SPECIAL NOTICE
99 -- RFI: Defense Travel System, Travel Management Operations and Sustainment Procurement
- Notice Date
- 1/31/2006
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- NAICS
- 541513
— Computer Facilities Management Services
- Contracting Office
- ACA, ITEC4, Directorate of Contracting , 2461 Eisenhower Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22331-0700
- ZIP Code
- 22331-0700
- Solicitation Number
- USA-SNOTE-060131-002
- Archive Date
- 4/1/2006
- Description
- RFI: Defense Travel System Travel Management Operations and Sustainment Procurement Note: To view this RFI with original formatting, graphics and attachment, go to: http://www.dtstravelcenter.dod.mil/dtsrfi/ Introduction: This is a Request for Information (RFI) from interested sources by the Program Management Office Defense Travel System (PMO-DTS) regarding commercial best practices and commercial capabilities regarding Travel Management operations and sustainment. The Department of Defense (DoD) does not intend to award any type of award instrument based on responses to this RFI, or otherwise provide compensation for the information solicited. Any information submitted in response to this RFI is provided voluntaril y. Respondents are advised that PMO-DTS is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of information received, or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted under this Request for Information (RFI). This RFI is open to all sources and qualified small businesses are encouraged to participate. Background: The Defense Travel System (DTS) is a major acquisition information system (MAIS) program with a lifecycle of 2016. More specifically, the DTS is an electronic system that provides a capability to Department of Defense (DoD) employees in support of Tempora ry Duty (TDY) travel, enabling them to determine availability of transportation and lodging alternatives, make reservations, obtain necessary approvals and get tickets, prepare and submit vouchers, and receive reimbursement for authorized out-of-pocket exp enses. DTS also processes financial transactions associated with travel arrangements and disbursements. DTS is considered both a travel and a financial management system. The DTS will eventually be deployed to approximately 11,000 Department of Defense ( DoD) worldwide sites. The Travel Management Operations and Sustainment support being required includes maintaining the gateway connections between DTS and the four primary Global Distribution Systems (GDSs). In addition to maintaining the connection, audits need to be performed on the GDS databases to ensure that the data is correctly loaded in the GDSs as well as retrieved accurately and completely by the gateway connections to DTS. Travel Management Operations and Sustainment support could include providing Help Desk services to both Commercial Travel Offices (CTOs) and DoD users who need assistance with their travel reservations. Recommendations for system improvements and/or enhancements related to travel functionality would be provided monthly to the Government through docu mented change requests. Once approved, the changes will be forwarded to the prime contractor for implementation. The effort may also include an interface to Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) to retrieve travel reservation data for business intelligence , in order that a comparison of the travel data from ARC to the DTS travel reservation data can be performed, along with the conduct of data mining services. DoD intends to use a rules driven tool, called OpenJaw, to interface with the Global Distribution Systems (GDSs). OpenJaw includes a component called the reservation gateway that is responsible for providing travel information, needed for booking and ticke ting. Below is additional information about this tool including a top level diagram. The OpenJaw application uses XML documents instead of code to drive the logic. The format of the XML documents is defined externally in XML Schema Definition (XSD) files and can be the message definitions from standards bodies such as the OpenTravel" All iance or Travel Technology Initiative. The addition of new data items to the XML documents does not break the component or interface definitions and therefore allows the changed data to be passed through without any software changes. A sophisticated Business Rules Engine allows business logic changes to be easily im plemented without programming changes. The Business Rules Engine allows business rules to be built using data in the XML message (again based on the XSD definition file) and other external data sources. An example of a rule would be: Rules editing is accomplished through a web based interface as described here: The rules editor allows non-technical business experts to build rules using a simple point-and-click 'pseudo English' interface. These are then dynamically applied to the running system. The XML message is represented as a tree-structure, built from the XML Schema or DTD (Data Type Definition). The user identifies data elements, which may be of interest when building rules, and assigns them a descriptive name. The Rule Building screen allo ws design and management of rules using an easy point-and-click interface. The message elements and sections identified at the 'Data Identification' stage are presented to the user along with: Operators (AND, OR, 'is greater than', 'multiplied by' etc.) Rule management functions ('New Rule', 'Clear Rule' etc.) Links to external data sources. Rules are built by clicking the appropriate display items to build the rule syntax in the editor screen. The process is intuitive and typically takes minutes for a new user to learn. Through this interface, the user can also enable, disable or delete exist ing rules. The DTS System