Loren Data's SAM Daily™

FBO DAILY ISSUE OF FEBRUARY 12, 2011 FBO #3367
DOCUMENT

D -- 000PAO VRM Telephone Service Transformation Project Forecasting, Scheduling and Staffing - Attachment

Notice Date

2/10/2011
 

Notice Type

Attachment
 

NAICS

541511 — Custom Computer Programming Services
 

Contracting Office

Department of Veterans Affairs;Technology Acquisition Center;260 Industrial Way West;Eatontown NJ 07724
 

ZIP Code

07724
 

Solicitation Number

VA11811RI0174
 

Response Due

2/23/2011
 

Archive Date

4/24/2011
 

Point of Contact

Sarah H Basilotto
 

E-Mail Address

ct
 

Small Business Set-Aside

N/A
 

Description

Veteran Relationship Management Telephone Service Transformation Project Forecasting, Scheduling and Staffing Request for Information (RFI) Department of Veterans Affairs Background: The Veteran Relationship Management (VRM) Program was established in response to several key challenges that Veterans, service members, and their dependents experience when seeking information and services from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Modernization of our telephony capabilities and our agents' ability to resolve Veteran's issues is a primary focal point of the VRM program. As such, the VA Telephone Service Transformation VRM (VTST) project was established under VRM in response to Secretary Shinseki's interest in having a plan developed that charts a course for transformation of the VA call centers. VTST will chart a course to answer the phones consistently and efficiently and to provide an accurate and complete answer. The overarching goal of this project is to provide world-class customer service, reasonable wait times, stellar quality, and a consistent overall call experience across all Administrations and all lines of business. Statement of the Problem: The VA seeks to implement a standardized enterprise wide Forecasting, Scheduling and Staffing solution (aka a WFM solution) to support world class Veteran support, and support multiple consolidated regional and national contact center queues and standalone local contact centers. Any potential solution will need to be compatible with multiple telephony systems and various contact management software. Currently the majority of VA contact centers operate independently or at a semi-regional capacity. Due to a lack of standardization, each center, or region, has developed independent WFM and telephony solutions. Current solutions range from literally no WFM functionality, to simple spreadsheets, to full blown forecasting, scheduling and staffing solutions including dedicated WFM staff. The VA is evaluating the need for a standardized WFM package that is flexible and robust enough to handle large scale enterprise solutions (virtual teams) or local solutions with just a few agents. For the purposes of the analysis, and this RFI request, the VA is defining contact center size as: Small 2 - 25 Contact Representatives Medium 26 - 100 Contact Representatives Large - Over 100 contact representatives Capabilities: Any proposed WFM solution should contain the following capabilities: 1.Forecasting (both intraday and long term, by 15 min increments) 2.Scheduling (by 15min increments) 3.Comprehensive WFM Simulation Modeler with the ability to adjust inputs in order to calculate various outputs. Examples include, but are not limited to; staffing levels, handle times, service levels, call volume, abandon rates, trunk lines, occupancy, etc.. 4.Real time adherence monitoring 5.Self service vacation planner and absence management 6.Automated agent metrics and reporting 7.Automated schedule reports 8.Occupancy rates 9.Automated skill (split) assignment based on schedule 10.Self service tour exchange 11.Web chat support 12.Virtual staff support Supporting Information: The VA anticipates call volumes of at least 300,000,000 calls/year. The VA is currently analyzing all Veteran communication systems at a local, regional and enterprise level. This analysis includes telephony systems, and web based communication methods to a lesser degree. The VA has over 1,300 medical centers, outpatient clinics, Veteran Centers, benefit centers and national clinical and business lines. Most of these facilities host a contact center that range in size from one or two part time agents to over 400 full time employees. Each of these facilities could potentially be impacted by the outcome of this analysis. Any potential WFM solution will need to be either: a.Scaleable from small independent local centers to large (100+ agents) enterprise level (virtual team) or multi facility operations. b.Or targeted to specific sized contact centers as identified in the Statement of Problem section. A focal point of the VRM Program is the most common channel of access commonly used by our clients; the telephone. Key to achieving the quality of service level expected of our clients when communicating with our contact center agents will be to modernize our telephony capabilities and provide our agents with a view of Veteran data to triage the most common inquiries from a single graphical user interface to increase first contact resolution. Contact center modernization will require a stable, scalable technology infrastructure and a business process that empowers our agents to address inquiries more efficiently. Moreover, the infrastructure and processes should be field tested in an environment which will allow the employment and refinement of best practices, which will result in a higher quality of client service interaction. The system and any of its components must comply with the following technical standards: o Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998 o National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST): Special Publication 800-53 Revision 3, "Recommended Security Controls for Federal Information Systems and Organizations" dated August 2009, o Veteran Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA). The VA has identified the following strategic business objectives that are critical to the success of the Telephone Service Transformation project: Improve consistency and quality across all Veteran interfaces Provide efficient, effective, Veteran-focused service Streamline and improve internal processes The key benefits of implementing a standardized WFM solution will offer VA both internal and external benefits. Internal Benefits: Increase productivity and streamline processes by eliminating redundant data entry and minimizing error. Reduce call duration by reducing the idle time logging into systems and improving first call resolution through data integration and intelligent KM. Improve quality of responses by reducing chance of errors caused by difficulty in access of system data. Decrease the time that a customer is put on hold due to difficulty navigating all the different