the C&P Product Line during the production roll-out and shall develop release documentation. The Contractor shall provide release planning and management. Additionally, the Contractor shall provide Tier 2 support and assist with Tier 3 and Tier 4 issue resolution. The Contractor shall support additional C&P product line products for this effort and transition support, if the optional tasks are exercised.

https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/directives/bod-19-02-vulnerability-remediation-requirements-internet-accessible-systems https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/directives/bod-19-02-vulnerability-remediation-requirements-internet-accessible-systems https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/directives/bod-19-02-vulnerability-remediation-requirements-internet-accessible-systems https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/directives/bod-22-01-reducing-significant-risk-known-exploited-vulnerabilities https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/directives/bod-22-01-reducing-significant-risk-known-exploited-vulnerabilities https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/directives/bod-23-01-improving-asset-visibility-and-vulnerability-detection-federal-networks https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/directives/bod-23-01-improving-asset-visibility-and-vulnerability-detection-federal-networks https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DocumentID=5010 https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/M-25-21-Accelerating-Federal-Use-of-AI-through-Innovation-Governance-and-Public-Trust.pdf https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/M-25-22-Driving-Efficient-Acquisition-of-Artificial-Intelligence-in-Government.pdf https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/M-26-04-Increasing-Public-Trust-in-Artificial-Intelligence-Through-Unbiased-AI-Principles-1.pdf?_bhlid=c0113a16495d987bc33f63e3dccf35c28d6bfd15

3.1 ORDER TYPE

The effort shall be proposed on a Firm-Fixed-Price basis.

4.0 PERFORMANCE DETAILS

4.1 PERFORMANCE PERIOD

The Period of Performance (PoP) shall be a 12-month base period from date of award, consisting of a two-month Transition-In period under PWS Section 5.2 followed by a 10-month period covering the tasks described in PWS Sections 5.1 and 5.3-5.5, with two 12-month option periods and two optional tasks, if exercised. Optional Task One is for Supplemental C&P Service Desk Support which may be exercised at any time and from time to time during the base and/or option periods, for a maximum of 84 times over the life of the TO. Optional Task Two is for Transition Out Support and may be exercised a single time at any time during the base or option periods for a period of 60 days. The overall PoP shall not exceed 38 months.

4.2 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

Tasks under this PWS shall be performed at Contractor facilities. Remote work will be authorized within the United States. The Contractor shall identify the Contractor’s place of performance in their proposal submission.

4.3 TRAVEL

The Government anticipates travel under this effort to perform the tasks associated with the effort, as well as to attend program-related meetings or conferences throughout the PoP. Include all estimated travel costs in your firm-fixed price line items. These costs will not be directly reimbursed by the Government.

The total estimated number of trips in support of the program related meetings for this effort is one (1) for the base period and one (1) for each option period with two (2) people each. Anticipated locations include the following, estimated at two (2) days in duration:

1. Charleston, SC

2. Washington, DC

5.0 SPECIFIC TASKS AND DELIVERABLES

The Contractor shall perform tasks under PWS Sections 5.1 through 5.5, including all Subsections, in the Base Period and each Option Period (except 5.1.3 and 5.2), if exercised. The Contractor shall perform tasks under PWS Optional Task Sections 5.6 and 5.7, if exercised.

The Contractor shall support the Products identified in Appendix A. C&P Product Line adheres to a schedule of incremental deliveries of useable capabilities every two weeks or less. All documentation delivered hereunder by the Contractor shall be in accordance with (IAW) Enterprise Project Management Office (PMO) templates, if available, otherwise the Contractor shall obtain approval to use a document template from the C&P Program Office or from the receiving organization of the document. If deliverables are updates to existing documents, the form, style, and content level shall be commensurate with existing guidelines. For delivery of requirements and development/design project artifacts, the Contractor shall utilize Jira, or other Government approved toolsets. All other deliverables shall be stored in the C&P Product Line Program SharePoint.

