RFQ 8500 Attach 1 SOO.pdf

RFQ 8500

3/11/2025

STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES (SOO)

Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Transformation - User Experience

1. PROJECT TITLE

Analysis of IRS Enterprise Infrastructure Supporting IRA capabilities and User Experience.

2. BACKGROUND

As a vital hub for critical information and operations, the Associate CIO in the User’s Network Service office requires adept oversight and support to ensure seamless functionality and efficient project execution. The contractor will be tasked with managing a diverse array of projects, ranging from infrastructure upgrades for user experience initiatives, necessitating a keen eye for detail and a proactive approach to problem-solving.

3. PURPOSE

Requesting a Performance Work Statement (PWS) and Quality Assurance Support Plan (QASP) to ensure uninterrupted, high-performance operations. This acquisition is to provide comprehensive project management and technical support services for the Deputy Chief Information Officer (DCIO) office.

Services are to provide oversight and support to ensure seamless functionality and efficient project execution.

High level scope of work includes:

• Conducting a thorough assessment of our existing enterprise customer tools, including network infrastructure, data storage systems, software applications, and cloud services.

• Analyzing performance metrics, system logs, and security protocols to identify bottlenecks, inefficiencies, to include potential security gaps.

• Developing recommendations and actionable insights to optimize customer tools performance, enhance data integrity, and strengthen cybersecurity posture as we rollout smart conference rooms and capabilities on mobile devices.

• Identification/evaluation of our robust monitoring solutions to continuously evaluate the health and performance of our enterprise customer tools and promptly address any deviations or anomalies.

4. AGENCY MISSION

United Nations Office for Project Services (UNS) plays a pivotal role in sustaining the operational backbone of our organization and managing a workforce of thousands of individuals. As our organization continues to evolve and expand its digital footprint, it is imperative to ensure the efficiency, security, and scalability of the Enterprise suite of tools systems.

5. SCOPE

The scope of the Program Management Support shall involve strategic planning, stakeholder management, risk management, performance monitoring, change management, and continuous improvement activities. The goal is to align information technology (IT) programs’ goals, objectives, and deliveries with the IT organization’s strategic objectives. The Operational and Execution Support will assist the ACIO with driving strategically and delivering on IRA commitments under User Experience.

This initiative aims to enhance our understanding of current user experience capabilities, identify potential areas for improvement, and establish evaluation of our proactive monitoring mechanisms to provide a better User Experience. The task areas stated in paragraph 14 “Objectives” is required to support this scope of work. Tasks are as follows:

(1) Task 1: Program Management Support

(2) Task 2: Operational and Execution Support

(3) Task 3: Provide a Performance Work Statement (PWS)

(4) Task 4: Provide a Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP)

6. HOURS OF OPERATION

The contractor is responsible for conducting business, between the hours of 8:00 am – 4:30 pm (EST) Monday thru Friday except Federal holidays or when the Government facility is closed due to local or national emergencies, administrative closings, or similar Government directed facility closings.

The Contractor must always maintain an adequate workforce for the uninterrupted performance of all tasks defined within this SOO when the Government facility is not closed.

7. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

The work is to be performed at contractor facilities, with reasonable access to government site (contractor personnel can travel to government site for meetings within two hours’ notice and at reasonable travel costs.)

Note: The contractor staff may be permitted to work off site (telework or contractor site) when viewed as advantageous to the government.

8. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The Period of Performance shall be for one twelve (12) month base period and one six (6) month option period.

9. SECURITY REQUIREMENTS

The applicable contractor employees are subject to investigation by the government. Contractor employees who undergo contractor clearances that reveal, but are not limited to, the following, may be unacceptable for performance under this contract: conviction of a felony, a crime of violence or a serious misdemeanor, a record of arrests for continuing offenses, or failure to file or pay federal income tax. The Government reserves the right to determine if a contractor employee assigned to a task shall continue with the task if unfavorable information is revealed during the background investigation. The contractor shall agree to remove the person assigned within one day of official notification by the Government and provide a replacement within five days. New hires or substitutions of personnel are subject to the contractor clearance requirement.

The contractor is required to obtain government (staff-like) access approval from IRS personnel security before accessing any IRS systems or Integration.

The contractor must accurately complete, sign and submit to the COR the following documents to initiate staff access approval processes:

• Form 12333, Consent for Fingerprint Check

• Non-Disclosure Agreement

• OPM Form 306 – Declaration for Federal Employment

• IRS Form 12114 – OPM Form 306 Additional Information

• IRS Form 13340 – Fair Credit Reporting Act

10. PHYSICAL SECURITY

The contractor shall be responsible for safeguarding all government equipment, information and property provided for contractor use. At the close of each workday, government facilities, equipment, and materials shall be secured.

