SPECIAL NOTICE
D -- SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT
- Notice Date
- 5/31/2012
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- NAICS
- 541511
— Custom Computer Programming Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Office of Acquisitions, Office of Management, 530 Davis Drive, Durham, North Carolina, 27713, United States
- ZIP Code
- 27713
- Solicitation Number
- NIHES2012148
- Archive Date
- 6/28/2012
- Point of Contact
- DIANNE M. GRAY, Phone: 9195417950
- E-Mail Address
-
graydi@niehs.nih.gov
(graydi@niehs.nih.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- Total Small Business
- Description
- Request for Information (RFI) NIEHS iPhone/iPad application project The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health, requires assistance in planning, designing, and implementing mobile applications. Goals: NIEHS's overall goal for this project is to develop cutting-edge applications (1 for the iPhone and 1 for the iPad) to disseminate content from NIEHS, including: • News and featured articles • Science findings • Press releases • Recently published papers • Job opportunities • Grant/funding opportunities • Calendar of events • Social Media interface (e.g. Latest twitter posts; links to Facebook, Youtube; social media sharing features) • Related photos, audio, and video • Contact and Feedback mechanism for public engagement/interaction Research, Planning and Design: The contractor will lead a design meeting with various NIEHS representatives to seek input, discuss possible design components, and to understand basic requirements and features. From this discussion, and using cost-appropriate industry best practices, contractor will develop two sets of distinct visual concepts that will accommodate the content formatting needs throughout the app. Each concept should take into account screen size differences between iPhone and iPad and will include app ‘logo', landing page, main page(s), subpage(s), navigation, branding, typeface, and other elements. NIEHS will select one for final development, and the contractor will subsequently provide up to four rounds of revisions. Any additional revisions required will incur an additional cost at the designer's hourly rate. While the scope of this contract is limited to iPhone and iPad application development, the design and layout, interface, and usability should utilize industry best practices to make porting to other platforms (android, windows phone, etc.) straightforward. Production and Testing: Following final design agreement, the contractor will write, test and deploy applications into the target platform environment. The contractor will create sample files to demonstrate each of the page types in the site. The contractor, working with NIEHS staff and contractors, will use the NIEHS installation of Percussion CMS to create templates within the CMS. The contractor will perform quality assurance and usability tests, thoroughly checking for broken links, content display issues, and other problems. Contractor will cross check the app across several generations of products and operating system versions to confirm functionality, and remedy any sub-optimal issues discovered. The applications will also be tested for security vulnerabilities using industry best practices and the results will be provided to NIEHS for approval. Launch: Once NIEHS approves final site for launch, contractor will work with Apple, and existing NIEHS staff and contractors, to launch the site. The contractor will provide NIEHS with all source files, documentation and other information necessary to maintain the app(s). Reporting and Management: In order to keep the project on track, the contractor will conduct weekly status meetings with the NIEHS's project leader to include project milestone, resource allocation and budget updates. Problematic issues that may threaten the timeline and/or budget will be communicated immediately to the NIEHS project leader. Questions (Please provide brief justification for each, as needed): A. What is an appropriate budget range for this type of project? B. What would be the approximate time needed to complete the project as described? C. What methods are recommended to push information from NIEHS to the application? (note: NIEHS utilizes Percussion CMS as content management system for its website) D. What best practices are utilized to comply with Section 508 (accessibility) requirements? E. What methods and data are useful in capturing and evaluating application users/usage? (note: NIEHS currently utilizes Webtrends for its webpages) F. What factors should be considered to ensure long-term success in releasing to future mobile devices and operating systems (such as android, windows mobile, etc? G. What methods should be considered for version updates, IOS updates, and/or opportunities for improvement in usability, reliability, and stability? Should an ongoing or periodic maintenance plan be considered? H. Any/All innovative suggestions are welcomed. The following denotes information/input requested: Company Information Vendors shall provide a summary about their company. Included in the summary will be: a. Company name and address b. Years in business c. Type of company d. Point of contact, including telephone number and email address, for representative of the interested firm e. A brief overview of your firm's capabilities f. A list of clients or experience in the areas described above g. Do you have a GSA vehicle that could be utilized for these services? If yes, please provide the contract number and point of contact information. Deadline for response(s) Responses are requested by 3 pm Eastern Daylight Time on June 13, 2012.Responses must be in PDF format and submitted to graydi@niehs.nih.gov Questions must be electronically submitted to graydi@niehs.nih.gov Primary Point of Contact: Dianne M. Gray, Contract Specialist, NIEHS, OM, Office of Acquisitions graydi@niehs.nih.gov 919 541 7950 Page Limitation: 20 pages, Times New Roman Font 12 Precreated marketing literature may be submitted in addition to the 20-page limitation requirement IMPORTANT NOTATION: This Request for Information (RFI) is not a request for proposal, request for quotation, or an offer or an Invitation for bid, nor does its issuance restrict the Government on its eventual disposition activities. This is an RFI ONLY, and all information received will be used for planning and market research purposes only. Information received will not be published. Your response(s) may be releasable to the public under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. §. If you wish for NIEHS to consider any portion of your response exempt from disclosure under the FOIA, your respective organization/agency should clearly mark that portion as "confidential commercial information." The procedures for such markings are clearly defined in Title 45, Volume 1, Subtitle A - Department of Health and Human Services, Part 5 - Freedom of Information Regulations, Subpart F (Reasons for Withholding Some Records); 5.65 (Exemption four: Trade Secrets and confidential commercial or financial information.) Respondents will not be notified of any results derived from a review of the information provided. This RFI should not be construed as a commitment by the Government, and no Contracting Officer intends to award a contract based on your responses. All information contained in the RFI is preliminary and is subject to modification and is no way binding on the Government. The Government will not pay for information received in response to this RFI. All responders to this RFI are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/HHS/NIH/NIEHS/NIHES2012148/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: NIEHS, Research Triangle Park, NC, Durham, North Carolina, 27707, United States
- Zip Code: 27707
- Zip Code: 27707
- Record
- SN02762440-W 20120602/120531235610-ebced5571ca0d9dbfe3a2937174a6fb4 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
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