5.1 PROJECT MANAGEMENT

5.1.1 CONTRACTOR PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN

The Contractor shall deliver a Contractor Project Management Plan (CPMP) that lays out the Contractor’s approach, timeline, and tools to be used in execution of this TO effort. The CPMP should take the form of both a narrative and graphic format that displays the schedule, milestones, risks, and resource support. The CPMP shall also include how the Contractor shall coordinate and execute planned, routine, and ad hoc data collection reporting requests as identified within the PWS. The initial baseline CPMP shall be concurred upon and updated in accordance with Section B of the TO.

The Contractor shall update and maintain the VA Program Manager (PM) approved CPMP throughout the PoP.

Deliverable:

A. Contractor Project Management Plan

5.1.2 REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

All OIT project data and artifacts shall be managed using VA resources and data storage locations. All checked out artifacts shall be checked back in daily and any data updated daily.

The Contractor shall provide the COR with Bi-Weekly (every two weeks) Progress Reports in electronic form in Microsoft Word and Project formats. The report shall include detailed instructions/explanations for each required data element, to ensure that data is accurate and consistent. These reports shall reflect data as of the last day of the preceding Bi-Weekly Progress Report.

The Bi-Weekly Progress Reports shall cover all work completed during the reporting period and work planned for the subsequent reporting period. The report shall also identify any problems that arose and a description of how the problems were resolved. If problems have not been completely resolved, the Contractor shall provide an explanation including their plan and timeframe for resolving the issue. The report shall also include an itemized list of all Information and Communication Technology deliverables and their current Section 508 conformance status. The Contractor shall monitor performance against the CPMP and report any deviations. It is expected that the Contractor will keep in communication with VA accordingly so that issues that arise are transparent to both parties to prevent escalation of outstanding issues.

The Bi-Weekly Progress Report shall include the following data elements:

a. Project/Task Order Name

b. Overview and description of the Task Order

c. Overall high-level assessment of Task Order progress

d. All work in-progress and completed during the reporting period

e. Identification of any Task Order related issues uncovered during the reporting period and especially highlight those areas with a high probability of impacting schedule, cost or performance goals and their likely impact on schedule, cost, or performance goals

f. Explanations for any unresolved issues, including possible solutions and any actions required of the Government and/or Contractor to resolve or mitigate any identified issue, including a plan and timeframe for resolution

g. Status on previously identified issues, actions taken to mitigate the situation and/or progress made in rectifying the situation.

h. Work planned for the subsequent four (4) reporting periods, when applicable

i. Current Task Order schedule overlaid on original Task Order schedule showing any delays or advancement in schedule

j. Current expenditures based upon your proposed spend plan.

k. Workforce staffing data showing all Contractor personnel performing on the effort during the current reporting period. After the initial labor baseline is provided, each Bi-Weekly Progress Report shall identify any changes in staffing identifying each person who was added to the contract or removed from the contract.

l. Original schedule of deliverables and the corresponding deliverables made during the current reporting period.

These reports shall not be the only means of communication between the Contractor, COR and the Program/Project Manager to advise of performance/schedule issues and to develop strategies for addressing the issues. The Contractor shall continuously monitor performance and report any deviation from the CPMP or previous Bi-Weekly Progress Report to the COR and Program/Project Manager during routine, regular communications built primarily around the daily VBMS project and program Scrum cycle

Deliverable:

A. Bi-Weekly Progress Report

5.1.3 TECHNICAL KICKOFF MEETING

A technical kickoff meeting shall be held within 10 days after TO award. The Contractor shall coordinate the date, time, and location (can be virtual) with the Contracting Officer (CO), as the Post-Award Conference Chairperson, the VA PM, as the Co-Chairperson, the Contract Specialist (CS), and the COR. The Contractor shall provide a draft agenda to the CO and VA PM at least five calendar days prior to the meeting. Upon Government approval of a final agenda, the Contractor shall distribute to all meeting attendees. During the kickoff-meeting, the Contractor shall present, for review and approval by the Government, the details of the intended approach, work plan, and project schedule for each effort via a MS Office PowerPoint presentation. At the conclusion of the meeting, the Contractor shall update the presentation with a final slide entitled “Summary Report” which shall include notes on any major issues, agreements, or disagreements discussed during the kickoff meeting and the following statement “As the Post- Award Conference Chairperson, I have reviewed the entirety of this presentation and assert that it is an accurate representation and summary of the discussions held during the Technical Kickoff Meeting for the “Compensation & Pension Product Line Help Desk Tier 2 and Deployment Support Services 2.0 effort.” The Contractor shall submit the final updated presentation to the CO for review and signature within three calendar days after the meeting. The Contractor shall also work with the CS, the Government’s designated note taker, to prepare and distribute the meeting minutes of the kickoff meeting to the CO, COR and all attendees within three calendar days after the meeting. The Contractor shall obtain concurrence from the CS on the content of the meeting minutes prior to distribution of the document.

5.2 TRANSITION-IN SUPPORT (BASE PERIOD ONLY)

Following a Government-approved Transition-In Plan, the Contractor shall assist in transitioning from the previous TO for 60 days of incoming transition. The Contractor shall provide support and coordination with Government personnel and predecessor Contractor staff to ensure continuous operation of existing business applications. The Contractor shall coordinate with the Government, incumbent Contractor, and other designated stakeholders, as applicable, to ensure continuity of operations, minimize disruption to ongoing services, and achieve full operational readiness.

In accordance with the Government-approved Transition-In Plan, which shall include a transition strategy, methodology, timeline and project plan as detailed below, the Contractor shall plan, coordinate, and execute all activities necessary to assume responsibility for the required services. Transition-in activities shall include formal coordination with Government and incumbent personnel, knowledge transfer, receipt and validation of applicable documentation and historical information, onboarding and orientation activities, and accountability for Government-furnished resources.

The Contractor shall deliver an overall transition strategy, which shall include, but is not limited to:

a. Coordination with Government Representatives: Establish transition governance, points of contact, communication protocols, meetings, reporting requirements, schedules, milestones, dependencies, and escalation procedures.

b. Review and Transition of Current Services: Review and evaluate existing services, processes, procedures, workloads, schedules, tools, environments, requirements, and outstanding activities to ensure continuity of services during transition.

c. Transition of Historical Data: Receive, review, validate, migrate, and/or integrate applicable historical data from incumbent or Government systems into the Contractor's systems, repositories, or approved environments while maintaining data integrity, security, and accessibility.

d. Transfer of Business and Technical Documentation: Receive, inventory, review, and validate all necessary business, programmatic, operational, and technical documentation, including applicable policies, procedures, standard operating procedures, system documentation, reports, metrics, statistics, and other relevant records.

e. Orientation and Knowledge Transfer: Conduct an orientation and knowledge-transfer program to familiarize Contractor personnel with Government organizations, personnel, programs, users, mission requirements, systems, processes, and operating environments. The Contractor shall also introduce Government personnel, as appropriate, to the Contractor's team structure, tools, methodologies, workflows, and business processes.

f. Government-Owned Asset Accountability: Coordinate the identification, inventory, receipt, accountability, and disposition status of applicable Contractor-purchased Government-owned assets transferred to the Contractor.

g. Transfer of Government-Furnished Equipment (GFE) and Government-Furnished Information (GFI): Coordinate the receipt, inventory, validation, accountability, and management of GFE and GFE, including reconciliation of applicable GFE inventory records.

h. Government Access and Credentials: Coordinate the issuance and transfer, as applicable, of Government keys, identification/access cards, accounts, credentials, security codes, and other required physical or logical access necessary for Contractor personnel to perform the required services.

