QA WEB Maintenance PWS Draft 9.24.24.pdf

TRANSFORMATION TWENTY-ONE TOTAL TECHNOLOGY NEXT GENERATION

(T4NG)

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS) DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS

AFFAIRS

Office of Information & Technology (OIT)

Software Product Management Office Benefits and Memorials Services Portfolio

Education Veteran Readiness and Employment Product Line

Quality Assurance (QA) Web Application Sustainment Support

Date: September 24, 2024

VA-25-00002273

Task Order PWS Version Number: 1.0

QA Web Application Sustainment Support

Contents

1.0 BACKGROUND

2.0 APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS

3.0 SCOPE OF WORK

3.1 APPLICABILITY

3.2 ORDER TYPE

4.0 PERFORMANCE DETAILS

4.1 PERFORMANCE PERIOD

4.2 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

4.3 TRAVEL OR SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

4.4 CONTRACT MANAGEMENT

4.5 GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY

4.6 SECURITY AND PRIVACY

4.6.1 POSITION/TASK RISK DESIGNATION LEVEL(S)

5.0 SPECIFIC TASKS AND DELIVERABLES

5.1 PROJECT MANAGEMENT

5.1.2 REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

5.1.3 PRIVACY TRAINING

5.1.4 TECHNICAL KICKOFF MEETING

5.2 QAWEB APPLICATION SUSTAINMENT

5.2.1 QAWEB REVIEW INSTRUMENTS

5.2.2 QAWEB HELP DESK

5.2.3 QAWEB DATA DICTIONARY AND INFORMATICA METADATA MANAGER . 13

5.3 QAWEB PHASE-OUT TRANSITION

6.0 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

6.1 PERFORMANCE METRICS

6.2 SECTION 508 – INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

STANDARDS

6.2.1 COMPATIBILITY WITH ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY

6.2.2 ACCEPTANCE AND ACCEPTANCE TESTING

1.0 BACKGROUND

The mission of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of Information & Technology (OIT), Software Product Management, Benefits and Memorial Services Portfolio, Education Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E) Product Line, is to provide benefits and services to Veterans of the United States. In meeting these goals, OIT strives to provide high quality, effective, and efficient Information Technology (IT) services to those responsible for administering benefits to the Veterans in an effective, timely and compassionate manner. VA depends on Information Management/Information Technology (IM/IT) systems to meet mission goals.

VR&E, formerly called Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment program, helps service-connected disability Veterans, that have limits in their ability to work or prevents them from working. This program, also known as Chapter 31, helps Veterans explore employment options and address training needs. In some cases, the Veterans’ family members also qualify for certain benefits.

The Chapter 31 benefit provides VR&E counseling, as well as benefits payments, for our nation’s service-connected disabled Veterans.

The VR&E Quality Assurance (QA) Web Application project was developed prior to October 2010 under OIT’s Process Modeling Center of Excellence (PMCE) as a pilot project. The PMCE developed an improved business process and the foundations for a web-based application designed to support the VR&E Quality Assurance program.

This effort is to carry out mandatory sustainment of the QAWeb Application to ensure the Department’s administration of the Chapter 31 benefit continues to meet the highest quality standards. Institutional stakeholders for this sustainment effort include the Secretary, Congress, the Courts, Veterans Service Organizations, and the U.S. taxpayers.

VBA’s VR&E’s Quality Assurance Team provides comprehensive analyses to the Director and Under Secretary of Benefits/Secretary and stakeholders, as to how well the counselors are providing services to train and employ the Veterans by conducting case reviews and answering questions on how well the cases are being handled under the Chapter 31 regulations. Historically, the process utilized data received from the VBA Program Accountability and Integrity Office (PA&I) by means of an Excel document and was manually entered into an antiquated system.

The case reviews that occurred as a result of the data were also manually recorded utilizing paper forms. In this environment the potential for human error was great and the necessary metrics to improve the review process were sorely lacking.

