Attachment 3: Questions and Answers

Transcription

1 Attachment 3: Questions and Answers I. OVERVIEW A. VISION & MISSION For 20 years, USAC has engaged stakeholders and applicants for funding in what has increasingly become a digital landscape. Seven months ago, we hired a VP of Stakeholder Engagement to reconceive how we could meaningfully engage stakeholders and enable their success. This project, along with several other mission critical tasks, is a part of a vision to reconsider how USAC delivers service to stakeholders. In issuing this RFP, our goal is to find a partner who can help us deliver on this broader vision. We are not limited by what exists today; that is why we are rethinking how and what we communicate. This is not a reskin. This is a reengineering of how we work. Below, we have answered technical questions about our current capabilities and operations. Please do not limit your thinking to what exists today. We are committed to delivering successful service to our stakeholders, and that will be the guide for the decisions we make about the website and the many other ways we re rethinking our work. B. BUDGET USAC received numerous questions regarding budget. USAC is committed to finding a partner who can think about service delivery via a new website in a whole new way. USAC values most a partner that has the capability and creativity to accomplish this goal, and as such, pricing is ranked as the least important evaluation criteria for this RFP. We understand that the statement of work will involve big ideas and extensive work, and USAC is prepared to fund the project accordingly. C. INTERVIEWS AND DISCUSSIONS Timeline (All dates and timeframes are estimates and may be changed by the USAC in its discretion.) o PROPOSAL DUE DATE EXTENSION: Proposal due date has been extended. All Proposals are due no later than Wednesday, January 27, o Proposal review will take place between January 29-February 12; o The offerors with the top rated proposals, deemed to be in the Competitive Range, will be invited for interviews and discussions the week of February The competitive range will include the top offerors based on experience and past performance on prior similar projects, the offerors creative and technical capabilities and price. The award selection will be based on the factors identified in Section E of the RFP. Offerors will be permitted an opportunity to revise proposals after discussions. Offerors in the Competitive Range will be given approximately one additional week (February 22-26) to complete and submit their Final Proposal Revision. o Target Contract award, and estimated time when work would begin on Phase One, is early March During the Interviews and Discussions, USAC intends to provide the following information and answer any specific questions regarding: o Branding; o Stakeholders & Key Audiences; o Personas and Journeys; o Single-Sign On; o Site Analytics; and o Data Usage.

2 II. TECHNICAL QUESTIONS A. SECURITY What legal requirements, if any, are there around posting content, such as PDF s, spreadsheets, etc? o There are no legal requirements. Does USAC have any server and hosting technical and security specifications and requirements? o FIPS compliant encryption for secure network transmission/communication HTTPS and any encryption needs o Authentication o Follow Secure Coding practices (including Session Management, Data & Input validation, mitigations for Cross Site Scripting, Buffer Overflows, etc.) o Audit Logging o Secure Remote Administration (including logging of administrator activities) o USAC plans on using OKTA (cloud-hosted Identity Access Management) to assist with Single Sign-On and authentication across Business Unit applications, COTS, and We expect that wherever is hosted, this solution will be used. In our responses to the RFP, are offerors expected to: a) pre-select a CMS based on what we perceive your needs are now; or, b) propose a Discovery process by which we will arrive at the correct CMS for you? o B. Propose a Discovery process. Does USAC anticipate having a new CRM selected ahead of CMS recommendations at the end of Phase One? o No, USAC does not anticipate selecting a CRM ahead of CMS recommendations at the end of Phase One. Does USAC have any server and hosting technical and security specifications and requirements? o USAC s current solutions relevant to the specified question are load-balanced IIS web servers for hosting, and SQL Server 2012 for databases. B. DEVELOPMENT How large is the USAC development team? What technology stacks do they currently use? o USAC has several development teams that develop tools exposing functionality for USAC s individual business applications through the current website ( These tools include data search tools that are connected to back-end databases. o In the near future, USAC will be exposing APIs and GeoSpatial tools through the website ( for the general public. Overall, tools used include.net, Java, OpenGeo (future), Appian (future), and API Management COTS (future). The RFP mentions that USAC has significant development resources in-house. Can you clarify the type of development support you are looking for from the Contractor? o The Contractor will be responsible for the design and build and USAC will be responsible for the ongoing maintenance. Bidders should assume that any major issues that arise during the transition period would be addressed by the Contractor. What skillset does you current technical team have and how willing are you to retrain your staff to Open Source technologies, if necessary? o USAC s current technical team has a wide array of skill sets and familiarity with open source technology. USAC is open to training our staff on any new technologies and systems, or hiring new skillsets as needed. Do you currently have a ticket system (e.g. JIRA)? Do you want that system to be integrated with the new site? o USAC currently has JIRA and TFS; we are open to integrating them into the new site. What CMS is the current USAC.org site built on? o USAC s current site is not built on a CMS. Can USAC provide specifics on the disparate systems that will need to be integrated in the future?

