SOURCES SOUGHT
D -- Transforming Source Code Into Another Programming Language
- Notice Date
- 6/2/2006
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541512
— Computer Systems Design Services
- Contracting Office
- Other Defense Agencies, Defense Security Cooperation Agency, Defense Budget and Contracts, 201 12th Street Suite 203, Arlington, VA, 22202-5408
- ZIP Code
- 22202-5408
- Solicitation Number
- HQ0013-06-SS-06022006
- Response Due
- 7/3/2006
- Archive Date
- 7/18/2006
- Description
- This sources sought is a request for information. The information contained in this sources sought notification is based on the best and most current information available to date, is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. Any significant changes will be provided in a subsequent Request for Information, if required. This is a Request for Information (RFI) for the United States (U.S.) Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA). This RFI concerns transformation of a large software application written for the Sun Unified Development Server (UDS) environment, formerly known as Forte. DSCA is seeking to identify information technology vendors capable of transforming DSCA?s application source code into another programming language and is attempting to determine the degree of automation attainable in the transformation, the target environments that are obtainable, the degree of vendor experience with such conversions, and the degree of trustworthiness assurances that vendors are capable of providing. Based on these results, DSCA may issue a second RFI to some or all of the vendors who respond to this RFI, seeking answers to more detailed technical questions and estimation of the approximate cost of the transformation. Failure to respond to this RFI may preclude a vendor?s opportunity to respond to the next RFI. The large software application involved is called the Defense Security Assistance Management System (DSAMS). This application supports several business areas associated with the U.S. Government?s Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program, including preparation of contractual agreements between the U.S. and foreign governments and planning, tracking, and financial management associated with bringing tens of thousands of foreign military personnel to Department of Defense (DoD) schools in the U.S. DSAMS has roughly 893,000 lines of executable UDS-based source code and 223,000 lines of UDS-generated hexadecimal code representing 647 user screens. Other elements of the application include an Oracle 9i database management system, custom reports developed using the Cognos Impromptu report generator, and interfaces programmed in Perl. The current hardware system architecture consists of: a central Hewlett-Packard HP V2500 Server running the HP-UX operating system, an Oracle 9i relational database management system, the UDS Runtime environment, most UDS-based DSAMS business logic (to include batch and on-line services), all Perl logic, and an Intel-based Windows server farm running the UDS Runtime environment, UDS-based DSAMS presentation and business logic, Impromptu, and Citrix Metaframe to deliver rich screens to end users? Windows desktops via Citrix ICA client connections. DSCA?s Challenge. DSCA wishes to migrate the UDS-based client and server portions of DSAMS to another language, while retaining the Oracle, Perl, and Impromptu elements of the system and the user experience of rich screens. DSCA also seeks to preserve, or enhance, the system response time. The central application server and operating system for the transformed application code need not remain HP and Unix. The objective is to transform the UDS elements of the system at minimum cost to a new, easily maintained environment. DSCA is seeking a highly automated transformation with the expectation that it will reduce cost, transformation time, defect density, and subsequent acceptance testing and debugging. Trustworthiness Considerations, The DSAMS software application is a U.S. DoD information system. The DSAMS application is regarded as unclassified and not sensitive. The business data accessed and used by the DSAMS application is regarded as unclassified, but sensitive information. Normally, for development or modification of such a system, DoD security regulations would require that the vendor be a U.S. firm and that each employee receive a favorably adjudicated National Agency Check with Interviews (NAC-I). DSCA recognizes, however, that some vendors possessing superior commercial UDS transformation automation and experience might exist outside the U.S. A purpose of this RFI is to determine the extent to which sources capable of satisfying DSCA?s requirement exist, to determine if commercial sources can meet DSCA?s requirements, or if commercial sources can meet DSCA?s requirements if DSCA?s requirements were modified to a reasonable extent, and to determine the practices of firms engaged in the business of commercial automated UDS code transformation, particularly with respect to vendor?s capabilities to deliver trustworthy and reliable transformed applications. DSCA?s