The QAWeb Application was designed to support the VR&E QA Team in managing and conducting QA case reviews to facilitate more accurate and in-depth reviews and provide results that generate automated reports. VR&E QAWeb provides the necessary flexibility needed to perform reviews more effectively and efficiently. The system receives the information via an automated interface. Case reviews are performed via electronic forms that have error logic built-in thus providing the Reviewer with messages requiring corrective action prior to being able to proceed with the review. Upon the completion of the reviews, by means of an interface, data necessary to create high level management reports are requested and organized. Given that more data are captured at the front end, the reporting capabilities have been significantly enhanced using the QAWeb Application.

Presently, VR&E QAWeb holds and processes case reviews for six instruments that are currently used to conduct a case review. (see section 5.2.1, QAWeb Review Instruments). The QAWeb Application currently supports the Central Office case reviews that are carried out at the national quality monitoring office for VBA in Nashville, TN. VR&E QAWeb Application supports all the benefit types that VA utilizes for case review such as Chapter (CH) 31, CH 36 and NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act). It has the capability to support any new valid benefit type that VA may choose to add as a valid benefit type. Currently Chapters 31, 33, 36, and NDAA are the four valid VA benefit types. The Operating platform for the VR&E QAWeb Application is Web logic and UNIX Solaris. Data is stored in an Oracle database and user interface displays are Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) supplemented with JavaScript and Kendo Complete framework. QAWeb is comprised of ~900k lines of code.

2.0 APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS

The Contractor shall comply with the following documents, in addition to the documents in Paragraph 2.0 in the T4NG Basic Performance Work Statement (PWS), in the performance of this effort:

1. VA Enterprise Architecture, Benefits and Memorial Services Portfolio – VA |

2. VA Technical Reference Model v 24.4, http://agilemanifesto.org/

3. “Veteran-Focused Integration Process Guide 3.0”, December 2017, http://vaww.tampa.va.gov/services/information_resource_manage/Veteran_Focused_Inte g ration_Process_Request.asp

4. “Veteran-Focused Integration Process (VIP) Release Process Guide 4.0”, March 2021 Veteran-Focused Integration Process (sharepoint.com)- attachment A

5. VA PARS User Guide_UPDATED, December 7, 2020 User Guide (sharepoint.com)- attachment B

6. VA Office of Information Security (OIS), Secure Code Review, Web Application Security Assessment (WASA), and Network Security Operations Center (NSOC) standards, https://vaww.portal2.va.gov/sites/infosecurity/index.aspx

7. Information and Communication Technology, 508 Standard and 255 Guidelines/ Guidelines standard, https://www.scaledagileframework.com

8. The Agile Manifesto: The Agile Manifesto

9. VA UX Style Guide: VA.gov content style guide - VA.gov Design System

10. VA Design System: https://design.va.gov/

11. VA Developer Portal: https://developer.va.gov/

3.0 SCOPE OF WORK

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3.1 APPLICABILITY

This Task Order (TO) effort PWS is within the scope of paragraph(s) of the T4NG Basic PWS.

4.1 Program Management

4.2 Systems/Software Engineering

4.4 Test and Evaluation

4.8 Operations and Maintenance

3.2 ORDER TYPE

The effort shall be proposed on a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) basis.

4.0 PERFORMANCE DETAILS

4.1 PERFORMANCE PERIOD

The Period of Performance (PoP) shall be 12 months from date of award with two 12-month option periods, and one optional task for transition support. The total PoP shall not exceed 37 months

4.2 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

Efforts under this TO shall be performed at Contractor facilities. The Contractor shall identify the Contractor’s place of performance in their Task Execution Plan submission.

4.3 TRAVEL OR SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

The Government anticipates travel to perform the tasks associated with the effort, as well as to attend program-related meetings or conferences throughout the period of performance. 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 four trips during each performance period of the TO. Anticipated locations include the following, estimated at two days in duration for two people:

Travel is estimated as follows:

**Note: VARO travel may include Newark, NJ, St. Petersburg, FL, Philadelphia, PA, or Manchester, NH from among the 58 VAROs with Veteran Readiness and Employment Offices.

Location # of Trips # of Days # of Travelers Nashville Monitoring Unit Two Two Two *VA Regional Office (VARO) Two Two Two

4.4 CONTRACT MANAGEMENT

All requirements of Sections 7.0 and 8.0 of the T4NG Basic PWS apply to this effort. This TO shall be addressed in the Contractor’s Progress, Status and Management Report as set forth in the T4NG Basic contract.

