SOURCES SOUGHT
D -- New AWARD | 36C10B25Q0198 | eHCM Modernization - System Integrator Services | VA-26-00000740
- Notice Date
- 3/14/2025 2:38:26 PM
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541512
— Computer Systems Design Services
- Contracting Office
- TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION CENTER NJ (36C10B) EATONTOWN NJ 07724 USA
- ZIP Code
- 07724
- Solicitation Number
- 36C10B25Q0198
- Response Due
- 3/31/2025 12:00:00 PM
- Archive Date
- 07/08/2025
- Point of Contact
- William Waterhouse, Contract Specialist, Phone: MS TEAMS
- E-Mail Address
-
William.Waterhouse@va.gov
(William.Waterhouse@va.gov)
- Awardee
- null
- Description
- See attached RFI_eHCM Modernization - System Integrator Services_31425 , RFI PWS_EHCM Modernization_System Integrator Services_31425 and RFI Appendices.zip documents. Request For Information� � This Request for Information (RFI) 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 (IAW) Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. The purpose of this RFI is to obtain market information on capable sources of supply, industry practices, and input specific to the information provided. The Government is not responsible for any cost incurred by industry in furnishing this information. All costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party s expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future Requests for Proposal, if any are issued. Any information submitted by respondents to this RFI is strictly voluntary. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned. Any proprietary/sensitive information must be clearly marked by the vendor.� � Background� The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO), Center for Human Resources Information Services (CEHRIS) Directorate supports and strengthens the VA s Human Resources (HR) Information Technology (IT) infrastructure by updating and replacing legacy, outdated, and/or duplicative HR-IT systems, technologies, and manual processes across the VA Enterprise. CEHRIS, in collaboration with VA Office of Information & Technology (OIT) supports Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), National Cemetery Administration (NCA), VA Central Office (VACO), and all VA Staff Offices by implementing modernized, automated, and standardized systems, tools, and capabilities to deliver a world-class workforce with the sole purpose of supporting our Nation s Veterans.� The objective of this acquisition is to procure system integrator services for implementation of a full lifecycle cloud based HCM platform solution to replace the current VA solution whereby the HCM platform solution will be continuously and iteratively modernized and enhanced in support of VA s goal to automate HCM functions identified in the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Federal Human Capital Management Business Reference Model (HCBRM) Map which is found at the following web site: Federal Human Capital Business Reference Model (HCBRM).� Please be advised that a separate RFI has been issued for Subscription Licenses; additionally, a separate acquisition will be issued for Subscription Licenses in support of modernization. Current Environment� VA Human Resources professionals process 1M+ transactions per year, close to 500K pay actions annually, and over 50K personnel actions per pay period for VA s workforce that has grown to over 471K onboard employees at the end of FY24. The VA Workforce Dashboard provides an overall current state of VA s workforce size among key labor categories (to include HR), with a new issue released each month. VA Directive 0211 identifies the VA Functional Organization Manual (FOM) for Administrations and Staff Offices to describe organizations, offices, missions, functions, and roles to facilitate synchronized and coordinated actions, and ensure optimal execution of VA s mission and strategy. Requirements� In accordance with the attached Performance Work Statement (PWS) the Contractor shall provide services to implement capabilities within an integrated service environment that provides a seamless user experience with a Core HR system capability serving as the baseline requirement with the capacity to expand platform offerings. The options for expanded offerings shall include all Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Human Capital Business Reference Model (HCBRM) employee lifecycle management functions inclusive of Enabling, Lifecycle and Supporting HR agency functions. The solution implemented will provide a single portal for employee facing information, engagement, and services (for example, Benefits). HR functions encompassing US Code Title 5 and US Code Title 38, inclusive of functions for hybrid and fee basis type employees, shall be implemented for all OPM HCBRM agency functions. � � The intent of this RFI is to acquire information from industry partners regarding experiences and recommendations to be used by the Government for improving its strategic planning, communication of its requirements to potential offerors and to increase the success of our transformation partnership. Questions for Vendors, please include your answers within your response:� Scope Does the Performance Work Statement verbiage in the Attachment provide sufficient information to prepare a proposal? If not, please elaborate and provide in your response any recommendation(s) with rationale. Based on the Background and Current Environment outlined above, are there any requirements you feel are missing within the Performance Work Statement that would benefit the Federal Government? Please be specific in outlining the types of requirements. Are there any requirements in the Performance Work Statement that are not applicable to you, and, that you would recommend be performed by the Software as a Service (SaaS) provider, i.e., the product owner? Upon review of the provided Performance Standards spreadsheet, which performance standards would you deem applicable to you as a system integrator vice an HCM solution provider (i.e., product owner)? Do you have any recommended changes, additions, etc., regarding performance standards? If so, please submit with your response. Solicitation What success factors/criteria would you recommend the Government use to evaluate the abilities of a system integrator as an implementation partner to VA? What represents the key areas of importance and emphasis you think should be considered in the source selection decision process? What evaluation