The Contractor shall implement a transition methodology that ensures a smooth transition while acquiring program knowledge of the C&P Product Line. The Contractor shall describe an approach to acquire the necessary knowledge, including an understanding of the business functions, the technical architecture, the software, and development approach employed for the C&P Product Line. The Contractor shall identify key roles and responsibilities for Contractor team members and the Government during the transition.

The Contractor shall provide a transition timeline that ensures all transition work is completed within a two-month timeframe, after which the Contractor is fully able to assume all work on the C&P Product Line Products. The timeline should indicate important milestones, key resources, and identify key dependencies. Once the timeline is approved, the Contractor shall provide a detailed transition project plan for tracking the progress of the Transition.

The Contractor shall provide a Weekly Transition Status Report detailing progress toward the transition and noting any blockers or new risks and issues.

A. Transition-In Plan B. Weekly Transition Status Report

5.3 RELEASE PLANNING

The VA has adapted an Agile Software Development Methodology which dictates releases of user functionality every two weeks. The methodology details the documents that must be delivered in support of software releases and provides templates for each of these documents. The Contractor shall develop the C&P Deployment Planning Documents for each planned release.

C&P Deployment Planning Documents shall consist of the following:

1. Release Management Plan

2. Deployment Plan

3. Post-Validation Deployment Report

The Contractor shall provide a Release Management Plan that incorporates application release notes for new functionality or additional changes for each release.

The Contractor shall develop a Deployment Plan for each Production release. The Deployment Plan shall provide at a minimum the schedule, site readiness assessment, and resources necessary for the C&P product/application deployment three to five days prior to system release. The Deployment Plan shall be developed using approved templates and following the established C&P process(es).

The Contractor shall support post release activities including communication and coordination with VBA user representatives who test and validate release functionality as well as patch effectiveness. This shall also include providing meeting minutes and tracking issues resulting from the deployment in a Post Validation Deployment Report.

The Contractor shall attend all daily and/or weekly VBA/OIT program related meetings (may be virtual) as requested by the project manager or PMO through coordination with the COR. If the Contractor facility is within the local commuting area (within 50 miles), the Contractor shall support these meetings face to face. If Contractor facility is beyond local commuting area (within 50 miles), the Contractor shall coordinate virtual support through COR.

Deliverables:

A. Release Management Plan (per Release) B. Deployment Plan (per Release) C. Post-Validation Deployment Report

5.4 RELEASE MANAGEMENT

Release Management, as described, applies to new Production releases of C&P Product Line products/applications. The Contractor shall support all deployments which include new releases and patch releases. The Contractor shall provide Deployment Support. Deployment Support shall include awareness and planning with VBA Enterprise Operations support staff, Benefits Gateway System and Benefits Enterprise Platform support staff, Office of Business Integration (OBI) and other dependent project and infrastructure teams. Attendance at daily C&P and Enterprise Operations (EO) calls is necessary for awareness of testing and environment status within VBA. Coordination happens at daily, weekly and various ad hoc meetings. In order to keep C&P Team Leads on track with other product/project deployments that may impact C&P, the Contractor shall provide the following:

1. Weekend Deployment Graphic depicting a schedule of events that includes C&P products/applications and other dependencies and or activities that is easily read and shall distribute, as required, to the OIT PM staff and stakeholders outside C&P to EO and other VA staff.

2. Hour by Hour (HBH) Schedule in support of Coordinated Install and C&P Release deployments - MS Project schedule provided after HBH coordination meeting to allow cross-coordination and confirmation of start/end times for each group involved in C&P products/applications Release and/or Coordinated Installation.

3. HBH Coordination Notes – HBH Coordination Notes shall be developed during HBH coordination meetings which outline programs and/or applications involved in an upcoming release or coordinated installation. HBH Coordination Notes coordinates risk evaluation, required support, start/end times for deployment, checkpoints, and contingency plans for C&P products/applications, OBI, EO, and Systems Implementation Office.

4. Integration Environments One sheet – An Integration Environments One sheet consisting of a PowerPoint with mappings of development, testing, and production environments that interconnect with C&P products/applications.