4.5 GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY

The Government has multiple remote access solutions available to include Citrix Access Gateway, Site-to-Site Virtual Private Network (VPN), and RESCUE VPN.

The Government’s issuance of Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) is limited to Contractor personnel requiring direct access to the network to: development environments; install, configure and run Technical Reference Model (TRM) approved software and tools (e.g., Oracle, Fortify, Eclipse, SoapUI, WebLogic, LoadRunner); upload/download/manipulate code, run scripts, and apply patches; configure and change system settings; check logs, troubleshoot/debug, and test/QA.

When necessary, the Government will furnish desktops or laptops, for use by the Contractor to access VA networks, systems, or applications to meet the requirements of this PWS. The overarching goal is to determine the most cost-effective approach to providing needed access to the VA environment coupled with the need to ensure proper Change Management principles are followed. Contractor personnel shall adhere to all VA system access requirements for on-site and remote users in accordance with VA standards, local security regulations, policies and rules of behavior. GFE shall be approved by the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) and Program Manager (PM) on a case-by-case basis prior to issuance.

Based upon the Government assessment of remote access solutions and requirements of this TO, the Government estimates that the following GFE will be required by this TO:

1. Eight VA developer grade laptops and applicable software.

2. One VA standard grade laptops and applicable software.

The Government will not provide IT accessories including but not limited to Mobile Wi-Fi hotspots/wireless access points, additional or specialized keyboards or mice, laptop bags, extra charging cables, extra Personal Identity Verification card readers, peripheral devices, or additional Random Access Memory. The Contractor is responsible for providing these types of IT accessories in support of the TO as necessary and any VA installation required for these IT accessories shall be coordinated with the COR.

The Status of Government Furnished Equipment Report under the T4NG Basic Contract requirements is applicable to this TO and shall be delivered to the COR/VA PM as required.

4.6 SECURITY AND PRIVACY

All requirements in Section 6.0 of the T4NG Basic PWS apply to this effort. Specific TO requirements relating to Addendum B, Section B4.0 paragraphs j and k supersede the corresponding T4NG Basic PWS paragraphs, and are as follows,

j. The vendor shall notify VA within 24 hours of the discovery or disclosure of successful exploits of the vulnerability which can compromise the security of the Systems (including the confidentiality or integrity of its data and operations, or the availability of the system). Such issues shall be remediated as quickly as is practical, but in no event longer than the guidelines below.

i. Critical – Must be remediated immediately.

ii. High – Must be remediated within 60 days.

iii. Medium – Must be remediated within 90 days.

iv. Low – Must be remediated according to the timeframe established by the system owner. Typical in the next release or no longer than 120 days.

k. When the Security Fixes involve installing third party patches (such as Microsoft OS patches or Adobe Acrobat), the vendor will provide written notice to VA that the patch has been validated as not affecting the Systems within 10 working days. When the vendor is responsible for operations or maintenance of the Systems, they shall apply the Security Fixes within 90 days.

4.6.1 POSITION/TASK RISK DESIGNATION LEVEL(S)

In accordance with VA Handbook 0710, Personnel Security and Suitability Program, the position sensitivity and the level of background investigation commensurate with the required level of access for the following tasks within the PWS are:

Position Sensitivity and Background Investigation Requirements by Task

Position Sensitivity and Background Investigation Requirements

Task Number Tier1 / Low Risk Tier 2 / Moderate Risk

Tier 4 / High Risk

5.1 5.2 5.3

The Tasks identified above and the resulting Position Sensitivity and Background Investigation requirements identify, in effect, the Background Investigation requirements for Contractor individuals, based upon the tasks the particular Contractor individual will be working. The submitted Contractor Staff Roster must indicate the required Background Investigation Level for each Contractor individual based upon the tasks the Contractor individual will be working, in accordance with their submitted proposal.

5.0 SPECIFIC TASKS AND DELIVERABLES

The Contractor shall perform PWS Sections 5.1 and 5.2, and all subsections (except 5.1.4) in the Base Period and each Option Period, if exercised. The Contractor shall perform the following:

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 PM approved CPMP throughout the PoP.