Overview Diagram is attached for additional information. The responses to the RFI are requested not later than 5:00 PM February 12, 2006. All interested parties who intend to submit a proposal in response to any resulting Request for Proposal (RFP) as a prime contractor, team, or potential subcontractor are strongly encouraged to submit a response to this RFI. All RFI elements identified at Sections 1, 2, 3, & 4 should be addressed to the maximum extent possible and in a format consistent with the format established in this RFI. The PMO-DTS will hold optional meetings with interested companies who would like to present their written response document to the Government. The Government will not be providing information during the sessions and no discussions will take place. The Gove rnment will be in a receiving mode for information the contractors have directly related to their written submission. The contractor is asked to follow the written format for their oral presentation of the data. The Government requests that the contractors refrain from marketing their company during the oral presentation but rather provide their recommendations on the topics within this RFI. Meetings will be held in 90 minute increments on the following days: - Tuesday February 14, 2006 (1-2:30 and 3-4:30) - Thursday February 16, 2006 (1-2:30 and 3-4:30) - Friday February 17, 2006 (9-10:30 and 11-12:30) - Tuesday February 21, 2006 (1-2:30 and 3-4:30) - Thursday February 23, 2006 (1-2:30 and 3-4:30) - Friday February 24, 2006 (9-10:30 and 11-12:30) Meeting Location: Program Management Office - Defense Travel System 241 18th Street Suite 100 Arlington, VA 22202 Meetings can be scheduled through the http://www.dtstravelcenter.dod.mil/dtsrfi/ website. These meetings are first come, first serve. If we have not received your written response to this RFI by 5:00 PM on February 12, 2006, your meeting will automaticall y be cancelled. Meetings that are cancelled will be offered to companies that submit a written response but were unable to secure a presentation appointment. Notice will be given to company points of contact via email on the February 12th or 13th of any ap pointments to be released with an approximate time. These offerings will also be on a first come first serve basis. Request for Information: The PMO-DTS is requesting industry input and comment on the DTS Travel Management Operations and Sustainment in regards to commercial best practices and commercial capabilities outlined as follows. Responses on company letterhead are re quested for submission electronically not later than the date specified above to Christos.Daoulas@itec4.army.mil and stephen.alkire@itec4.army.mil and DTSRFI@osd.pentagon.mil. Point of Contact is Christos Daoulas, Contracting Officer or Steve Alkire, Cont ract Specialist. Please note that any response to this RFI will be at your companys expense. The PMO-DTS considers a response to include any and all outputs from efforts to respond to this RFI including but not limited to documents, presentations, demonstrations, speeches etc. The PMO-DTS will not provide any financial compensation in return for submitted responses to this RFI. We highly recommend you not submit any information you deem as competitive sensitive or propriety. If you chose to do so, recommend you appropriately mark the sensitive information to ensure proper safeguarding such as Corporate Proprietary Information an d state the appropriate restrictions in the evaluation and use of the information provided. Responses should be as concise as possible although page limitations are not specified. Preclude inclusion of strictly advertising or marketing type information. PMO-DTS appreciates your participation in this RFI as your responses are extremely important to us in developing an optimal acquisition strategy for Travel Management Operations and Sustainment Services. Please respond to this RFI in the following section structure. Section 1 Company Information a. Company Name, Address, telephone, fax, designated representative(s) name(s), POC to include phone numbers and email address. a.b. Please identify whether currently designated as a Small Business as defined in the Federal Acquisition Regulation FAR Part 19.1 and appropriate category, i.e. Small Business (SB), Small disadvantaged business (SDB), Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HubZone), 8(a) program, service disabled veteran-owned, veteran-owned, and woman-owned small business concerns. Small business size standards are published by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and may be found at www.sba.gov/size/sizetab le2002.html. The small businesss size standard for this action is 541513. Section 2 Travel Management Operations and Sustainment Services a. Based on your experiences, request information on how you would manage the gateway between DTS and the GDSs. This may include information on organization, technologies, and troubleshooting techniques. a.b. GSA has developed an extremely successful Airline City Pair Program. Based on your experiences, request information on how you would perform audits to ensure that the GDS maintains current City Pair data from the airlines and how you would communicate that info to the government and how frequently. Also, describe any additional audits of the GDS databases and what you would be trying to achieve. This may include information on the different types of audits planned, how frequently you would execute the audits, and how an audit would be validated and reported. a.c. DTS currently plans to use a reservation management tool called OpenJaw which connects to the GDSs and pulls relevant travel data back to the DTS. Based on your experiences, request information on how you would perform verification testing on the data being passed