Questions, DSCA is seeking short responses to this RFI, focusing on five major questions: Does the vendor have automation for transforming UDS source code? If so, briefly describe the vendor?s capabilities for transforming UDS source code. Does the vendor have automation for transforming UDS-generated hexadecimal screen code? If so, describe briefly the vendor?s capabilities for transforming UDS-generated hexadecimal screen code. What target language(s) and presentation format(s) can the vendor?s transformation solution provide? How many lines of code has the vendor successfully converted for clients that were: (a) UDS source code, and (b) UDS-generated hexadecimal screen code? Briefly describe significant successful relevant experience with such code conversion projects. To what degree can the vendor, and the vendor?s employees, satisfy DSCA?s need for a trustworthy vendor who can be relied upon not to introduce malicious code into the DSAMS application or compromise business data? In this regard, please respond to the following sub-questions: In what country is your company based? In what country will the work be performed? Specifically, can the work be performed in a facility in the United States? What are the citizenships of the personnel performing the work? Specifically, can the work be performed entirely with U.S. citizens? If the work can be performed with U.S. citizens, does your firm have the capability to perform the code transformation described in this RFI with a U.S. citizen workforce with favorably adjudicated National Agency Checks with Interviews (NAC-I)? Explain your response. Is your company already performing work for the U.S. overnment? If so, what trustworthiness provisions apply? Are there any commercial warranties that your company can provide regarding the trustworthiness of the delivered software code and the privacy of any operational data used in the testing process For those non-U.S. firms, or teams containing at least one non-U.S. firms, please indicate whether the non-U.S. firm(s) would cooperate in a review of the firm, its principals, and its employees by a U.S. government security or counter-intelligence organization as part of DoD?s supplier assurance program. How to Respond. DSCA is seeking short responses to this RFI. Extensive descriptions of the firms or automated tools is not required. Please limit your response to no more than ten pages. Responses should be received by DSCA?s contracting officer, Ms. Toye Latimore, by July 3, 2006 at the following address: Defense Security Cooperation Agency, Attn: Contracting Officer, 201 12th Street, South, Ste 203, Arlington, VA 22202, U.S.A. If you are interested in responding to this requirement please indicate your interest by sending an e-mail no later than July 3, 2006 at 9:00 A.M. to Ms. Toye Y. Latimore, Email: Toye.Latimore@dsca.mil. The e-mail shall contain the following subject line, ?RFI,Transforming Source Code Into Another Programming Language ?. Use of any other subject line may delay your entry. All valid e-mail responses from prospective sources must provide the return e-mail address, company name, mailing address, telephone number, facsimile number, and point of contact within the body of their response. In addition, to assist in the acquisition strategy development, please respond to the following questions: 1) Is your business a large business or small business [Small Disadvantaged, Woman-Owned, Service Disabled Veteran Owned, etc.]? (For the purpose of determining your business size, the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), 541512 with a size standard of $21.0 M average annual receipts over the past three years, will be utilized for this acquisition). 2) Provide a list of customers (Government/non-Government) within the past 5-years highlighting similar work performed. Include contract numbers, contract type, dollar value of each procurement, and point of contact/addresses/and phone numbers and brief description of the work performed. 3) Provide information relative to past performance that demonstrates the ability to provide ALL capabilities noted above. ALL PROSPECTIVE OFFERORS MUST RESPOND TO THIS SYNOPSIS VIA E-MAIL. TELEPHONE REQUESTS FOR SOLICITATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED OR RETURNED. Submit responses no later than July 3, 2006 at 9:00 A.M. EDT. Your response is limited to 10 pages. NO SOLICITATION EXISTS AT THIS TIME. The government reserves the right to conduct oral capabilities demonstrations that will be scheduled at a later date. This is not a commitment on the part of the Government to award a contract as a result of this notice or to pay for any information received. Any offerors that dialog with the Program Office will not be permitted to participate in this solicitation process. All dialogs should be directed to the Contracting Officer only.
- Place of Performance
- Address: Defense Security Cooperation Agency, 201 12th Street South, Ste 203, Arlington, VA,
- Zip Code: 22202
- Zip Code: 22202
- Record
- SN01061898-W 20060604/060602221549 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's FBO Daily Index Page |