SOURCES SOUGHT
70 -- Automated Scheduling Pilot RFI
- Notice Date
- 7/28/2008
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 511210
— Software Publishers
- Contracting Office
- Social Security Administration, Office of Budget, Finance, and Management, Office of Acquisition and Grants, 1st Floor, Rear Entrance, 7111 Security Blvd., Baltimore, Maryland, 21244
- ZIP Code
- 21244
- Solicitation Number
- SSA-RFI-08-Pilot1
- Archive Date
- 8/13/2008
- Point of Contact
- Michael V. DeAngelis,, Phone: 410-965-9543
- E-Mail Address
-
Mike.DeAngelis@ssa.gov
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Overview SSA is looking for an expert contractor with experience in scheduling cases in a judicial environment. We are interested in an Automated Scheduling tool that may be of value to any part of the SSA’s Intelligent Disability effort, whether it’s a front-end solution, back-end solution, or combination of both. Please provide enough documentation as to how you would address the needs described below to permit an initial assessment. Background The Social Security Administration is the nation's primary income security agency. It is responsible for administering the nation’s federal retirement, survivors, and disability insurance programs, as well as the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Program for the aged, blind and disabled. Historically, much of SSA's work relied on paper documents and manual processes. In 2003, SSA began transitioning its work from a manual processes to electronic in order to increase efficiency, decrease costs, and comply with the E-Government initiative, which requires elimination of redundant systems and improvement in customer service. The Intelligent Disability (iDib) effort supports the goal of positioning SSA to deliver high-quality, citizen-centered service while making the right decision as early as possible. Intelligent Disability consists of a number of initiatives that directly support this goal. One of the initiatives currently in progress in support of SSA’s objective to reduce the backlog is the automation of scheduling hearings, hearing sites, and associated hearing participants, both internal and external to SSA. When the functionality of Automated Scheduling solution is integrated into the electronic process, it will save SSA many work years and enable the agency to cope with its growing workloads. ODAR, through its 145 hearing offices and remotes sites, is responsible for reviewing applications of claimants who have filed a Request for Hearing on an appeal of the prior level SSA benefits decision. It is ODAR's job to review the relevant documents, conduct hearings, and decide if benefits should be awarded. ODAR employs an overwhelming manual process to schedule its hearings. In fiscal year 2007 ODAR scheduled 567,864 hearings, including approximately 40,000 video hearings. In the current process the scheduler must manually coordinate the calendars and availability of multiple hearing participants, including the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), claimant, representative and experts, as well as the hearing site(s). The scheduler must rotate expert witnesses and simultaneously ensure to the extent possible that the experts, and in some cases the ALJs, have a full docket. The scheduler must also coordinate and schedule the hearing site(s). The requirements for a hearing site may very depending on the type of the site. The scheduled site can be a Hearing Office, a permanent remote SSA-owned site, or a temporary site. The scheduling of the site may also depend on whether the site has video-hearing capability. The requirement for the software solutions is more than a calendaring system. It is complex scheduling software that must satisfy ODAR’s business requirements in this area and integrate with existing SSA systems. Software and Hardware/Architecture Requirements •Maintain default and temporary availability/unavailability profiles for participants. Both internal and external participants should have access to create and update their profiles. •Maintain default and temporary availability profiles of the sites. •Allow access for both internal and external participants to view and print generated schedules. •Provide the ability to automatically schedule events for a judicial court in a specified order of priority based on predefined criteria. •Provide the ability to manually process the scheduling of the court events that could not be scheduled automatically. •Provide the ability to merge the manually processed events with the automatically processed events and generate a single calendar. •Provide notification within the application for the external participants to allow a 24-hour window to agree with or decline the itinerary before the schedule is finalized. •Provide notification within the application for staff to review and approve the proposed calendar before details are finalized. •Provide notification for staff in instances where manual action must be taken to complete scheduling requirements. •Allow designated staff the ability to review, approve or override automatically generated court schedule before the schedule is finalized. •Provide monitoring capabilities and statistical data. •Provide instructions on administering software installation. •24/7 technical support to a live person via telephone. •Auto-update or minimal technical involvement in updating software. •Integration and interoperability with existing Cisco Ethernet Router/Switch infrastructure. •Integration and interoperability with existing office suite, Microsoft Office 2003, Exchange/Outlook 2003 sp2, and secure Internet Explorer v. 6.0.29 for XP sp2. •Integration and interoperability with an IBM, Tivoli Access Manager/Federated Identity Manager security architecture, and CA, Top Secret and E-Trust Antivirus security architecture. •Ability to integrate DB2 connection or WebSphere zOS interface with CICS. •Vehicle for implementing client settings or policies and be easily monitored for real time confirmation of compliance. •Comply with, HIPPA and Sarbanes/Oxley. •Provide information about related services, components, project management, technical support, training, updates, etc., that would be provided in addition to the products. •Present general pricing information. •Present the licensing details for the software offering Optional/Desirable features include: •Monitoring of user accounts. •Ease of installation. •Ease of Administration. •Customizable reporting capability. •On an as needed basis, on-site service/support within 24 hours. Section 508 and Accessibility Requirements 1.Requirements for accessibility based on Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d) are determined to be relevant to this RFI. Specifically, SSA is performing market research on the availability of software which fully complies with all technical provisions listed under sections 1194.21, 1194.22, and 1194.31 of the Section 508 law (www.section508.gov). In addition, SSA is performing market research on the availability of accessible product documentation which fully complies with all technical provisions listed under section 1194.41. 