Deliverable:

A. Contractor Project Management Plan

5.1.2 REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor shall deliver Bi-Weekly (every two weeks) Status Reports. These reports shall provide accurate, timely, and complete project information supporting reporting Requirements.

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

a. Project Name and Contract Name

b. Overview and description of the Contract

c. Overall high level assessment of Contract progress

d. All work in-progress and completed during the reporting period and work planned for the subsequent two (2) reporting periods, when applicable.

e. Identification of any Contract 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. Current definition of user requirements / function points overlaid over the original function points and the last reported function points to specifically identify changes in the function points to be delivered since the previous report.

i. 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 Status Report shall identify any changes in staffing identifying each person who was added to the contract or removed from the contract.

j. 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 Status Report to the COR and Program/Project Manager during routine, regular communications.

Deliverable:

A. Bi-Weekly Status Report

5.1.3 PRIVACY TRAINING

The Contractor shall submit status of VA Privacy and Information Security Awareness training for all individuals engaged on the task. The status reporting shall identify a single Contractor Security POC, the names of all personnel engaged on the task, their initial training date for VA Privacy and Information Security training, and their next required training date. This information shall be submitted as part of the Bi-Weekly Status Report.

The Contractor shall submit VA Privacy and Information Security training certificates in accordance with Section 9, Training, from Appendix C of the VA Handbook 6500.6, “Contract Security”.

Deliverable:

A. VA Privacy and Information Security Training Certificates

5.1.4 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 Microsoft 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 QAWeb Sustainment Support.” 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 QAWEB APPLICATION SUSTAINMENT

The Contractor shall perform maintenance activities and implement maintenance upgrades to the QAWeb system including testing, deployment, production, and configuration management support.

The Contractor shall:

1. Attend QAWeb Integrated Project Team (IPT) and Change Control Board (CCB) meetings by Teams Meeting or phone conversation. Typically, the IPT meetings are weekly and may include demonstration for any new functionalities to the QAWeb.

Typically Change Control Board meetings are monthly and may coincide with the weekly IPT meetings. The Contractor shall provide technical insight into the complexity and sizing of alternative solutions associated with all user change requests. The Contractor shall provide technical recommendations on a quarterly basis to QAWeb IPT and CCB, in the form of email or ad hoc reports.

2. The Contractor shall support QAWeb Application Software Releases that contain cumulative Change Control Board approved maintenance modifications to the QAWeb application, to include ongoing code maintenance and functional defect corrective work that is required to keep the application accurate; software releases computations valid;

software releases operations in conformance with Congressional, Court-directed, Section 508, and CRISP security requirements; and generally to reflect in the QAWeb Application the VR&E Service’s business requirements for assuring quality in the administration of the Chapter 31 Benefit. The Contractor shall ensure that the software release code conforms to VA standards, and that errors are addressed and resolved in a timeframe to comply with the Systems Implementation Office (SIO) release schedule or urgent out-of-cycle release process as may be required. Test and implement VA generated IT security alerts, mandated security patches, emergency Congressional, Court, or White House mandates as well as maintain existing VA developed QAWeb application code. The Contractor shall provide QAWeb Application Software Release Packages and are due at least one week prior to the scheduled SIO Coordination Install dates.

Historically over a 12-month period, QAWeb has averaged four scheduled releases, and up to three emergency code changes resulting in releases.

The Contractor shall follow PAL artifacts templates and develop QAWeb Application Software Release Packages including resolving failed data conversion efforts, expected time durations for recovery and any time critical decision points prior to any change being scheduled. The Contractor shall provide updates to the following QAWeb Application Software Release Packages and communicate with PM, COR, PA&I, QAWeb Business Stakeholders for any potential changes for each release.

QAWeb Application Software Release Packages include:

a. Comprehensive Test Plan

b. Use Cases and Test Cases Documentation

c. Module Design Documentation

d. Code Technical Documentation

e. Unit, Integration, and Regression Testing Reports

f. User Acceptance Testing Reports

g. Production Environment Deployment Documentation

h. Technical Release Notes

i. Step-by-Step User Guide

j. Data Dictionary

k. Fall-back Procedures

3. The Contractor shall collaborate with other VA teams and their stakeholders such as the

VBA PA&I to ensure reporting quality and data standardization across various database is up to date. Currently PA&I use Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition Software and QAWeb uses the Informatica Metadata Manager (IMM) tool. The Contractor shall report issues and implement fixes after testing has been conducted.

