Mobile Application Development, Testing and Related IT Services

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) SUMMARY: REQUIREMENT: APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE ONLY. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS. NO SOLICITATION IS AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME. The Department of Labor, Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) requires expert to provide mobile application development and testing and related IT services to support ILAB's mobile and web applications. This RFI announcement is for mobile application development and testing and related IT services. It is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government. The purpose of this RFI is to solicit input from industry regarding the technical approach and market availability of mobile application development and testing and related IT services outlined below. The Government will use this information to determine what sources are available and if there is an adequate number of qualified interested Small businesses with the required capabilities to support the services described herein. No solicitation exists; therefore do not request a copy of the solicitation. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation; however, respondents deemed wholly qualified will be considered in any resulting solicitation for this requirement. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a solicitation. All information received in response to this RFI marked Proprietary will be handled accordingly. Responses to the RFI will not be returned. Whatever information is provided in response to this RFI will be used to assess tradeoffs and alternatives available for determining how to proceed in the acquisition process for the mobile application development and testing and related IT services. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this RFI are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government for forming a binding contract. This RFI is a request for interested parties to describe their technical capabilities and demonstrated experience with services and support necessary to plan and execute ILAB's mobile application development and testing and related IT services contract. All interested contractors are requested to provide a written response to the questions and potential task areas provided below. All small businesses to include Small Disadvantaged, HUBZone, and Women-Owned and service Disabled are strongly encouraged to provide timely response to this Request for Information (RFI). A response to this RFI is necessary in order to assist DOL in determining the potential levels of interest, adequate competition, and technical capability within the Small Business Community to provide the required services. In additional, this information will also be used to assist DOL in establishing a basis for developing any subsequent potential subcontract/small business participation plan and/or small business goal percentages. Participation in this market research is voluntary and is not, in any way, part of a DOL acquisition, solicitation, negotiation, or any discussions expected to result in a contract. All costs associated with market research, presentations, and demonstrations will be the responsibility of the vendor/system integrators participating in the market research, and not DOL. BACKGROUND: The Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) leads the U.S. Department of Labor's efforts to ensure that workers around the world are treated fairly and are able to share in the benefits of the global economy. ILAB's mission is to promote a fair global playing field for workers in the United States and around the world by enforcing trade commitments, strengthening labor standards, and combating international child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking. Our efforts help to ensure a fair playing field for American workers and contribute to stronger export markets for goods made in the United States. The U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) reports on child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking in accordance with Congressional Mandates and an Executive Order. Executive Order 13126 of 1999 requires ILAB, in consultation with the Departments of State, Homeland Security and Treasury, to publish and maintain a list of products made with forced or indentured child labor ("EO List"). In order to be placed on the list, there must be current (no more than 5 years old) relevant and probative information from a credible source and corroborated by other credible sources, indicating that there is a significant incidence of forced or indentured child labor in the production of that product in the country in question. Further information on the Executive Order can be found at: http://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-products/index-country.htm. Section 412(c) of the Trade and Development Act of 2000 (TDA) amended the Trade Act of 1974, which requires the President to submit an annual report to the Congress on the status of internationally recognized worker rights within each country eligible for benefits under the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) and other trade benefit programs. The TDA additionally requires the annual report to include "the findings of the Secretary of Labor with respect to the beneficiary country's implementation of its international commitments to eliminate the worst forms of child labor." The Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor ("TDA Report") provides the Congress with an overview of government efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor (WFCL) in all GSP and other trade benefit program-eligible countries. In order to provide a sufficient basis on which to judge a government's efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor, the report also provides information as to the prevalence and nature of the worst forms of child labor in each country. Further information on this report can be found at: http://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/findings/. The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 (TVPRA) directs ILAB to develop and make available to the public the List of Products Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor ("TVPRA Report"). ILAB has developed and published a set of criteria by which goods are identified and placed on this list. In order to be placed on the list, there must be current (no more than 5 years old) relevant and probative information from a credible source and corroborated by other credible sources, indicating