11. PROGRESS MEETINGS

The Contracting Officer (CO), Contracting Officer Representative (COR), and other government authorized personnel, as appropriate, must meet periodically with the contractor to review the contractor's performance. At these meetings the Government will apprise the contractor of how the IRS views the Contractor's performance and the Contractor shall apprise the IRS of problems, if any, being experienced.

Appropriate action shall be taken by the Contractor to resolve outstanding issues. These meetings shall be at no additional cost to the Government.

12. IDENTIFICATION OF CONTRACTOR EMPLOYEES

Contractor personnel attending meetings, answering IRS telephones where contractor status is not obvious to third parties, are required to identify themselves to avoid the appearance of serving in the capacity as a government official. All documents or reports produced by contractors shall be clearly marked as contractor products or contractor participation is appropriately disclosed. Contractor personnel must obtain and wear IRS badges while working in IRS offices.

13. CURRENT INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT)/NETWORK ENVIRONMENT

Vendor analysis of the current and to-be environment is a requirement under objectives.

14. OBJECTIVES

Task 1: Program Management Support The contractor shall design, implement, and operate a Program Management Team (PMT) function to coordinate the management and execution of transformational activities across the UNS portfolio. The PMT shall track progress against the objectives and implementation plans being developed within UNS.

Status report updates will be provided to the Government monthly.

The contractor shall:

• Develop schedules and status reports related to program implementation/delivery activities including system development, modernization, and enhancement.

• Prepare statuses to include updating status within tools such as ServiceNow that show progress and alignment with strategic goals and value delivery.

• Monitor the program’s progress at the portfolio level and suggest corrective actions as soon as deviations are identified from project cost, risk, and schedule.

• Develop monthly status reports, talking points for meetings, and provide updated briefing materials as needed. Updates and briefing materials due within 48 hours of request.

Task 2: Operational and Execution Support The contractor shall analyze and develop plans that support the operations of the helpdesk and User experience activities being performed from the IRA Strategic Operating Plan. The plans will address the integrated efforts on strategic priorities. The plans shall include a technology inventory, goals, and milestones. The contractor shall focus on human-centered design enhancements and service quality improvements to elevate customer experiences.

The contractor shall:

• Extract data from ServiceNow and perform ticket assessments to identify root cause on/for top user issues.

• Identify and implement Metrics/Model in support of the User Experience outcomes and measures to support Monthly.

• Assist with determining what measures should be used and collected in the User Experience space using other government agency and Industry best practices required for metric reporting.

• Create a list of hardware & software that impacts users directly to assess if and where additional opportunities sit.

• Assess ServiceNow AI functionality and capabilities that can be used/execute in the helpdesk and customer support areas.

• Work with helpdesk representative to understand average call times and issues. Determine what tools or replacement tools would help in this space, then plan to implement recommendations.

• Define functional requirements and develop a logical model for a customer service support system

• Assist in developing new processes and framework for “World Class” theme for User Experience & Services

• Assist documenting long term strategies for User Experience

Task 3: Performance Work Statement The Contractor shall propose a Performance Work Statement (PWS), as a component of their response to the Request for Proposal (RFQ). The PWS will address the requirements and procedures required to accomplish Task #1 and Task #2 stated above. In addition, the contractor shall include recommended labor categories best suited to meet the government objectives.

Recommended labor categories may include the following (but not limited to):

• Program Manager

• Information Technology Specialist

• Subject Matter Expert (Senior)

• Analyst III

Staffing for these areas can be done with people who specialize in an area or are generalists across multiple areas or a combination of specialists and generalists. Core competencies for all the roles include problem solving, proactive communication, and the ability to make sense of complex tax laws and then translate them into user-friendly designs and content.

Some of these roles may need multiple people. Although teams aim to maintain the same structure, certain roles may be in higher demand at different points in the product life cycle. The Government recommends staffing individuals full-time on the project unless required for strategically reducing time during fluctuations in project needs.

Task 4: Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan The Contractor shall propose an updated version of the attached Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP), as a component of their response to the RFQ.

15. DELIVERABLES/SCHEDULE/PERFORMANCE:

The Government Task Manager (GTM) will review the monthly progress report and consider the following performance metrics in addition to applicable metrics. The results will be included in the overall review of the progress report.

Item No. Deliverable Objective Due

1 Quality of Service Work performed consistent with observations and expectations.

Deliverables were received and accepted.

Monthly

2 Timeliness of Delivery Task orders and requests were delivered on time.

In accordance with proposed schedule.

Monthly

3 Cost Control Hours consistent with work reported.

At the end of the fiscal year, the Program Office will compute the variance between dollars awarded and cost incurred. If the overall requirements are reduced or the level of contractor support without formally changing the task order value, the variance will not be considered in the analysis.

