SOURCES SOUGHT
D -- Information Technology Support Services including Subject Matter Experts and Technical Writers
- Notice Date
- 2/20/2009
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541512
— Computer Systems Design Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, Office of Acquisitions and Grants Services, 5630 Fishers Lane, Room 2129, Rockville, Maryland, 20857-0001
- ZIP Code
- 20857-0001
- Solicitation Number
- 09-223-SOL-00016
- Archive Date
- 3/6/2009
- Point of Contact
- Brenda K Lee,, Phone: 301-827-7036, Ted L Weitzman,, Phone: 301-827-7178
- E-Mail Address
-
brenda.lee@fda.hhs.gov, ted.weitzman@fda.hhs.gov
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- This is a SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE is to determine the availability and capability of qualified small businesses (including certified 8(a), Small Disadvantaged, HUBZone firms; veteran and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, and women-owned small businesses) to provide information technology support services including subject matter experts and technical writers to support the Government throughout all phases of the FDA’s Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC). The Contractor will be required to provide support services for strategic planning, concept development and project initiation, configuration design and functional area analysis, program and systems analysis and modeling, quality assurance, service oriented architecture, and privacy implementation. The Contractor will provide analytical support for the first two phases of the Enterprise Development Life Cycle (EDLC) and will be responsible for generating the deliverables expected as output for these activities. The Contractors must satisfy the following requirements. Provide a detailed description of your company’s (including its teammates, if applicable) experience and demonstrated abilities to deliver each and every one separately of the following requirements: 1. Initiation and Concept Development: The contractor will provide documentation and analytical expertise during the early phases of FDA’s Enterprise Performance Life Cycle Framework. During this phase, the contractor will perform the following functions: Support various program staff in developing the high level business models and define business requirements at the level needed for concept evaluation and approval by FDA management; Format and Finalization Initiation and Concept Phase Deliverables: Anticipated deliverables include: Business Needs Statements and or Issue Papers, Business Case, Project Charter, Boundary Documents, Initial Project Management Plan, Privacy Impact Assessment; Participate in early phase Stage Gate and Baseline Reviews. Strategic Planning and Analysis: The contractor will provide technical and business expertise to assist Government staff in evaluating alternative approaches to meet the objectives defined in the initiation and concept phase documentation for agency-wide initiatives. In addition to supporting the early development of IT projects, the contractor will participate in cross-cutting, Inter-Center initiatives to ensure compatibility and integration with agency consolidation initiatives and existing application architecture. Activities under this tasking will be similar to those for Concept Development or Strategic Planning; however, the contractor shall be part of a larger team rather than provide primary support for them. 2. Project Planning: The contractor will provide support to project managers in project planning activities. Currently there are approximately 30 major Design, Modernization and Enhancement (DME) projects. Annual Operational Review for all steady state systems; Formal rebase line requests and submissions as appropriate to the FDA Project Management Office (PMO), and for larger systems to HHS; Interim baseline reviews as required by the Office of Information Management (OIM); Monthly earned value reporting on all current projects, rolled up to the investment level and reported through PROSIGHT, or subsequent tool to be determined; Entry and validation of data into PROSIGHT or the subsequent tool to be determined. FDA estimates that initial planning will be required for approximately 10 projects per year. These will include every project that is approved as a result of the Project Concept/Selection Review. In addition, some planning activities will be required for technical upgrades or enhancements that are approved based on technical requirements or emergency needs which will not go through the functional analysis required in Concept review. Planning activities may include: Performance Goals and Metrics: Establishment of specific performance goals to be met by the project and the metrics by which those goals will be measured: Risk Assessment: Identification of the potential technical and business risks that could have significant impact on the schedule, cost, or successful deployment of a software application; developing appropriate mitigation strategies and factoring risks into schedule and budget planning as appropriate; monitor risks throughout the project’s life cycle. Alternative Approaches: Assessment and documentation of potential alternatives that could support the major objectives of the project. Alternatives could be technical or methodological or both and should consider cost, benefits, and risks. 3. Functional and System Requirements: Definition and documentation of requirements at a level adequate to support acquisition and future contract control, if not sufficiently documented by the Concept team. This activity will require: Coordinating Joint Application Development (JAD) sessions; Conducting requirements review and analysis and development and/or review of use cases; Participation in Program working groups; Providing technical input into regulatory/rule/guidance development where appropriate; Preliminary Cost Estimate: Estimate of lifecycle costs. This will be necessary for all projects resulting in an acquisition, or a modification to an existing acquisition. The results of this activity will be used to support the Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE) for the software development effort; Preliminary Schedule Development. Development of a preliminary schedule of sufficient detail to use for CPIC submissions and to compare the proposed schedules of software vendor schedules for feasibility