5. C&P/Coordinated Install/Financial Accounting System (FAS)/ Crisp Patches one sheet – A C&P/Coordinated Install/FAS/Crisp Patches one sheet is a summary sheet showing dates for BAM portfolio and C&P products/applications Releases, Coordinated Installs, FAS080 job, Production Crisp Patching for Corp.

Deliverables:

A. Weekend Deployment Graphic B. HBH Schedule in support of Coordinated Install and C&P Release deployments C. HBH Coordination Notes D. Integration Environments One sheet E. C&P/Coordinated Install/FAS/Crisp Patches one sheet

5.5 C&P PRODUCT LINE SERVICE DESK SUPPORT

The C&P Service Desk is a component of the overall C&P products/applications Incident Management Process (IMP). All C&P products/applications user support calls are initially sent to the VA Enterprise Service Desk (ESD), which is responsible for Tier 1 support within the C&P IMP. The VA ESD uses the Service Now (SNow) tool to track all support calls. The VA ESD will address any non-C&P issues such as the desktop, user access, network access, and printing.

Any issues that are specifically related to the C&P Applications shall be forwarded to the C&P Service Desk, which is responsible for Tier 2 support within the C&P IMP for resolution. The Contractor shall operate the C&P Service Desk to provide all required Tier 2 support. Tier 2 support is described in Paragraph 5.5.1. Tier 3 and Tier 4 support is described in Paragraph 5.5.2 below.

The Contractor shall support the C&P Service Desk from 6:30 am until 12:30 am Eastern Time (ET) Monday through Friday and 6:30 am to 6:30 pm ET on Saturdays for any Tier 2, 3 or 4 issues. For Tier 2, 3, or 4 issues received from the VA ESD after hours, the Contractor shall provide on-call personnel to support resolution of critical and serious severity code tickets as defined in the SLA table below. The average ticket volume is estimated to be from 234 – 1762 tickets per day for the C&P Product Line Tier

2. Ticket Volumes have been as high as 11,927 per day passed to Tier 2. The Contractor shall additionally provide Sunday Deployment support (facilitate and document end user testing activities) and 24 hours per day/7 days per week on call services. The overall C&P Incident Management Workflow is depicted in Figure 1. C&P Product Line workflow will be expected to mirror this workflow.

Figure 1.

VA has set the following Service Level Agreement (SLA) for all C&P production applications. The Contractor shall respond to the C&P end users to obtain more information and provide workarounds or one-on-one training support, if necessary. The Contractor shall work with the C&P Production Operations Teams and development Contractors to resolve the issues as required. Metrics shall be gathered and reported in the Bi-Weekly Progress Reports to validate that the SLAs are being met.

VA Production System SLA Severity Code Customer Impact Response to

Customer Resolution

Goal 1 – Critical Production System

Unavailable 0-15 minutes 0-2 business hours

2 – Serious Production System Delayed

(Potential Impact on Business Function)

0-60 minutes 2-4 business hours

3 – Moderate Production and Preproduction (Available - No

Business Impact)

0-4 business hours

4-8 business hours

4 - Minimal New Service/Program Addition

5.5.1 TIER 2 SUPPORT

The Contractor shall operate the C&P Service Desk to provide all Tier 2 support requirements. The Contractor shall review the issue information provided through the ESD and respond to the customer in accordance with the SLA defined in the table above. The Contractor shall use the SNow tool, provided through the VA ESD, to retrieve Tier 1 ticket information in support of Tier 2 resolution. The Contractor shall contact the customer/user if more information is required, and use appropriate scripts to provide resolution recommendations, or to provide a status. All information gathered shall be used to update the ticket system. The Contractor will not have Administrator access to the Service Now ticketing system and shall liaise and establish an ongoing relationship with the ESD Service Now Administration team.

The Contractor shall contact the customer/user and provide a recommended resolution to the issue, including a workaround provided by the business sponsor, where available.

