SOURCES SOUGHT
U -- REQUEST FOR INFORMATION: Online Introductory Overview Training for StEPS
- Notice Date
- 1/29/2007
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 611430
— Professional and Management Development Training
- Contracting Office
- Department of Commerce, U. S. Census Bureau, Suitland, Acquisition Division Room G-314 FB#3, Washington, DC, 20233, UNITED STATES
- ZIP Code
- 00000
- Solicitation Number
- Sefton001amended
- Response Due
- 2/12/2007
- Archive Date
- 2/23/2007
- Description
- REQUEST FOR INFORMATION: Online Introductory Overview Training for StEPS The following Request for Information (RFI) is issued solely for Market Research purposes in planning for the Secure Messaging Center solicitation. It does not constitute a Request for Quote (RFQ) by the Census Bureau. The Census Bureau is not accepting offers at this time nor will the information provided be evaluated or considered as an offer. This RFI does not commit the Census Bureau to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. The Census Bureau will not pay for any information or administrative cost incurred by a contractor in response to this RFI. I. Background and Synopsis of Requirement This is a Request for Information (RFI) regarding a requirement to create online training that provides an introductory overview of the Standard Economics Processing System (StEPS). StEPS is a generalized data processing system which Census Bureau survey analysts primarily use to record, track, review, impute and correct data from economic survey programs. This document defines: ? Characteristics of the Census Bureau employees and contractor staff who the target audience for this online training; ? Skills/capabilities to be gained from the course; ? Additional course requirements II. Description of StEPS StEPS is a generalized data processing system. Quinquennial, annual, quarterly, and monthly Census Bureau economic survey programs collect data from U.S.-based companies. Census Bureau survey analysts primarily use StEPS to record, track, review, impute and correct this data. StEPS is run separately for each survey on several server platforms, such as Unix, LINUX, and Blade. Survey specifications, known as ?parameters?, define each survey?s content. For example, certain parameters define the items on a questionnaire, while others define the characteristics or a record ? such as company name and address. Data is either hand keyed or imported electronically into StEPS. The data for each survey within StEPS is stored in a standard SAS data set structure and survey items and variables are then stored as records within the data sets. This allows StEPS to accommodate variations among surveys. StEPS is also comprised of integrated modules. These enable users to check-in questionnaires, edit data, update company mailing address and contact information, query data, and schedule company follow-up calls, among other tasks Point-and-click menus guide users through each modules. StEPS is updated quarterly to incorporate user enhancements, programming fixes, and new modules. Survey users access StEPS from networked Census Bureau personal computers with a unique user-id and password combination. The type of access account a user has depends on their role and the survey(s) he or she works on. All access to StEPS is within the Census Bureau security firewall. Because StEPS data is subject to the provisions of the Privacy Act as well as potentially covered by the confidentially provisions of Title 13, Title 15, and/or other statutes and regulations, access is subject to all applicable departmental and bureau security policies. III. Prospective Trainees Trainees will be Census Bureau employees and contractor support employees. Most if not all have at least a four-year college degree or equivalent. They include: ? New hires who have no experience with survey procedures or StEPS. ? New users who are familiar with survey procedures in general, but have no experience with the survey area where they are now working or with StEPS. ? Migration users who are experienced in the subject matter area, but have no StEPS experience. Usually, this will be the case when a survey is migrating to StEPS. ? Existing users who have StEPS experience, but require training on new functionality. ? Programmers who will develop the StEPS programming code IV. StEPS Online Overview Training Requirements A. Capabilities/Skills: After finishing the training, the analysts/programmers must: ? Understand the background and be familiar with the definition of StEPS. ? Understand core StEPS functions and capabilities ? Know common StEPS terminology ? Know how to set up an account in StEPS ? Be able to log on to StEPS and change record IDs, survey statistical periods, and other parameters ? Be able to use windows to navigate within StEPS, and understand the proper way to exit screens ? Have a fundamental understanding of the major StEPS modules, including Review and Correction, Parameters, and Edits. ? Understand the use of the pull-down menus and function keys used throughout StEPS. Know how to identify the different StEPS servers for production and development (i.e. EPBU10, EPBU01) ? Understand StEPS data sets (item, c1, and control) ? Understand StEPS data structures B. Other Requirements StEPS training cannot interfere with production requirements. Actual survey data is protected by privacy and confidentiality requirements. This may imply a need for a separate training exercise database with fictional data. Individual StEPS trainees will not receive a grade or pass or fail the training. However, we would like to have a means of assessing the overall effectiveness of the training in conveying the knowledge and capabilities outlined above. Because StEPS is frequently modified, we will prefer a training module that can be easily updated by ?in-house? programmers. The training shall be accessible from the trainee?s desktop computer over the Census Bureau network. The Census Bureau network is Windows-based and our personal computer operating system is Windows XP. Because interruptions may occur, we would prefer that the trainee be able to interrupt the training module as needed and return to the last screen viewed when he or she returns to the training. V. Government-provided Resources: The training creator will have access to in-house Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and programmers for consultation regarding the training content and functions. Information Requested: The following information should be provided in response to this RFI: ? Name and Address of the Company; ? Point of contact with name, title, phone, fax and email; ? Provide any suggestions about requirements that the Census Bureau should consider for this project. Include any comments on the structure of the requirements, source selection process, performance matrix, and evaluation criteria, that you would deem appropriate for awarding this project. Response to this RFI should be submitted via e-mail to douglas.p.sefton@census.gov no later than February 12 , 2007 12:00 noon EST. Submissions should be limited to MS Word, font size no smaller than 12-point pitch. Submitters are asked to limit their responses to the equivalent of 10 8.5 by 11 inch pages with one inch margins.
- Place of Performance
- Address: Census Bureau Headquarters, 4600 Silver Hill Road, Suitland, Maryland
- Zip Code: 20746
- Country: UNITED STATES
- Zip Code: 20746
- Record
- SN01221072-W 20070131/070129220215 (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 |