and risk; Technical Concept Design and Implementation Recommendations: Development of a Concept of Operations or similar preliminary design documentation to support early planning and the acquisition process including evaluation of vendor solutions for feasibility and risk: Proofs of Concept or Prototypes. At the direction of the Government, the contractor will develop prototypes or proofs of concept to better define new requirements, develop accurate estimates for future acquisitions, and provide input into management decisions. Other Project Planning Documents as required in the EPLC or as directed by FDA. Implementation of FDA Software Releases and Infrastructure Upgrades: the contractor will provide management technical support to facilitate planning for software releases and infrastructure upgrades. The contractor will work with project managers to develop plans for individual software releases and infrastructure upgrades. Activities in support of software and infrastructure release planning include: Scheduling. Preparing and overseeing work plans and schedules. Using technical and subject matter expertise contractor will endeavor to resolve business and technical issues and document the results. Contractor will provide technical support by interpreting system requirements and reviewing deliverables. Contractor will provide Risk Management by conducting ongoing assessments of potential risks assessments and following through on mitigation strategies where needed. Contractor will develop and document Program-Level Technical Standards & Methods of FDA’s IT investments, which are programs that are made up of multiple interrelated projects. The contractor will develop and implement technical standards and methodologies to support program level management oversight. IT standards applicable to the projects include adherence to the FDA’s Software Development Life Cycle, applicable federal security and privacy regulations and directives, and reporting requirements. The contractor will provide technical experts in appropriate disciplines to research and recommend new tools or techniques that could be useful in meeting FDA’s mission needs. Such analyses could include research and lessons learned in other, related environments as well as other analysis activities that are appropriate to the product or process being examined. The contractor will provide processes and procedures improvements by providing ongoing reviews of existing processes and procedures to identify areas where improvements can be made as well as recommend ways to make changes that will benefit the quality, efficiency and/or effectiveness of IT software products. The contractor will, with project officer or designee’s approval, create processes and procedures to document some ways in which improvements may be identified and addressed, to include: Participation in FDA working groups: Reviewing SDLC deliverables and providing comments/recommendations as appropriate. 4. Security. The contractor will provide input into security planning, including the assessment of security risks, preparing responses to security related data calls (e.g. Privacy Act responses) and supporting Certification and Accreditation activities, including tracking Plan of Action and Milestone (POA&M) tracking. Adequate support requires expertise in security standards and regulations, the specific applicability at FDA is the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-130, Appendix III, Security of Federal Automated Information Resources, and the FDA Certification and Accreditation Program that applies to all FDA IT application systems. 5. Data Calls. The contractor will respond to at least 50 data calls of varying complexity and length, from one page answers to a single question to 25+ page complex spreadsheets. Calls for information typically include: DA mission needs and their relationship to system functionality, planned or existing projects or systems. Platforms/tools/technologies of existing or planned projects or systems budgets/schedule/risks associated with planned projects of systems 6. Quality Assurance: The contractor will provide support to the FDA’s Quality Assurance (QA) and control activities for at least seven investments and their associated projects and systems. These activities includes: Validation of Implementation Planning. The contractor will validate development and implementation plans and schedules to ensure they adhere to EPLC guidelines or that the standards processes have been appropriately tailored to the needs of the specific project. As part of this process the contractor will participate in SDLC stage gates reviews at the end of each development cycle to ensure that industry best practices have been followed, to assure correctness and completeness of SDLC required deliverables. Software Quality Assurance Plans and Documentation: The contractor will assist project managers to develop appropriate QA plans, establish metrics, and provide critical analysis of SDLC-related artifacts as required by the FDA management teams. Independent Validation and Verification: In support of a Quality Assurance Manager, the contractor will participate in SDLC stage gates at the end of each development cycle to ensure that industry best practices have been followed, and to assure that deliverables are sufficiently correct and complete to make a Go/No decision on moving to the next stage. Provides independent business process testing to support releases of FDA applications at the end of each SDLC phase. This work is performed in parallel with development system testing. Additionally provides development and test teams with performance test script creation, execution and analysis. Review of Stage Gate Deliverables: The contractor will review the document’s content and format as well as documenting any issues or concerns. If the documents are not of sufficient quality to support a Go/No go recommendation from the Stage Gate, the contractor will document the issues identified and recommend corrective actions. User Acceptance Testing: The contractor will support acceptance testing at the request of a project officer, assisting as needed with user questions, documenting issues, and tracking their resolutions. Regression and Performance Testing. ORA have an established test laboratory that utilizes the HP Mercury test tools. The contractor will maintain that test environment modifying it as