applications to locate information to resolve issues. Ease of use and simplified training approach. External Benefits: Enhance the customer experience across all organizations by providing the best possible service and quickly resolving issues. VA is seeking product information focusing on the above benefits. VA requests interested WFM product providers to complete responses for the following three questions based upon the attached 'Capability Matrix' spreadsheet: Does your product/product line provide the described functionality? What specific product component provides it? If the functionality is a discriminator in the market place for your product what discriminating functionality makes it stand out from similar functionality in other products? For product discriminator functionality, provide current product technical documentation (include documents reference and copies of specific pages from user guide, programming interface manual, or other product information). Additionally, responses to the following two general questions are sought: Describe the applications and user community of your three largest, enterprise-wide customers, both government and commercial. If requested, and with a signed non-disclosure agreement, may the Government review technical documentation (user guides, design/architecture guides, programming guides) for your products(s)? Responding to this RFI: Responses shall be submitted in the form of a "white paper. Responses should be identified with RFI VA118-11-RI-0174 and include company name, company address, Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number and/ Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code (if applicable) and denote the business size for North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code 541511 (Custom Computer Programming Services). The Government is open to considering teaming and prime/subcontractor relationships for future development and deployment. Also, please indicate if you, your teammates and/or subcontractors are a Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) or a Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB). Any questions regarding this RFI must be submitted via email to Contracting Officer, Anne Marie Vasconcelos, anne.vasconcelos@va.gov and Contract Specialist, Sarah Basilotto, sarah.basilotto@va.gov. Responses should be limited to forty (40) pages, no more than twenty (20) single spaced pages, font size no less than 10, for each solution. The functional requirements matrix is not included in the page limit. Interested parties shall provide the following information when responding to this RFI: 1. Concept(s) - What is the private sector's perception of the viability of the innovation sought in this requirement? How this activity might be satisfied, and is there interest in providing this capability? 2. Business Continuity and Disaster Recover - What is the respondent's approach to preventing loss of access or loss of information in the event of a disaster, natural or otherwise? 3. Security - How will the respondent ensure that security of PII data will be maintained for data transfers between users, agencies, and other interoperable systems? How will you guarantee no Veteran PII will be saved once its immediate need has been satisfied? 4. Integration services: How does the respondent's product integrate with web self services, chat, email, and other channels? How will the WFM system integrate with the supporting Veteran data in the VA repository for the screen pops? 5. Interoperability - How will respondent ensure that this system will be able to interact and share data with other systems, both those currently used and potentially added in the future? 6. Customer Service - How will respondent ensure excellence in customer service for veterans, service members and dependents? What technologies will be used, phone, email or live chat? What are the metrics used to measure performance, and how will VA be able to generate reports to measure performance? 7. Vendor Experience - Please describe the vendor's experience implementing the solution described above. In addition to the vendor's experience implementing the solution described above, please describe results that customers have obtained in terms of outcomes derived from the functionalities provided, the effectiveness of those systems implemented, and the size, scope and complexity of the customers and system solutions. Also describe results that customers have obtained in terms of vulnerabilities that have been discovered and how they were remedied. 8. What change management activities would the respondent suggest to: ensure eventual system acceptance, enable continued training and solicit modification requests from both management and non management VA users? 9. What processes and procedures would the respondent suggest to describe the preferred process for customizing the WFM tool set to meet VA contact management requirements & workflows? 10. How will the respondent describe the compensation framework, e.g. what development and operational cost categories might be covered by usage fees and what type of services might carry a developmental cost plus usage fee? 11. Other - What other information and ideas does the private sector offer for pursuing this initiative? This market research is issued for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation nor does it restrict the Government as to the ultimate acquisition approach. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Any contract that might be awarded based on information received or derived from this market research will be the outcome of a competitive process. Responses are requested no later than 3:00pm (EST) on February 23, 2010, via email to sarah.basilotto@va.gov and anne.vasconcelos@va.gov. Point of Contacts: Anne Marie Vasconcelos Contracting Officer Department of Veterans Affairs Technology Acquisition Center Phone (732) 578-5485 Email anne.vasconcelos@va.gov Sarah Basilotto Contract Specialist Department of Veterans Affairs Technology Acquisition Center, Phone (732) 578-5463 Email sarah.basilotto@va.gov
 

Web Link

FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/notices/ae5c746c69a28bf0bce8852767e0ffdf)
 

Document(s)

Attachment
 

File Name: VA118-11-RI-0174 VA118-11-RI-0174.doc (https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=175556&FileName=VA118-11-RI-0174-000.doc)

Link: https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=175556&FileName=VA118-11-RI-0174-000.doc

 

Note: If links are broken, refer to Point of Contact above or contact the FBO Help Desk at 877-472-3779.
 

Record

SN02378007-W 20110212/110210235000-ae5c746c69a28bf0bce8852767e0ffdf (fbodaily.com)
 

Source

FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)

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