2.Additional SSA requirements for accessibility are also deemed to be relevant to this RFI. Software Compatibility with Assistive Technology SSA is performing market research to determine the availability of software that is fully compatible with: JAWS screen reading software for Windows 2000/XP (Version 9.0); MAGIC screen magnification software for Windows 2000/XP (Version 10); and Dragon Naturally Speaking Professional voice recognition software for Windows 2000/XP (Version 9.5). “Software” includes any of the following which contain a user interface: websites, interactive web based applications, client server applications, desktop applications, mainframe applications, applets, middleware, and drivers. “Compatible” means that the software will fully conform to the applicable Section 508 standards when used with the assistive technology referenced above. For a complete description on the JAWS and MAGIC software packages, please refer to Freedom Scientific web site at www.FreedomScientific.com. To obtain a 30/60 day version of the JAWS/MAGIC software for development and testing, please send contact information and the SSA procurement number (for verification) to Charles Madsen at: Cmadsen@FreedomScientific.com. For a complete description on the Dragon Naturally Speaking software package, please refer to Nuance’s web site at http://www.nuance.com/naturallyspeaking. To obtain a trial version of the Dragon Naturally Speaking software for development and testing, please send contact information and the SSA procurement number (for verification) to Tom Derrico at: tderrico@nuance.com. Documentation in Accessible Formats Any form of documentation provided (i.e. training manual, user guides, embedded documents etc.); including any documentation deliverables should be provided in a fully accessible format. The documents should be provided in one of the following formats: Text, RTF, properly “tagged” PDF, Microsoft Word or HTML format. Properly tagged PDF’s can be verified by using Adobe Acrobat’s Accessibility Checker. Documentation delivered in a manner that is interactive (e.g., table of contents, Index, Search, etc.) shall be keyboard navigable, move focus to selected items (or have a keyboard alternative) and be comparable in keyboard access to mouse usage. Documentation that is delivered in a video or multimedia publication shall comply with the Section 508 requirements detailed in 36 CFR part 1194.24 and the functional performance criteria detailed in 36 CFR 1194 Subpart C. In addition, SSA requires conformance for all video and multi-media deliverables. SSA does not accept text equivalents used to replace speech, and requires captions to be synchronized with speech. Training The contractor should provide training materials that can be used to instruct people with disabilities on how use the product’s accessibility features and the training documentation itself should be available in accessible format. 3.How to document your response. A completed Section 508 Accessibility Evaluation Template is requested for each software deliverable indicated in this RFI. A sample template is available at http://www.ssa.gov/oag/acq/oagacq_508.htm. When completing the Section 508 Accessibility Evaluation Template the contractor should state exactly how your proposed software deliverable(s) meet the applicable standards. Merely stating that a software deliverable is compliant or noncompliant with the applicable Section 508 Standards is not sufficient. The contractor is cautioned to address each standard individually and with specificity, and to be clear whether Section 508 conformance is achieved throughout the entire software deliverable (i.e. both user functionality and administrator functionality), or only in limited areas of the software deliverable. SSA also requests the contractor to disclose what methods were used to validate conformance with all applicable standards and SSA’s Accessibility Requirements, especially with respect to compatibility with SSA’s assistive technology (where applicable). Vendor Experiences and References •Can the vendor provide a list of those currently using the product? •Can the vendor provide a list of customers currently using the product in the kinds of environment in which SSA would use it? Security Specifications System must comply with the following: •Electronic Government (Egov) Act, Title III, Federal Information Systems Security Management Act (FISMA). http://csrc.nist.gov/drivers/documents/FISMA-final.pdf •OMB Circular A130, Appendix III, Guidance on the “Security of Federal Automated Information Systems”. http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/a130/a130appendix_iii.html Format of Response This is a request for information only, and is not intended as a request for proposal. The Government does not intend to reimburse for any information or materials submitted in response. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation. No contract award will be made on the basis of the responses received. Responses should be submitted, within 15 business days of the publication of this notice, to the Social Security Administration on or before 5:00 P.M. EDT August 12, 2008. Electronic responses are preferred and can be sent to: Mike.DeAngelis@ssa.gov in the Office of Acquisition and Grants. Please include Automated Scheduling Pilot RFI Responses in the subject line. SSA will also accept non-electronic responses. Paper responses should be mailed to: Social Security Administration Office of Acquisition and Grants Attention: Michael DeAngelis 7111 Security Blvd. Rear Entrance Baltimore, MD 21244 Responses should refer to RFI Number: SSA-RFI-08-Pilot
- Web Link
-
FedBizOpps Complete View
(https://www.fbo.gov/?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=201bb279003f8e74d7c5289017ae092e&tab=core&_cview=1)
- Place of Performance
- Address: Baltimore, Maryland, 21235, United States
- Zip Code: 21235
- Zip Code: 21235
- Record
- SN01625081-W 20080730/080728224022-201bb279003f8e74d7c5289017ae092e (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
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