Monthly / yearly

16. CONSTRAINTS

Recognized Federal Holidays The contractor is not required to perform services on federal holidays.

New Year’s Day Labor Day Birthday of Martin Luther King Jr Columbus Day Washington’s Birthday Veteran’s Day Memorial Day Thanksgiving Day Juneteenth National Independence Day Christmas Day Independence Day

17. DATA RIGHTS

All contractor deliverables or work products shall remain categorized as "Official Use Only.” The release of any portion must be authorized in writing by the Government. The Government has unlimited rights to all documents and material produced under this task order. All documents and materials, including the source codes of any software, produced under this task order shall be government owned and are the property of the Government with all rights and privileges of ownership/copyright belonging exclusively to the Government. These documents and materials may not be used or sold by the Contractor without written permission from the Contracting Officer.

All materials supplied to the Government shall be the sole property of the Government and may not be used for any other purpose. This right does not abrogate any other Government rights.

18. SECTION 508 COMPLIANCE

The contractor shall adhere to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which requires access to the Federal Government electronic and information technology.

The law applies to all federal agencies when they develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology. Federal agencies must ensure that this technology is accessible to employees and members of the public with disabilities. http://www.section508.gov/.

Each electronic and information technology product or service furnished under this SOO shall comply with the Electronic and Information Technology (EIT) Accessibility Standards (29 U.S.C. 87794(d)).

For every EIT product or service accepted under this award by the Government that does not comply with (29 U.S.C. 87794(d)), the contractor shall at the discretion of the Government, make every effort to replace or upgrade it with a compliant equivalent product or service, if commercially available and cost neutral, on either the planned refresh cycle of the product or service, or on the order renewal date, whichever shall occur first.

http://www.section508.gov/

19. REFERENCES/ATTACHMENTS:

References:

Applicable Internal Revenue Manuals:

Acquisition Policy - https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p5488.pdf

Information Technology Security Policy & Guidance - https://www.irs.gov/irm/part10/irm_10-008-001r

Personnel Security Contractor Investigations - https://www.irs.gov/irm/part10/irm_10-023-002

Personnel Security/Suitability for Employment and Personnel Security Operations -https://www.irs.gov/irm/part10/irm_10-023-003 Enterprise Architecture (EA) - https://www.irs.gov/irm/part2/irm_02-015-001

Requisition Processing for IT Acquisition Products and Services - https://www.irs.gov/irm/part2/irm_02- 021-001

Section 508 - https://www.irs.gov/irm/part2/irm_02-030-001

Lifecycle Management - https://www.irs.gov/irm/part2/irm_02-031-001

Risk, Issue, and Action Item Management Policy - https://www.irs.gov/irm/part2/irm_02-109-001

IT Asset Management Policy - https://www.irs.gov/irm/part2/irm_02-149-001 Asset Management Software Procedures - https://www.irs.gov/irm/part2/irm_02-149-004

IT Program Governance Policy - https://www.irs.gov/irm/part2/irm_02-173-001

Attachment: SOO/PWS Attachment 1 – Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP)

20. POINTS OF CONTACT

IRS Contracting Officer (CO) (Prime Contract Level) :

Name: Daffeney Wilson Address: IRS Procurement

8122 Datapoint Dr San Antonio, TX 78229-3272

Telephone: 210-841-2173 Email: Daffeney.L.Wilson@IRS.GOV

Government Task Manager GTM- Task Order Level:

Name: Marc N. Brown Address: IT: Strategy and Planning

1999 Broadway Denver CO, 80223

Telephone: 720.470.2150 Email: Marc.N.Brown@IRS.GOV

Contracting Officer Representative (COR):

Name: Cheyenne Young, IT Specialist Address: IT: Strategy and Planning https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p5488.pdf https://www.irs.gov/irm/part10/irm_10-008-001r https://www.irs.gov/irm/part10/irm_10-023-002 https://www.irs.gov/irm/part10/irm_10-023-003 https://www.irs.gov/irm/part2/irm_02-015-001 https://www.irs.gov/irm/part2/irm_02-021-001 https://www.irs.gov/irm/part2/irm_02-021-001 https://www.irs.gov/irm/part2/irm_02-030-001 https://www.irs.gov/irm/part2/irm_02-031-001 https://www.irs.gov/irm/part2/irm_02-109-001 https://www.irs.gov/irm/part2/irm_02-149-001 https://www.irs.gov/irm/part2/irm_02-149-004 https://www.irs.gov/irm/part2/irm_02-173-001 mailto:Daffeney.L.Wilson@IRS.GOV mailto:Marc.N.Brown@IRS.GOV

5000 Ellin Rd Lanham, MD 20706

Email: Cheyenne.A.Young@irs.gov mailto:Cheyenne.A.Young@irs.gov