The Contractor shall walk the user through the resolution recommendation. The Contractor may need to provide one-on-one training support to walk the user through the operation of the system if the issue is the result of a known user error. The Contractor shall document resolution actions and results in updates to the SNow ticket.

The Contractor shall gather enough additional information including at a minimum, verbal details, emailed Incident Report forms, and screenshots, to determine the severity of the incident; the severity level IAW the SLA table shall be logged in the SNow ticket.

If an incident is determined to be a severity code 1 or 2 (IAW SLA table), the Contractor shall notify VA’s C&P Service Desk Manager and present all the information about the incident. The Contractor shall support crisis incident escalation processes, including transferring the incident to the Tier 3 Team, and contacting C&P Service Desk Manager.

The Contractor shall contact ESD to have them establish a High Priority Incident (HPI), in accordance with current OIT ticket types and priority policies, as directed by the C&P Service Desk Manager, Tier 3 Production Operations (ProdOps) Team Lead or their designees. The Contractor shall support every HPI/Critical Priority Issues (CPI) call that impacts C&P products/applications to its conclusion in order to capture C&P notes for the call(s).

If an incident is determined to be a severity code 3 (IAW SLA table), the Contractor shall attempt to replicate or troubleshoot the incident as part of the incident verification/validation process. If the severity code 3 issue cannot be resolved, the Contractor shall transfer the Incident to the Tier 3 Team and contact the C&P Service Desk Manager. For all issues forwarded to the Tier 3 Team, the Contractor shall continue to interface with the customer/user to request more information and to update status. After the customer/user is notified of the resolution or incident transfer and is satisfied with the actions taken, the Contractor shall ensure that the resolution fixed the issue and shall update and close the incident ticket.

The Contractor shall provide a Post Release (major and patches) Communications Spreadsheet identifying a summary of SNow Tickets after the release segregated by the application components which details the top system issues users are encountering for the subsequent 72 hours and updated three times a day. These communications are used by leadership and development to track system defects, user experience, and overall network health.

The Contractor shall provide a Monthly Help Desk Response Scripts baseline in accordance with the guidelines, capabilities, and limitations of the current C&P products/applications software release. The agile nature of these Service Desk processes will evolve and adapt with updated software functionality and application integration. Service Desk Analysts shall be prepared with this updated knowledge before it is released to the Customer to expedite the incident resolution process.

The Contractor (C&P Service Desk) shall communicate and educate the ESD with regard to issues that can and should be resolved at Tier 1 by analyzing ticket trends and developing user friendly Knowledge Articles and tip sheets to educate Tier 1 Analysts.

This collaboration is important to increase Tier 1 First Call Resolution while reducing the Tier 2 ticket backlog.

The Contractor shall assign an on-call Senior Tier 2 Analyst which will have Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) laptop and/or mobile devices for remote work.

In addition, the Contractor shall implement a two senior Analyst review at the Tier 2 level before escalation.

The Contractor shall hold a weekly tele-video meeting where end users will screen share with Tier 2 and Tier 3 staff for problematic or emerging issues.

The Contractor shall sort through tickets to identify and close out non-response user tickets.

Deliverables:

A. Knowledge Articles and tip sheets B. Post Release Communications Spreadsheet C. Monthly Help Desk Response Scripts

5.5.2 TIER 3 / TIER 4 ASSISTANCE SUPPORT

For all issues that cannot be resolved by direct interface to the customer/user, the Contractor shall submit the issue for Tier 3 Support to the Tier 3 C&P ProdOps team(s) using the SNow system, program log, and during daily communication. The Contractor shall support additional triage activities in coordination with the Tier 3 C&P ProdOps Teams such as on-demand online live meetings to reproduce complex or difficult ticket issues.

The Contractor shall ensure that the C&P Service Desk Manager and COR is aware of the severity code and the time when the incident was reported.

If the Tier 3 needs to contact the customer for more information, the Contractor shall be required to coordinate these requests. As the C&P Tier 2 Support Contractor, the Contractor is the only level to have initial or follow up contact with the customer for customer management support.