that there is a significant incidence of forced labor or child labor in the production of that good in the country in question. Further information on the TVPRA can be found at http://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods/ In September 2015, ILAB published information from these three reports in its first ever mobile application for iOS titled, "Sweat & Toil: Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking Around the World." ILAB simultaneously released the data from the app through an open source application programming interface (API), managed by USDOL's Office of Public Affairs. In February 2016, ILAB released the Android version of the Sweat & Toil App. The TVPRA also directs ILAB to "work with persons who are involved in the production of goods on [ILAB's List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor] to create a standard set of practices that will reduce the likelihood that such persons will produce goods using [forced and child labor]." ILAB developed Comply Chain: Business Tools for Labor Compliance in Global Supply Chains ("Comply Chain") to fulfill this mandate and to complement to its other efforts to ensure that workers around the world are treated fairly and are able to share in the benefits of the global economy. In 2017, ILAB developed the Toolkit into the mobile application, Comply Chain: Business Tools for Labor Compliance in Global Supply Chains. Comply Chain contains best social compliance practices adapted from the Toolkit in a user-friendly format. General Information The selected contractor shall have the capacity to provide application development and database work in support of ILAB's mobile and web applications, Sweat & Toil and Comply Chain. Objective: The objective of this requirement is to provide operations and maintenance services in support of ILAB's existing mobile and web-based applications and relational database, provide a continuum of services from requirements gathering and beta testing until the publication of final products and provide the following: - Project Management Support, - Build the architecture and solutions to support current and future business needs, and Engineering to enhance and update products which will provide additional capabilities to ILAB's Sweat & Toil and Comply Chain web and mobile applications. The deliverables generated through this contract support ILAB's mission by ensuring that public access to data that underlie reports from commissioned research are the most current and relevant. In addition, the deliverables will provide the management tools ILAB requires to produce these reports on an ongoing basis. Requirements for each of these service categories are spelled out in the following subsections. While each of the service areas requires specific skill sets and resources, it is the Government's expectation that the contractor effectively blend the service areas to render satisfactory results. The contractor shall provide in support for publication of ILAB's applications: 5.1. Task 1: Project Management Support 5.1.1 Subtask 1- Project Management. The Contractor shall provide project management support. The Contractor shall maintain a project schedule outlining tasks, dependencies, resources, and milestones for application development activities; attend regular meetings with ILAB leadership team to discuss high priority tasks to ensure project progress is being made and attend regular briefings as requested. During weekly meetings, all risks, mitigation status, and impact assessments will be reported regularly to ILAB leadership team and appropriate project stakeholders. ILAB requires the Contractor to proactively track issues and those that are determined to impact the scope, schedule, or quality of the project will go through the change management process. Issue resolutions or decisions will be documented and communicated to all affected parties. A progress report of no more than 5-pages shall be submitted every 3 months beginning in February which documents the status of deliverables, progress, and any problems encountered. Then Contractor shall provide a draft and final work plan for all activities to be performed under the contract. The work plan shall meet the following specifications: The work plan shall include a timeline for completing all tasks in a timely manner and by the end of the period of performance of the relevant year of this contract. At a minimum the plan shall include: (1) Activities involved in carrying out each of the requested tasks and associated deliverables, (2) A projected schedule for these activities, demos, and deliverables, including start and end dates, and (3) A time for a one hour check-in meeting recurring at minimum, bi-monthly. The timeline will be presented in both a list format. The draft work plan should be submitted within one month of performance period start date. The final work plan shall be submitted within five business days after receipt of ILAB's review comments on the draft work plan. 5.1.2 Subtask 2 - Task Order Management. Prepare a Task Order Management Plan describing the technical approach, organizational resources and management controls to be employed to meet the cost, performance and schedule requirements throughout TO execution. Provide a quarterly progress report monitoring the quality assurance, progress/status reporting and program reviews applied to the TO. 5.2. Task 2: Sweat & Toil Application Development Support The Contractor shall perform the following tasks for Sweat & Toil application: - Update the application infrastructure to include new pages and/or edits to existing pages in a style, format, and appearance identified by ILAB; - Update the content of the Sweat & Toil applications to include content from ILAB's three flagship reports to be published (specifically, these publications are the Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor, List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor, and List of Products Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor. As part of this task, the contractor shall ensure the content matches across both Android and iOS platforms; - Provide demos of iOS and Android applications at the app infrastructural change and/or data update stage, as requested by ILAB team; - Maintain all code, files, documents, or artifacts on USDOL's Github accounts for iOS and Android applications to allow for user testing or mobile testing as part of Sub-task 1 and 2; - Address all functionality issues identified by USG prior to publication of the app. Address all USG accessibility requirements by publication of the app, or if an extension of time is needed, no later