4. Perform unit, integration, and regression testing including test case and test script development (Use Case and Test Case Documentation); support User Acceptance Test (UAT); and deploy the tested and approved maintenance code to QAWeb Production environment. The Contractor shall provide Technical Release Notes and updates to the existing Step by Step User Guide reflecting the deployed sustainment code, and the fallback procedures should an installation be aborted. The Contractor shall repair any defects identified in its maintenance code and repeat testing to demonstrate defect-free functionality. The Contractor shall work with the VR&E representative to ensure the release code is accepted. The Contractor shall update a Comprehensive Test Plan per software release to ensure that more than 95% of the programming deficiencies are detected for the functions covered by the test. The Contractor shall ensure deficiency reporting is logically organized and traces the status of each identified deficiency from initial identification through acceptance testing of its correction/resolution. The unit, integration, regression, and UAT are required for each of the releases plus any additional special out-of-cycle emergency releases.

5. The Contractor shall perform a technical refresh to update all the QAWeb software and tools, including supporting migrating the application to a cloud platform as needed. The Contractor shall use tools, software, and technology approved in the VA Technical Reference Model to handle production and maintenance, provide bug fixes, and implement business requirements for QAWeb.

Activities under this task shall be summarized and included in the Bi-Weekly Status Report.

Deliverable:

A. QAWeb Application Software Release Packages

5.2.1 QAWEB REVIEW INSTRUMENTS

In support of maintaining the existing production of QAWeb Application, the Contractor shall conduct sustainment requirements and validation sessions for mission driven changes to the quality assurance review instruments, such as the current Chapter 31 Review Instruments and any Special QA Instruments, with SMEs identified by the Government team. The Contractor shall submit the QAWeb Instruments Sustainment Requirements Document that lists the possible QA instruments’ sustainment items, functionality, and design characteristics (include screen mock-

up) and requirements. The QAWeb Instruments Sustainment Requirement Document shall include those requirements needed for adjusting existing instruments, removing any obsolete instruments, as well as requirements for integrating any new instruments with existing QAWeb functionality. The Government will use the QAWeb Instruments Sustainment Requirements Document to prioritize the list of requirements and approve the items for code enhancement, testing, and deployment of quarterly maintenance increments. The sustainment code enhancement, testing, and deployment of these increments shall coincide with Hines Information Technology Center (ITC) SIO monthly release schedule.

The Contractor shall perform QAWeb Instruments requirements gathering, prioritization and implementation to ensure VRE users are able to conduct the six type case reviews. The six types of VR&E case reviews are as follow:

a. Entitlement Determination and Rehabilitation Planning Accuracy: reviews assess all activity from the receipt of the application until the case exits Evaluation and Planning case status.

b. Rehabilitation Service Delivery Accuracy: reviews assess all case management and service delivery activity (except fiscal payments) during the 12-month period prior to the date selected for review.

c. Fiscal Accuracy: reviews assess the accuracy of fiscal activity (awards, purchases, etc.)

up to six months prior to the date selected for review.

d. Case Closure Accuracy: reviews assess all case closure activities and decisions.

e. Chapter 36 Accuracy: reviews assess all activity from receipt of the application until the case is closed as Completed with Counseling or Closed without Counseling.

f. Special QA Instruments: Special review instruments will be the new direction for items not available to review through the standard instruments we currently use. This allows field management the ability to identify gaps and trends and do small sample testing for targeted reviews on their end to get specified results they need for program implementation and training.

A. QAWeb Instruments Sustainment Requirements Document

5.2.2 QAWEB HELP DESK

The Contractor shall provide Tier 2 help desk support for the QAWeb Application. The VA Philadelphia Information Technology Center (PITC) will provide Tier 1 support and create a trouble ticket or equivalent; VA PITC will refer Tier 2 issues to the Contractor for resolution.

Once a ticket is resolved, the Contractor shall contact VA PITC and provide resolution information. VA PITC support staff will enter the Tier 2 support resolution information into the system and close the trouble ticket. All initial problem reporting will be through the VA PITC.