needed to support regression and performance testing on ORA’s applications prior to release into the production environment. The contractor will develop, maintain and execute test scripts to test application software prior to release. All results will be documented how and included as part of the input to Implementation Readiness Reviews: The contractor will be prepared to develop, maintain, and execute manual testing via scripts for systems that are used. When FDA gains access to an automated tool, the contractor will develop, maintain, and execute test scripts in that environment. Analysis of Test Results: The contractor will analyze all test results and summarize them in a management level report to support the Implementation Stage Gate review and the resulting management decisions. In addition, contractor must describe the certifications, technical capabilities, level of security clearances, testing/inspections capabilities, and other critical knowledge, skills, abilities and experiences of at least half of the key personnel fulfilling the hours in the various labor categories. The section above defines the work requirement currently perform by full and part time staff. Within the capability statement, describe your understanding of the requirements by better defining the specific labor categories necessary to meet the desired requirement. Capability statements must address at least two prior contracts that reflect similar type and scope of work and the number of concurrent staff resources available. Contract place of performance may be at the FDA Government facility in Rockville, MD and or Silver Springs, MD or at the contractor site. The anticipated period of performance is a base period plus 4 one year option periods. The NAICS Code is 541512. The small business size standard is 25M. Interested small business offerors are encouraged to respond to this notice. However, be advised that generic capability statements are not sufficient for effective evaluation of respondents’ capacity and capability to perform the specific work as required. Response must directly demonstrate the company’s capability, experience, and/or ability to marshal resources to effectively and efficiently perform each of the tasks described above in sufficient level of detail to allow definitive numerical evaluation; and evidence that the contractor can satisfy the minimum requirements listed above in compliance with FAR 52.219-14 (“Limitations of Subcontracting”). Failure to definitively address each of these factors will result in a finding that respondent lacks capability to perform the work. Responses to this notice shall be limited to ten pages, and must include: 1.Company name, mailing address, e-mail address, telephone and FAX numbers, website address (if available), and the name, telephone number, and e-mail address of a point of contact having the authority and knowledge to clarify responses with Government representatives. 2.Name, title, telephone number, and e-mail addresses of individuals who can verify the demonstrated capabilities identified in the responses. 3.Business size for NAICS XXXX (size standard $ or number of employees) and status, if qualified as an 8(a) firm (must be certified by SBA), Small Disadvantaged Business (must be certified by SBA), Woman-Owned Small Business, HUBZone firm (must be certified by SBA), and/or Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (must be listed in the VetBiz Vendor Information Pages). 4.DUNS number, CAGE Code, Tax Identification Number, and company structure (Corporation, LLC, partnership, joint venture, etc.). Companies also must be registered in the Central Contractor Registry (CCR, at www.ccr.gov) to be considered as potential sources. 5.Identification of the firm's GSA Schedule contract(s) by Schedule number and contract number and SINs that are applicable to this potential requirement are also requested. 6.If the company has a Government approved accounting system, please identify the agency that approved the system. Please submit copies of any documentation such as letters or certificates to indicate the firm’s status (see item #3, above) Teaming arrangements are acceptable, and the information required above on the company responding to this announcement, should also be provided for each entity expected to be teammates of the respondent for performance of this work. To the maximum extent possible, please submit non-proprietary information. Any proprietary information submitted should be identified as such and will be properly protected from disclosure. This notice is for planning purposes only, and does not constitute an Invitation for Bids, a Request for Proposals, a Solicitation, and a Request for Quotes, or an indication the Government will contract for the items contained in this announcement. This request is not to be construed as a commitment on the part of the Government to award a contract, nor does the Government intend to pay for any information submitted as a result of this request. The Government will not reimburse respondents for any cost associated with submission of the information being requested or reimburse expenses incurred to interested parties for responses to this announcement. Responses to this announcement will not be returned, nor will there be any ensuing discussions or debriefings of any responses. However, information obtained as a result of this announcement may be reflected in the subsequent solicitation, and FDA, OAGS may contact one or more respondents for clarifications and to enhance the Government’s understanding. This announcement is Government market research, and may result in revisions in both its requirements and its acquisition strategy based on industry responses. RESPONDENTS MUST SUBMIT CAPABILITY STATEMENT VIA E-MAIL to Brenda K. Lee at brenda.lee@fda.hhs.gov no later than March 5, 2009 12:00 PM Eastern Time for consideration.
- Web Link
-
FedBizOpps Complete View
(https://www.fbo.gov/?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=bb768aa80d8d5d1c459b9b4445a42b4b&tab=core&_cview=1)
- Place of Performance
- Address: Rockville, MD and/or Silver Spring MD and or contractor site., Rockville, Maryland, 20857, United States
- Zip Code: 20857
- Zip Code: 20857
- Record
- SN01754081-W 20090222/090220214936-bb768aa80d8d5d1c459b9b4445a42b4b (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
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