factors do you suggest would support meaningful comparison and discrimination between and among competing proposals? What Government contract vehicles would you recommend that VA could access for acquiring system integrator services? Qualifications and Experience Please provide details regarding what certifications you possess in terms of being an implementation partner to one or more SaaS HCM cloud solution products. What type of cloud deployment model do you offer? (public, private, hybrid, community)? Please provide details about your experience with implementing HCM cloud solutions that deliver end-to-end lifecycle management capability for entities either public or private that are commensurate in size to the VA. How did you address the unique requirements given size of that entity; for example, processing mass changes? What challenges, lessons learned, and best practices were involved in delivering results, what business value was achieved, and in what timeline was the transformation completed? Please provide one to two examples. For any federal sector experience cited, please address in terms of the OPM HCBRM list of HR Agency Functions (please also include address of all subfunctions) that you have delivered and supported and/or currently support. Please refer to the following link: https://www.opm.gov/services-for-agencies/hr-line-of-business/hc-business-reference-model/hcbrm-40-map.pdf. For your ease of reference, please find below the list of those HR agency functions: A1- HC Strategy, Policies, & Operation Plan A2 Talent Acquisition A3 Talent Development A4 Employee Performance A5 Compensation and Benefits A6 Separation and Retirement A7 Employee Accountability A8 Labor Relations A9 HC Analytics & Employee Records A10 HC Evaluation X1 Personnel Action Request (PAR) Processing Implementation Please provide a visual and description of your established and/or customizable approach to successful deployment of your proposed product(s) or service(s) to include stages of planning, architect and configuration, change management, testing, and deployment. What Integrated Product Teams (IPTs) were established? Describe advantages and disadvantages of an established or customizable approach to successful deployment of your proposed product(s) or service(s). Describe your organizational readiness in terms of project delivery methodology, change management, certifications, and tools. Describe any history of success in terms of on-time deployment rate, satisfaction with project delivery and customer satisfaction. If applicable to your experience, specifically address re-platforming from alternative Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) products to a modern SaaS HCM Cloud solution and any Federal experience. What additional applications built through extension or other third-party form of customization do you project may be needed to deliver all of the capabilities outlined in the OPM HCBRM to meet federal needs of the solution in which you possess certification? What applications have you created, would you create if necessary, or would you recommend are going to be needed to address OPM HCBRM agency functions? Please provide a list. The performance work statement identifies OPM HCBRM agency functions for automation, what modules to automate HR agency functions would you recommend, if any, that can be configured and implemented without dependence upon the HCM cloud solution core? This question is being posed as an implementation consideration as an effort to deliver business value to the end user as soon as possible while the core of the SaaS HCM cloud solution is being configured to support federal and VA unique requirements. Please provide insight into this approach identifying any risks, issues, concerns with doing so, benefits and disadvantages, prior experience in doing so, and recommendations based upon that experience. Please also note that the legacy HCM system will remain in production until it can be replaced in totality by the new solution. The performance work statement provides for a performance period of up to 24-months to configure the modern HCM cloud solution to replace the legacy HR Smart functionality. Please provide a visual and discussion of how this work can be broken down into approximately two or more phases over the 24-month period by design/feature to achieve minimum viable product inclusive of piloting and implementing into production. Please identify Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant & Time bound (SMART) targets. Customer Experience and Support VA Customer Experience (CX) Directive 0010 establishes CX policy, requirements, and accountability to ensure all Veterans, Service members, their families, caregivers, and survivors receive consistent world-class experiences across VA. VA will maintain organizational CX reporting requirements enumerated in the Office of Management and Budget s (OMB) Circular A-11 Section 280 Managing Customer Experience and Improving Service Delivery. Please provide details about your experience improving agency end user s digital experience with your proposed service or product, based on insights derived from digital analytics such as attaching timestamps to data points to trace a user's journey through time or analyzing macro-level shifts in user behavior over longer time periods. Please provide examples of digital analytics implemented when new user flows are added or at the launch of new features (e.g., website, form, digital tool) to ensure comprehensive monitoring of customer digital experience. What types of training and education do you provide to customers that are not specific to use of the product to address operations and ongoing support? In consideration of the breadth, depth, and size of the VA and scope of work associated with initial implementation and upgrades the agency could require increased surge capacity, requiring the system implementer to scale up resources to meet seasonal peaks or an unexpected increase in demand of service desk resources. What service desk surge capacity do you possess, and, from your perspective and specific experience, please explain what areas of the modernization process and ongoing program support (e.g., change management, help desk, etc.) have been or could be most impacted thus requiring the necessity for increased surge capacity? Describe your methodology for service desk resource capacity planning. VA has a Tier 1 Service Desk in place and uses an internal ticketing solution (PEGA CRM) to triage user requests for assistance. VA is seeking Tier 2 and Tier 3 support. How will you resolve legacy ticketing/reporting system integration problems with the SaaS HCM cloud solution if it cannot or does not support integration with VA s ticketing system? What is your process for communicating Tier 2 and Tier 3 tickets into the HCM cloud solution for processing, response, updates, and resolution? VA will seek use of multiple environments such as for Service Desk, System Business User training, Agile testing (UAT, IVV, etc.), and Train the Trainer. What environments do you recommend the Government consider based upon experience, why, and how would that deliver value to VA? Change Management Describe the Change Management Methodology that you ascribe to managing change. What have been your successes, failures, and outcomes in executing the methodology in your change initiatives? How has the methodology informed each stage of change from pre-deployment through sustainment. What is your organizational change management (OCM) team composition and is it a dedicated team throughout the life of the program? Describe your experience with utilizing and integrating Change Management Methodology and Agile Framework in cloud solutions. Please provide one or two examples based on actual experience. What is your experience in setting expectations for managing change? Please explain your change outcome expectations for how changes are handled in your organization. What experience do you have in developing effective strategies and plans (e.g. communications, training, adoption, etc.) to manage changes within larger organizations? To drive change efficiently, effectively, and timely, what automated tools and processes would you employ during the life of the contract to support efficient, ongoing business process/workflow creation, re-engineering, streamlining, continuous improvement, and change management overall? Describe how impacted individuals adopted and use a change you have implemented. Please provide one or two examples based on actual experience. Describe your experience in the implementation and utilization of Digital Adoption Platforms (DAP). Please provide one or two examples based on actual experience. Metrics What types of metrics and method of measurement do you recommend the Government consider for determining business value and return on investment with respect to the SaaS HCM cloud solutions you ve implemented? What has presented the largest gains in previous implementations you ve performed? Please provide one or two examples based on actual experience. Describe specific Change Management metrics you have used in your change initiatives. How have you measured user adoption, utilization, and proficiency? Please provide one or two examples based on actual experience. What are some specific Key Performance Parameter (KPPs), Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and Measures of Effectiveness (MOEs) you have used to track stated goals, such as resolution times, customer satisfaction surveys, etc.? What is your approach and experience in measuring the sustainment of the change, adherence to new business processes, dissolving workarounds, and overall performance in meeting project objectives? Security A VA issued Authority-to-Operate (ATO) is required for FEDRAMP approved SaaS HCM Cloud solutions. What specific role will you play in the assessment, authorization, compliance, and continuous monitoring associated with acquiring and maintaining the VA issued ATO? How soon after award could you provide the documentation necessary to process a VA-issued ATO? Example documentation includes VA-specific Incident Response Plan, VA-specific System Authorization Boundary, VA-specific System Security Plan, and Third-party Assessment Organization (3PAO) Security Assessment Plan and Report. Can you provide your approach to the management and oversight of security activities throughout the product lifecycle? This should include monitoring of applications, operating system, data, and accessibility. What security responsibilities are inherently the responsibility of the product owner, system integrator, or the agency? Operations and Maintenance VA utilizes Equinix as its cloud broker to establish connectivity with SaaS providers. Does your proposed solution possess established virtual connectivity through Equinix fabric? If not, what is the timeline for addressing connectivity with this cloud broker? Do you possess customer facing application monitoring dashboard(s) capabilities already configured that provide broad and in-depth information? If so, what information have you configured for monitoring and made accessible to the customer? What information can the end user/customer configure within the dashboard? The PWS includes an Operations and Maintenance Plan deliverable, and a responsibility matrix is to be included. What O&M responsibilities are inherently the responsibility of the product owner, system integrator or the agency when it comes to no-code configuration features within the solution you propose? Please include the system integrator's responsibilities for HCM Cloud software maintenance activities resulting from customizations or upgrades to the HCM Cloud. Please provide insight into any risks, issues, concerns with the agency assuming O&M responsibilities such as workflow configuration maintenance, agency-specific table maintenance or maintenance of user access controls and include benefits and disadvantages, prior experience with agencies assuming these responsibilities, and recommendations based upon that experience. Company Information Please provide the following information with your response:� Company Name� CAGE/Unique Entity ID Number� � Company Address� Point of contact name� Telephone number� Email address� For small business concerns, indicate whether at least 50 percent of the total amount paid by the Government will be paid to firms that are similarly situated.� Responses to this RFI are limited to no more 20 pages, in total including illustrations, for everything asked above and are due by no later than 3:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on March 31, 2025, and be addressed to William Waterhouse, Contract Specialist, at William.Waterhouse@va.gov Next Steps:� � The Government will evaluate all responses to this RFI and incorporate into future requirements and communication to our industry partners.� � � �
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