The Contractor’s Tier 2 help desk support shall be available from 7:00 AM to 5:30 PM Eastern Time Monday to Friday (excluding Federal Holidays).

The Contractor shall provide problem solving support in accordance with response and resolution times listed below in Table 1. The Contractor shall summarize all activities in a Monthly Help Desk Status Report that includes a description and categorization of trouble tickets, volume, https://developer.va.gov/ https://vaww.ea.oit.va.gov/plm/bam/ http://agilemanifesto.org/ https://www.va.gov/web/standards/styles.cfm https://vbaw.vba.va.gov/VOCREHAB/qa/CH36A_SOP_03_01_21.pdf resolution, average resolution times, status of resolution and recommendations for code changes of a preventive nature to improve the customer experience.

Table 1: Event Response Time Intervals

Severity Code Customer Impact Response to Customer*

Resolution Time

1 - Critical Office/Unit Impacted (Complete work stoppage) Critical Service Request

30 business minutes

4 business hours

2 - Important Individual Impacted (Inability to perform job) Important Service Request

1 business hour

10 business hours

3 - Non-critical Low/No Impact (Able to perform work functions) Non-critical Service Request

16 business hours

80 business hours

4 - Request New Service, Scheduled/Planned Work 24 business hours

As scheduled

*Note: Via phone conversation or email.

Deliverable:

A. Monthly Help Desk Status Report

5.2.3 QAWEB DATA DICTIONARY AND INFORMATICA METADATA MANAGER

The Contractor shall work with the VR&E and VA IT organizations to update and maintain a QAWeb Data Dictionary whose content, scope, and technical specificity align with industry standards. The Contractor shall ensure the QAWeb Data Dictionary is complete for 100% of data elements. The Contractor shall keep the Data Dictionary current with each respective QAWeb software release. The Contractor shall construct the Data Dictionary using a VR&E-approved format such that it can be used by VR&E stakeholders to understand the functionality of QAWeb from a business perspective and also serve as a reference for technical systems documentation.

PA&I maintains an IMM to assist technical staff in understanding QAWeb data structures and relationships.

The Contractor shall examine the IMM and provide input to this Metadata Manager to ensure coordination with PA&I. The Contractor shall review each Data Dictionary version release to ensure it conform to VA PARS and PAL artifact requirements. The Contractor shall create new artifacts or update existing artifacts accordingly. The Contractor shall provide an Informatica Metadata Manager Report summarizing their input to the IMM. The Contractor shall provide the initial QAWeb Data Dictionary and the Informatica Metadata Manager Report summarizing the initial input to IMM. The Contractor shall provide updates to the QAWeb Data Dictionary and the Informatica Metadata Manager Report to align with Hines SIO production release dates.

A. Informatica Metadata Manager Report

5.3 QAWEB PHASE-OUT TRANSITION

If this Optional Task is exercised by VA, the Contractor shall develop a TO Phase-Out Transition Plan and shall perform transition of the QAWeb Application Sustainment services and activities described in this effort for 30 days of outgoing transition support for transitioning work from the current TO to a follow-on TO or Government entity. The Contractor shall conduct a Phase-Out Transition Plan Meeting five days following this Optional Task being exercised. The Contractor shall submit details for the Phase-Out Transition Plan and execute the Plan upon COR approval. The Contractor shall support the requisite knowledge transfer in accordance with the resulting Phase-Out Transition Plan and schedule.

The Phase-Out Transition Plan shall, at a minimum, include:

1. Approach for handoff of legacy program documentation, source code evaluation (to include all versions, maintenance updates and patches), metrics and statistics, and transition of current support services.

2. Inventory and transition of historical data (e.g., memos, letters, correspondence, regulations, reports, documents, software licensing agreements, memorandums of agreement/understanding, and inter-service agreements).

3. Transition coordination schedule to meet with Government and Contractor representatives, including all VA organizations which hold sustainment responsibilities, to explain demarcation of responsibilities and interface points for performance of work elements.