than December of that year; - Using the content data from ILAB's three flagship reports, produce a database insert which can populated into ILAB's existing relational database and API; and - Provide materials and information needed to publish the apps to their respective app stores and take any other steps necessary to ensure that the app is ready to be authorized for public deployment. App codes and materials must be ready to go to Google Play and the Apple Store within two weeks of the reports' launch date. 5.3. Task 3: Comply Chain Application Development Support The Contractor shall perform the following tasks for the Comply Chain application: - Collect user stories and requirements as required by ILAB team; - Provide User Experience (UX) expertise to develop upstream user stories and requirements; - Update the application infrastructure to include new pages or edits to existing pages in a style, format, and appearance consistent with ILAB's current app or as needs are identified by the ILAB team. This may include modifications to Spanish and French translated pages within the application; - Update the content of the existing Comply Chain apps as requested by ILAB team. As part of this task, the contractor shall ensure the content matches across all three platforms - Android, iOS, and web applications; - Provide demos at the app infrastructural change and/or content update stage, as requested by ILAB team; - Maintain all code, files, documents, or artifacts on USDOL's Github accounts to allow for user testing or mobile testing as part of Sub-task 1 and 2; - Address all functionality issues identified by USG prior to publication of the app. Address all USG accessibility requirements before publication of the app, or if an extension of time is needed, no later than December of that year; and - Provide materials and information needed to publish the apps to their respective app stores and take any other steps necessary to ensure that the app is ready to be authorized for public deployment. App codes and materials must be ready to go to Google Play and the Apple Store within two weeks of the reports' launch date. 5.4. Task 4: Operations and Maintenance (O&M) of ILAB applications The Contractor shall provide ongoing O&M support of existing ILAB applications; provide expertise and support for the assessment of technologies against ILAB specific requirements and determine best fit; provide expertise to build the architecture and solutions to support current and future business needs, and to ensure the successful implementation and adoption; and deliver enhancements and product updates that provide additional capabilities to ILAB products. Requested Information ILAB is requesting input from the vendor community to determine the market availability for operations and maintenance support across the variety of task areas identified. Responses are limited in length to 3 pages and should provide information organized as follows: 1. Section 1: Company Profile: a. Briefly describe the company, product and services, history, ownership, financial information (include annual company revenue for the past 3 years and the percentage of the revenue that is derived from IT operations and maintenance services as described in this RFI), business size, and other information deemed relevant. In addition, please include the following information: - Vendor's Company Name, Address, Web Address, Contact Person Information; - Vendor's DUNS Number; - GSA Schedule Contract #; - Specify the company's socioeconomic status; and - Number of years in business - Affiliated information; parent company 2. Section 2: Capabilities Statement In order for ILAB to improve its understanding of the market capabilities, please provide a narrative description which identifies capabilities to meet the requirements outlined. 1. Clearly define and provide specific examples that demonstrate your capabilities, expertise, and experience in each of the task areas listed above. The examples must include a description of the relevant work performed and the results achieved, indicate if you were/are prime contractor or subcontractor, what percentage of each task area were your responsibility; if not 100%. Also include the contract type, length of contract, and dollar value. ***Relevant in this context is defined as same or similar in size to the proposed effort in scope and complexity. Also include the reasons the experience noted is relevant and of value to this requirements. 2. Has your company successfully executed and built similar App as ILAB's with the same size, scope, and complexity as described herein? If so, briefly describe where and how you have provided this service in the past, the results achieved, and if you were the prime contractor or subcontractor. Also include the percentage of work performed. 3. Please briefly explain how your firm will maintain and ensure a 99.9% ILAB's Apps availability with little to no failed downtime. 4. An explanation of how the contractor team would be structured and would approach staffing, including the capability to immediately staff with appropriate skill sets. Respondents shall classify their company using one or more (if applicable) of the following NAICS Codes: - 541519 - Other Computer Related Service - Size $27.5M The Government contemplating a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contract or task order. The term of the resulting contract will be a Six year period (base period plus five options years). NAICS CODE: 541519 REQUEST FOR CAPABILITES STATEMENT: Interested small businesses should provide a capability statement to address their ability and experience to perform the tasks associated with the requirements stated above. Submission should be received by 10:00AM Eastern Standard Time, May 15, 2018 and should not exceed three pages (one-sided), single spaced, 12-point type with at least a one-inch margin on an 8-1/2" X 11" inch paper. The responses should specifically describe the contractor's ability to meet the requirements outlined in the RFI. Please include the company's name, point of contact, address, phone number, DUNS number, CAGE Code, and Tax ID. Responses to the RFI must be submitted via e-mail to Onuorah.Stella.E@dol.gov, and jackson.michael.d@dol.gov NO HARD COPY or FACSIMILE SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED. Cover letters and extraneous materials (brochures, etc.) will not be considered. Questions concerning submissions should be directed: Stella-Maris Onuorah Office: (202) 693-4573 Contract Specialist Email: Onuorah.Stella.E@dol.gov Michael D. Jackson Office: (202) 693-4580 Contracting Officer Email: jackson.michael.d@dol.gov