involving the GDSs, OpenJaw and DTS. a.d. The following questions relate to business rules to be written and managed in OpenJaw, or equivalent solution. Although more specific systems information may be needed, please provide conceptual recommendations for this type of approach. Based on your experiences: 1. Request information on how you would manage business rule generation from requirements gathering through handoff to the DTS production support team. This may include any support and interaction required from the system Operations & Maintenance contracto r to promote the business rules to the production environment. i. How you will handle configuration control and versioning of rule sets. Include suggestions on merging versions. i.ii. How you document and maintain traceability between business requirements gathered and final rule sets. Set forth ideas for document management along with an appropriate authorization/approval chain. 2. Request information on how you contain costs for business analysis through rules generation, testing and editing. 2.3. Request information on the skills and subject matter expertise required to build rule sets for travel industry reservations. 2.4. Request information on the systems/tools you require to complete the rules generation. Please address these in terms of an SDLC model. 2.5. Request information on how you test the production system to insure the rules are functioning correctly. i. Please suggest a method for ongoing tests for all rules-based logic. i.ii. How will you handle notification or alerts in the event of test failure? i.iii. Request information on your methods for integrating and testing business logic during development and prior to deployment. 6. Request information on the general criteria used for determining rule complexity, when complex rules should be fractionated, and suggestions for when rules should be moved to code. If a rule should be coded, how do you envision communicating that to al l stakeholders? 7. Based on your experiences, request information on how you would maintain security and confidentiality of all work performed. e. Based on your experiences, do you recommend any translators or similar tools other than OpenJaw? If yes, please describe the alternative solution(s). e.f. Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) is an airline-owned company offering travel products and services, ticket distribution and settlement through a variety of channels in the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Based on your exper iences: 1. What data would you obtain from ARC? 1.2. How would you manage the data, display or provide the data and recommend utilizing the data collected to benefit the DoD? 1.3. How could the data that is obtained by ARC be combined with existing DTS and CTO reservation information to provide DoD with a complete account of all travel data? (Note: For informational purposed only, DoD currently utilizes a Cognos data warehouse but is not limited to this solution in the future.) 1.4. What applications can you suggest the data be used for such as audit of travel vouchers etc. and explain the approach you would take to accomplish the task. g. The following questions relate to Help Desk services. Based on your experiences: 1. Request information on how you would provide Help Desk services to CTOs. This may include information on how the Help Desk would be structured as well as how you would propose to interact with other related Help Desks. Any potential Help Desk software m ust be accessible by both CTO agents and other authorized DoD representatives. 1.2. How would you provide Help Desk services to travelers experiencing problems with travel reservations and how you would collect the feedback given during these calls? This may include information on how the Help Desk would be structured. Any potential Help Desk software must be accessible by DoD users. 1.3. The PMO-DTS recently released a Help Desk and Sustainment Training RFI. Do you feel that combining all the efforts discussed in that RFI with the efforts discussed within this RFI into one solicitation would be beneficial to the DoD? Section 3 Commercial Best Practices a. Pricing structure. What commercial pricing structure would you recommend for Travel Management Operations and Sustainment services? a.b. Tools. What commercial tools would you use for modeling business requirements and rules development? a.c. Performance metrics. Identify key performance metrics you envision that will provide a clear indication of project success. a.d. Identify data/information you feel the Government should provide with any resulting RFP to en sure contractors have the required information to submit a proposal. Section 4 Timelines a. Transition or ramp-up timelines. Based on your experiences, outline the time required to ramp up IT systems and staff required to begin a travel requirements and business rules development project and list risks that might affect the timeline. a.b. Timeline information. Based on your experiences, how much time is typically needed for training, coordination, business process changes and other non-IT system work prior to project start? The PMO-DTS appreciates your time, effort, and expense in responding to this RFI. Request your response be submitted in accordance with (IAW) the instructions provided above and within the timeframe given. We look forward to your participation in this im portant initiative. Note: To view this RFI with original formatting, graphics and attachment, go to: http://www.dtstravelcenter.dod.mil/dtsrfi/
- Web Link
-
Defense Travel System Website
(http://www.dtstravelcenter.dod.mil/dtsrfi/)
- Record
- SN00976816-W 20060202/060131213101 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
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