4. Personnel staffing during the transition period.

5. Risks and associated risk mitigation.

6. Method and metrics to demonstrate successful completion of Knowledge Transfer.

7. Lessons learned documentation.

8. Provide application access as required.

9. This Optional Task may be exercised once by the Government anytime during the Base or Option Periods to allow for a successful transition of contract documentation, operational processes, and knowledge to the new Contractor.

A. Phase-Out Transition Plan

6.0 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

6.1 PERFORMANCE METRICS

The table below defines the Performance Standards and Acceptable Levels of Performance associated with this effort.

The COR will utilize a Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) throughout the life of the TO to ensure that the Contractor is performing the services required by this PWS in an acceptable level of performance. The Government reserves the right to alter or change the QASP at its own discretion. A Performance Based Service Assessment will be used by the COR in accordance with the QASP to assess Contractor performance.

6.2 SECTION 508 – INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

STANDARDS

On January 18, 2017, the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) revised and updated, in a single rulemaking, standards for electronic and information technology developed, procured, maintained, or used by Federal agencies covered by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as well as our guidelines for telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment covered by Section 255 of the Communications Act of 1934. The revisions and updates to the Section 508-based standards and Section 255-based guidelines are intended to ensure that information and communication technology (ICT) covered by the respective statutes is accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities.

The following Section 508 Requirements supersede Addendum A, Section A3 from the T4NG Basic PWS.

Performance Objective Performance Standard Acceptable Levels of Performance

A. Technical / Quality of Product or Service

1. Shows understanding of requirements

2. Efficient and effective in meeting requirements

3. Meets technical needs and mission requirements

4. Provides quality services/products

5. Incorporates “ease of use” Human

Centered Design principles in any software developed

Satisfactory or higher

B. Project Milestones and Schedules

1. Quick response capability

2. Products completed, reviewed, delivered in accordance with the established schedule

3. Notifies customer in advance of potential problems

Satisfactory or higher

C. Cost & Staffing 1. Currency of expertise and staffing levels appropriate

2. Personnel possess necessary knowledge, skills and abilities to perform tasks

Satisfactory or higher

D. Management 1. Integration and coordination of all activities to execute effort

Satisfactory or higher

The Section 508 standards established by the Access Board are incorporated into, and made part of all VA orders, solicitations and purchase orders developed to procure ICT. These standards are found in their entirety at: https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about- the-ict-refresh/final-rule/text-of-the-standards-and-guidelines. A printed copy of the standards will be supplied upon request.

Federal agencies must comply with the updated Section 508 Standards beginning on January 18, 2018. The Final Rule as published in the Federal Register is available from the Access Board:

https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-ict-refresh/final-rule.

The Contractor shall comply with “508 Chapter 2: Scoping Requirements” for all electronic ICT and content delivered under this contract. Specifically, as appropriate for the technology and its functionality, the Contractor shall comply with the technical standards marked here:

E205 Electronic Content – (Accessibility Standard -WCAG 2.0 Level A and AA Guidelines)

E204 Functional Performance Criteria E206 Hardware Requirements E207 Software Requirements E208 Support Services and Documentation Requirements

6.2.1 COMPATIBILITY WITH ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY

The standards do not require installation of specific accessibility-related software or attachment of an assistive technology device. Section 508 requires that ICT be compatible with such software and devices so that ICT can be accessible to and usable by individuals using assistive technology, including but not limited to screen readers, screen magnifiers, and speech recognition software.

6.2.2 ACCEPTANCE AND ACCEPTANCE TESTING

Deliverables resulting from this solicitation will be accepted based in part on satisfaction of the Section 508 Chapter 2: Scoping Requirements standards identified above.

The Government reserves the right to test for Section 508 Compliance before delivery. The Contractor shall be able to demonstrate Section 508 Compliance upon delivery.

https://vbaw.vba.va.gov/VOCREHAB/qa/EDRPA_SOP_03_01_21.pdf https://vbaw.vba.va.gov/VOCREHAB/qa/EDRPA_SOP_03_01_21.pdf https://www.scaledagileframework.com/ https://www.scaledagileframework.com/ https://vbaw.vba.va.gov/VOCREHAB/qa/FA_SOP_05_17_20.pdf https://vbaw.vba.va.gov/VOCREHAB/qa/CCA_SOP_05_17_20.pdf