SPECIAL NOTICE
99 -- Request for Information: Cost Estimating Considerations for Modern Software Development
- Notice Date
- 5/20/2024 11:57:37 AM
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- Contracting Office
- DEPT OF THE ARMY
- ZIP Code
- 00000
- Solicitation Number
- ASAFMCostEstMSD
- Response Due
- 6/14/2024 1:00:00 PM
- Archive Date
- 06/29/2024
- Point of Contact
- Allison Hawkins
- E-Mail Address
-
usarmy.belvoir.hqda-asa-fmc.dasa-ce-sw-rfi@army.mil
(usarmy.belvoir.hqda-asa-fmc.dasa-ce-sw-rfi@army.mil)
- Description
- Request for Information (RFI) Cost Estimating Considerations for Modern Software Development What the Army is trying to accomplish:� Modern systems used by the Army are increasingly dependent on software to give our military overwhelming advantages in combat. Army Directive 2024-02 Enabling Modern Software Development & Acquisition Practices expedites the adoption of modern software development practices across the Army to achieve faster, more relevant, and more cost-effective software development.� How you can help:� To facilitate this adoption, the Army seeks your input to understand how contractors estimate the resources required to accomplish software development and improvement projects employing modern development practices. We are seeking insight on the methods and metrics contractors utilize to accurately estimate the resources needed to deliver a specified capability prior to, and during, the execution of development. Responses to this RFI will be used to inform the development of cost estimates for software development projects employing these modern practices to help ensure that they are adequately resourced to enable their success. Refer to Appendix 1 for a complete list of questions. How to Reply: To reply, email the mailbox below with the subject line Costing RFI,, with a Written Response attachment by 14 June 2024. Written Response:� Attach responses for one or more topics in Appendix 1 (.docx or .pdf) with your company name, your points of contact, and contact information included on the first page of the attachment.� One-on-one sessions:� If requesting a one-on-one session, include an agenda of cost estimating topics you would like to discuss as part of the written response attachment. Also include in the email windows of time that can work for a scheduled one-on-one session. RFI Submission Points of Contact:� usarmy.belvoir.hqda-asa-fmc.list.dasa-ce-sw-rfi@army.mil Disclaimer:� This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes. This RFI is not a solicitation and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. Responses will not be considered as proposals, nor will any award be made as a result of this request. Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clause 52.215-3, �Request for Information or Solicitation for Planning Purposes�, is incorporated by reference. The Government does not intend to reimburse respondents for any costs associated with the submissions of their responses to this RFI; respondents to this RFI are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding. Proprietary information and trade secrets, if any, must be clearly marked on all materials. All information received in response to this RFI that is marked �Proprietary� will be handled accordingly. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned nor will receipt be confirmed. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this RFI are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract.� Responses from this RFI will be used to formatively shape broad Army guidance for acquiring software solutions. Response content may be aggregated and anonymously published into summary documentation to facilitate such guidance. Any publications resulting from this RFI will be non-attributional, and RFI respondents� consent for their responses to be used for such purposes. Appendix 1:� Cost Estimating Questions for Modern Software Development The following list is a mix of probing and open-ended questions where industry feedback could help shape Army software development cost estimating approaches. �Do not feel obligated to respond to all of them.� The Army appreciates any insight you wish to provide.� While this is a Cost Estimating focused RFI, feel free to branch into other topics if they could help address underlying Cost Estimating concerns, such as acquisition strategy. Background:� What experience do you have supporting software development and improvement of Department of Defense (DoD) programs?� If applicable, please provide the program name(s) and contract number(s). Requirements Specificity:�� In your experience, Do DoD solicitations for software development efforts contain sufficient definition of the end scope or capability of the software for you to build cost estimates and proposals to confidently bid? How do you size the effort and phasing of a software development project when detailed requirements are not defined and scheduled for the entirety of the duration of the project? Dynamic Requirements:� Modern software development practices involve responding to continuous customer feedback, changing circumstances, and evolving needs. How are changes to requirements handled and how does it impact the cost estimate? Does continuous customer feedback change the way resources are estimated, and if so, how? Estimating Approaches:� What methodologies and quantitative measures/metrics do you use for estimating software development labor costs and schedule? Do they vary by any of the below factors? If so, please describe the difference in approaches and/or quantitative measures. If needed, please refer to https://aaf.dau.edu/aaf/software/ for clarity on the DoD Software Acquisition Pathway terminology mentioned. The type of software development process (ex � agile vs waterfall)? Where the process is in its lifecycle (ex � initial definition/bid vs execution)? The type of system the software supports (ex � embedded in weapon systems vs an application running on commercial hardware)? � Tools:� What tools (commercial off-the-shelf, internally developed, etc.) do you use to: Estimate software development costs and schedule? Manage software development � including teams, backlog, release planning, etc.? Metrics:� What metrics do you use to measure and analyze the accuracy of cost estimates over time?� Do these differ from the metrics used to initially estimate the required resources and/or from the metrics utilized to manage a project? If so, please explain how. Labor Pool:� Do modern software development practices require different skillset categories than what has been traditionally utilized?� Have you recently experienced talent scarcity in any of the required categories? �Please explain, and if applicable, describe the effects of talent scarcity on your cost estimates. Risks:� What strategies do you use to account for risks and uncertainty in your cost estimates?� What strategies do you suggest the Government adopt to help increase the rigor and confidence of your estimates? Open Forum:� What cost estimating questions should we be asking, but aren�t related to software development?� Are there strategic blind-spots the Government might have when it comes to modern software development?
- Web Link
-
SAM.gov Permalink
(https://sam.gov/opp/49dde938176f47dd9f55c7967f1c7a1f/view)
- Place of Performance
- Address: Washington, DC, USA
- Country: USA
- Country: USA
- Record
- SN07069863-F 20240522/240520230050 (samdaily.us)
- Source
-
SAM.gov Link to This Notice
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