3 o USAC has several systems that are in the process of being modernized and procured. Much of this work will be done in the next year, which is why USAC is not yet starting with Phase Two. The Contractor, and ultimately USAC s partner for the project, will be a part of these conversations. o Tools will include systems for funding requests and application submission (currently a mix of custom platforms and Appian, a BPM tool), a CRM which will be procured in 2016, customer satisfaction tools, social media channels and management, and some legacy finance systems which will modernize in 2017 or 2018, as well as tools like OpenGeo and API management COTS mentioned above. Will USAC be responsible for hosting? Will USAC be responsible for initial dev/ops and server configuration? o USAC is open to hosting the environment for the website. USAC has the staff on-hand to absorb this work. From a site maintenance standpoint we would need to assess the skills of our current team against the stack they build the site with. USAC s current skill set will not limit the technology selection of our partner. (see above Mission & Vision) o We are equally open to outsourcing if the timing or pricing makes sense. (see above Mission & Vision) o We are also open to hosting this on Linux or Windows. C. MAINTENANCE What role do you envision for the Contractor team during the on-going maintenance phase? Will the Contractor or the in-house development team have primary responsibility for maintenance? o The Contractor will be responsible for the design and build and USAC will be responsible for the ongoing maintenance. Bidders should assume that any major issues that arise during the transition period would be addressed by the Contractor. D. DESIGN How much content will need to be migrated? Do you expect the content migration to be done automated or manually? o USAC intends to re-envision content. This is less of a redesign and more of a reconceiving of the site; some content will not need to be used in the new site. However, any planned content migration will be done manually. Does USAC envision the Contractor being responsible for the entire content migration, including any manual content migration? o Yes, the Contractor will be responsible for the content migration. Much of your content is contained in documents, rather than HTML pages. Is there any interest in moving some of those forms online? Or using data visualization to share data, rather than spreadsheets? o Yes, to both. Who will create any new site content? o The Contractor, in partnership with USAC, will create new site content. USAC has copywriters, but the volume of work means we ll need to partner to get the work done, and we want our partner to set the tone for the content strategy, approach and some of the implementation. Do you need SEO optimization for the site, or just reports of the site s performance? o USAC requires SEO optimization for the site. Please outline any existing SEO strategy or planning that has been performed. o There has been no existing SEO strategy or planning. Will the Contractor be needed to help with the brand/identity asset creation for items such as logo, color, or typography? o No, the Contractor will not be required to participate in any brand activity as part of this Contract. Will USAC s branding agency be part of the design review? o No. The firm does not specialize in work like this.

