Socium Requirements Gathering and System Development RFI.pdf

October 4th, 2024 Request for Information Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) Information Management & Technology (IM&T) Socium Requirements Gathering and System Development

Title: Socium Requirements Gathering and System Development

Description:

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency requires a vendor to efficiently engage in continued development of a custom software solution; customization, integration, or modification of a software solution; software enablement; or software security, engineering, quality assurance, and manage the Socium application, identified capabilities, customer requirements, and report effectively to all levels of leadership in an ongoing basis. This acquisition will focus on Socium development, customer requirements gathering support, application functionality and capability developed to further the remaining requirements for the community of interest Department of Defense’s Security Cooperation (SC) enterprise, which enables DSCA to manage its global security cooperation activities and initiatives in a single integrated system.

Objective:

The objective of this Request for Information (RFI) is to gather information on the capabilities of existing vendors and their vendor-partners’ experience in enhancing and sustaining large, custom developed, mission critical applications through supporting product owners/requirements gathering, development, Agile, Project Management reporting, Help Desk Support, Operation & Sustainment (O&S), technical support, compliance, training, and delivering new functionality.

Solution Overview:

DSCA IM&T envisions that a potential contractor would perform the following:

1. Develop Technical Architecture; Functional Capabilities; Content, Data, and Workflow;

Visualizations and User Interfaces, etc.

2. Cyber Security support for artifact development, Authority to Operate (ATO) processes, Internal Control Over Financial Reporting (ICFR) processes, Information Assurance Vulnerability, vulnerability identification, remediation, or mitigation etc.

3. Perform analyses of Socium to align to functional requirements, requirements management, user acceptance testing, code release, and implementation planning, etc.

4. Use industry Agile Best Practices and adherence to DevSecOps for the development of the application, on-going maintenance, and administration.

5. Support the Product Owner (PO) in Agile based requirements gathering, conducting interviews, surveys, facilitated sessions, end-user requirements gathering, etc.

6. Coordinate all activities (analysis, design, development, testing and deployment) required to complete each story as defined by Acceptance Criteria and Definition of Done

7. Use Project Management when necessary for reporting to the various levels of leadership, etc.

8. Meet DSCA’s standardization of technical guardrails for systems.

9. Develop an Agile Development Management Plan amongst other requirements.

10. Employ the Agile mind set, and any PM waterfall related methodologies required to complete the project.

Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) Information Management & Technology (IM&T) Socium Requirements Gathering and System Development

The DSCA IM&T invites qualified and interested parties to submit written responses to this RFI by November 3, 2024, after which the DSCA IM&T will review submitted materials to support the development of its RFP and acquisition strategy. All responses shall be limited to fifteen pages in length in addition to the general response requests included in Appendix A. Submitted responses will not be returned to the responding party.

This RFI solicits information solely for market research purposes. As such, it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a commitment to issue an RFP by the DSCA IM&T. The information provided by the responding party will neither be evaluated nor considered as an offer. This RFI does not commit the DSCA IM&T to contract for any supply or service. Additionally, the DSCA IM&T is not responsible for any administrative costs incurred by any responding party in response to this RFI.

Background:

Security Cooperation is one of the central tools of the United States’ (U.S.) national security and foreign policy. An integral element of Department of Defense’s (DoD) mission, SC comprises all activities undertaken by DoD to encourage and enable international partners to work with the U.S. to achieve strategic objectives. The Global Theater Security Cooperation Management Information System (G- TSCMIS) was the original System of Record for Security Cooperation planning, monitoring and execution, but “suffered from serious technical and policy issues, undermining its adoption by the security cooperation enterprise.” In 2019, the Deputy Secretary of Defense assigned the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) the lead responsibility for the development and maintenance of any successor system to replace G-TSCMIS. Socium is the replacement System of Record, DoD enterprise-wide, cloud-based activity and workflow management system. The application was developed to reform the Department of Defense’s security cooperation (SC) enterprise by consolidating various security cooperation authorities, providing greater program scope clarity, and improving program management and oversight. This enables DSCA to manage its global security cooperation activities and initiatives in a single integrated system.

To remain capable of meeting the needs of the SC enterprise, DSCA IM&T requires a vendor that can provide business requirements PO support, O&S, and development for this innovative solution. The further enhancement of Socium through development, includes supporting product ownership, Agile and project management, O&S, development, technical support, compliance, and enhancing/upgrading Socium to deliver new functionality in accordance with DoD guidance. Moreover, the vendor shall operate, sustain, support, and improve the Socium software for the Government to accommodate both personnel and mission partners. The effort should ensure enterprise operational capability by applying the same innovative DevSecOps and Agile based execution model to the multi-domain, multi-functional system currently in use by DSCA.

Information Requested:

1. Please complete the requested information using the response tables in Appendix A detailing your organization’s profile (e.g., general, company, active/live client information, etc.).

Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) Information Management & Technology (IM&T) Socium Requirements Gathering and System Development

2. What is the feasibility of the solution detailed in the Solution Overview section? Please consider all measures e.g., requirements gathering, Agile, PM Reporting, development and technical requirements, and overall development and system administration.

a. What are the risks and considerations for the overall solution?

3. What is the feasibility for a single vendor to orchestrate the development and PO support, carry out development capabilities and conduct services listed within the Capability Statements section of this RFI?

a. What are the opportunities and limitations of that strategy?

4. Describe your firm’s capability to provide three qualified teams, to include a qualified individual to serve as the Project Manager and lead for the different technical disciplines.

5. Do you have experience with utilizing coding challenges to establish employee qualifications?

6. Please provide a rough order of magnitude (ROM) for the level of effort in the solution overview.

7. Please provide types and approximate number of personnel required to designing, developing, supporting the PO, managing the application day-to-day and close out the work listed in the solution overview over the first two years.

8. What information would you need to efficiently describe and price the appropriate solution in an

RFP?

9. Your company’s understanding of the requirements, confirmation of ability to perform all services/tasks, a brief example of at least two (2) or more same or similar services performed in the past three (3) years. Include applicable contract/order numbers, annual contract value, total contract value, description of tasks performed, number of FTE’s, and periods of performance.

Respondents are required to limit their responses to fifteen pages, in addition to the requests in Appendix A, and should refrain from providing materials that are not relevant to this request (e.g., marketing materials).

Disclaimer and Important Notes:

Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization’s qualifications to perform the work.

Respondents are advised that the Government has no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published.

Confidentiality:

No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).

Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) Information Management & Technology (IM&T) Socium Requirements Gathering and System Development

Appendix A – General Response Tables Organization Profile

General Vendor Response Company name.

Address.

City.

State.

Zip.

Country.

Primary Contact.

Title.

Phone.

Company Vendor Response Number of years in business overall.

Location of corporate and administrative services.

Applicable Federal Certifications.

Number of employees.

Current / former federal clients for which your company has performed a cloud migration(s).