If the problem is isolated to something other than a defect in the application software and is resolved by the Tier 3 C&P Team, a Tier 3 C&P analyst shall update the incident ticket and notify the Contractor of resolution. The Contractor shall then notify the customer of the resolution and close the incident ticket.

If a resolution is not found, the Contractor shall forward the issue via SNow to the C&P Tier 4 Development teams.

If any Tier 4 analysts need to contact the customer, the Contractor shall be required to coordinate these requests for more information.

If the problem is isolated to a new or existing defect in the application software, then the incident becomes the responsibility of the C&P PMO Defect Management Team.

The Contractor shall work in tandem with Triage teams for all incident updates as they occur. Triage members will contact the Contractor directly with updates or resolution.

The Contractor shall then update the ticket in SNow and inform the customer of the resolution and close the incident ticket.

5.5.3 HELP DESK DOCUMENTATION AND REPORTING

All Help Desk issues identified as HPI or CPI, in accordance with current OIT ticket types and priority policies, shall be reported to the C&P Service Desk Manager and COR within thirty (30) minutes of receipt. Reports of actions being taken to resolve the issue shall be provided with updates hourly until full functionality is restored. A C&P Product Line Outage Log that documents the outage time, services impacted, cause of the outage, and actions taken to restore the system shall be produced after the incident is resolved and provided to the C&P Service Desk Manager and COR.

The Contractor shall provide a Service Desk Monthly Progress Report which documents issue status and help desk metrics for all issues identified within a given month (C&P Product Line Issues Metrics). The Contractor shall maintain a C&P issues log with the issues reported, severity of the issue, response time, and resolution which shall be delivered within the Service Desk Monthly Progress Reports and shall include the date and time when the issue was reported, the person reporting the issue, the Regional Office (RO) reporting the issue, the severity code, the cause of the issue, a description of the issue, a workaround for the issue if relevant, the date and time the workaround was provided, the final solution to resolve the issue, and the resolution date and time.

The cause categories shall include, at a minimum, system outage, user error, slow performance, lost data, incorrect data, and access control. The C&P issues log for a specific time period shall be provided to the COR upon request.

The Contractor shall also maintain help desk and reporting metrics. The following metrics shall be included:

1. The number of issues by severity code

2. The number of issues by RO

3. The number of issues by Cause

4. The number of user error issues by RO

The help desk and reporting metrics shall be documented within the Daily Active Ticket Report, Daily Ticket Trend Report, and the Service Desk Monthly Progress Reports.

The Contractor shall provide Subject Matter Expert support to C&P managers for internal and external meetings as requested.

The Contractor shall provide Data Analysis support to perform comprehensive trend analysis on Tier 2 help desk tickets to identify recurring issues, root causes, workload patterns, and opportunities for process improvement. The Data Analyst shall collect, clean, and evaluate ticket data from approved VA systems, develop dashboards and reports, and deliver actionable insights that support operational decision-making.

Responsibilities include monitoring key performance indicators, identifying anomalies or emerging trends, producing routine and ad hoc analytical products, and recommending strategies to reduce ticket volume and improve service efficiency. The Analyst shall collaborate with Tier 2 leadership and technical teams to validate findings, support incident and problem management activities, and ensure all analytical outputs align with VA data governance, security, and reporting standards. The Contractor shall create, maintain, and deliver a Weekly Data Analysis Report.

The Contractor shall create, maintain, and deliver daily, weekly, monthly, ad hoc, special study analysis and reporting on all aspects of C&P SNow Tier 2, Tier 3 and Tier 4 tickets for all ticket severity levels including associations with C&P products/applications defects in accordance with industry best practices (e.g dashboards, trend charts, VA approved tools). The Contractor shall liaise and coordinate with external VA resources for reporting and study needs as required by VA processes and procedures.

The Contractor shall also maintain and provide:

1.