4 How far is the Contactor allowed to stretch the brand guidelines to meet the goals of the specific audience and site goals? o USAC s new brand guidelines are flexible/fluid, and are designed to be stretched within some guidelines. Is USAC open to suggestions on design process and specificities of artifacts and deliverables? o Yes, USAC is open to design process and specificities suggestions. Is USAC open to suggestions on UX process and specificities of artifacts and deliverables? o Yes, USAC is open to UX process and specificities suggestions. How much does USAC expect the design and user research process to inform the scope of development required? o USAC expects the scope of development required to entirely effect the design and user research process. Are you open to an agile development process? o Yes, USAC is open to an agile development process. Are you open to a Lean project planning process? o Yes, USAC is open to a Lean project planning process. How many rounds of usability testing is USAC expecting will occur and at what points or phases of the project? o USAC anticipates heavy user testing; however, we are looking to the Contractor to make the appropriate recommendations. Are you expecting usability testing on the navigation? Are you expecting usability testing on wireframes? Are you expecting usability testing on visual designs? Are you expecting usability testing on all three breakpoints or device views? What will the content approval process be for the project phases and deliverables? o There will be two rounds of approvals for each phase and the deliverables. In most cases, two clients at USAC will review and approve. If there is any programmatic data included in the content, the FCC and an additional client from USAC will be needed for approval. If the project management methodology is agile and iterative, does USAC still envision a need to do three rounds of revisions for the last round of testing during development? o USAC is open to bidders presenting best practices and approaches, as it applies to revisions. We have a very engaged stakeholder set who will be considered throughout the process, and we see these final rounds as providing security to that community. If bidders have a better approach, we are open to hearing it. E. GENERAL QUESTIONS The RFP mentions one day of actual training. If we feel more is required, can we allow for that in our Proposal? o Yes, Offerors are encouraged to present the approach they feel represents USAC s best interest. Proposals should clearly note any exceptions or assumptions made. Are you open to a team based approach to working on this project, instead of a firm-fixed price and scope listed in the RFP? o No, USAC is not interested in a team based approach. Does USAC anticipate hiring new team members based on the CMS chosen? o Yes, USAC is open to hiring new staff or training our staff based on the CMS chosen. The RFP mentions that USAC branding standard and style guides are currently being refreshed. When do you expect this to be complete and can you share the documents? o The style guide and branding standards will be complete before the Website Contract is awarded. The Contractor chosen as our Partner will be given this information when the Contract is awarded. If the style

5 guide is done before discussions begin, Offerors in the competitive range may receive this information in preparation for discussions/presentations. What percentages of USAC s administrative costs are linked to servicing inquiries on USAC programs and processes? (e.g. call center, support, etc.)? o USAC does not currently itemize our costs in a way to provide this information. Will USAC assist in recruiting their users for research studies? o Yes, USAC will assist in recruiting users for research studies. USAC requests a 9-month, Phase One timeline. Is this flexible? o No, this is not flexible. Are you open to modification in deliverables? o Yes, we are open to modifications. Please use your best thinking and address any changes in the Approach portion of your Proposal. What modifiable file formats would you prefer to see for the audience analysis deliverables? o USAC s criterion for file format is that we are able to use and modify them in the future. Are you expecting a prototype to be circulated internally for approvals or meetings? o Yes, we are expecting a prototype. Is USAC open to an estimated cost range for Phase Two? o Yes, please note all assumptions used determining cost range. Attachment 1 and 2 break out Phase One and Phase Two as the only items do be priced. Does USAC require any greater detail in the pricing proposal, such as expected labor categories and hours for each task in Section B? o Please provide a Firm-Fixed Price in Attachment 1 and 2. Will USAC publish award evaluation criteria? o Evaluation criteria can be found in Section E.VI. of the RFP. Is there an incumbent? Will USAC offer a bidder conference sessions for potential bidders to attend to ensure that the incumbent providers do not have unfair advantage based on existing relationships or understanding of existing infrastructure and/or specific challenges? o No, there is no incumbent for this Contract. Will USAC consider extending the Proposal due date to February 1, o No, USAC will not extend the Proposal due date. On page 6, USAC references, Contractor is responsible for image selection, purchasing and licensing. o Is it intended that the price provided include image costs or is there a separate budget available for images? Yes, pricing should include image costs; there will not be a separate budget for that. o Does USAC have an image library available that can be leveraged for the site? Yes, a limited image library is available. We believe we will need additional images for the new site. o Does this pertain only to images for the templates, homepage, and 15 internal pages that are listed as deliverables to be provided by the vendor? No. On page 6, USAC asks for a recommendation of tools, including content management, hosting and database. Costs for tools can vary widely. Is there a separate budget for these expenses or budgetary guidelines that should be followed when considering recommendations for tools? o Yes, there is a separate budget for tools. How many people will need training to use the new site (and/or CMS)? o Less than 20 USAC employees. Are there any other areas that are considered part of Phase 1 that are behind a login, or include functionality that may not be apparent for a review of the site? o One key priority that is not apparent is housing our open data, which will be released in We will need access via the website to data tools that enable APIs to access that data. That should be factored into Phase 1. There are a series of forms (e.g. subscription center, search tools) throughout the site. Is the expectation that the vendor will be responsible for any redesign and/or modifications to that functionality?

6 o No, not in Phase 1. What is the expected level of vendor support for the E-File like functionality? If support is requested for the E- File area, please describe the functionality/content that will be included. o This would be determined during the Phase Two Discovery.