dashboard and business intelligence solution

Addendum No. 2 RFP 739-58512950

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REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

Dashboard and Business Intelligence Solution

Addendum No.2

RFP 739-58512950


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Addendum No. 2

Dashboard and Business Intelligence Solution

Clarifying Statement of RFP Scope: From the volume and thrust of the vendor questions received, it was apparent that we did not clearly define the scope of this Dashboard RFP, leaving the impression of a much larger project. TTUHSC is looking for a flexible dashboard/scorecard application (approximately $100,000 budget) that will enable us to present metrics and KPI’s from various data sources. We are not looking for an enterprise-wide data warehouse and/or Business Intelligence suite, but rather a flexible, limited footprint dashboard/scorecard tool that may have inherent or imbedded analytic functionality. The solution does not have to have ETL functionality either, just the ability to interface with multiple and disparate data sources (flat files, spreadsheets, databases, etc.). The dashboard solution must also be able to drill down into the aggregated source file data, have a variety of effective visualizations of the metrics, and have the flexibility to modify or even change-out metrics on an ad-hoc basis. The dashboard solution must be flexible, comprehensive, and robust enough to allow TTUHSC analysts (power-users) the ability to create differently styled multiple dashboards using multiple data elements (e.g. financial, operational, claims, patient satisfaction, etc.), delivered to various target audiences (e.g. budget, finance, executive offices, operational stakeholders, etc.) TTUHSC is not asking the vendor to develop and deliver dashboard or scorecards; rather provide the application and training commensurate to developing our own deliverables in-house. When necessary, dashboard design support would be requested from vendor. Data sources include our practice management software (GE Business Centricity, with Informatics as its data repository); our Electronic Health Record system (Cerner); our patient satisfaction data (Press Ganey); our financial/accounting system (Cognos); and provider benchmarking (Faculty Practice Solutions Center). Most of these are stored as structured data in SQL Server databases which update overnight, so the dashboards will not require a faster refresh rate. If there are data volume constraints to your solution, please delineate. The anticipated number of power-users will be 3-5. Clinical department users = 12-24. And C suite users = 3-5. These are estimates for the next 2-4 years. Notification and collaboration capabilities are not essential, but if your dashboard application includes these, please describe. For many of the vendor questions below, our response is “See clarifying statement.” This either means we’ve included information in the above paragraphs that answer multiple similar questions, or it means that we feel that the question assumes a more extensive data warehouse/ business intelligence project than what we’re really looking for with this RFP. The following responses to participant questions are fully incorporated into the Request for Proposal 739-58512950. 1. RESPONSE TO QUESTIONS

Question TTUHSC Response 1. Budget being considered? ~ $100,000 + future annual maintenance fees.

2. Will the solution be installed in a central location, in a single network and used by the people of such location or it will be used in multiple locations?

A central location within TTUHSC.

3. How many users/analysts will be working with the platform? the number of users will impact the license structure

See clarifying statement.

4. Will TTU provide hardware for the software installation (server, storage, etc)?

Yes


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5. What is the volume of data in TB that will be subject of business intelligence analysis? (this is required in order to provide hardware and storage requirements.

Not seeking a warehouse solution at this time. See clarifying statement.

6. How many data sources are going to be subject of integration?


7. Who are the users of this application and what actions and goals is this application looking to drive and achieve?


8. In addition to a dashboard component for this application, what levels of drill-down will be needed and does that level go all the way down to a registry or patient level?

System must be able to drill-down to the source data, but not drill-through to data source system.

9. Please quantify and name to the best of your ability, the data sources that will be contributing to the solution, and estimated number of users and physical locations where the solution will be used.


10. Please describe the overall business requirements in more detail, in terms of KPI data you would like to aggregate/report.


11. How will you measure the success of the project and solution implemented?


12. Will you be sharing all vendor’s questions and TTUHSC answers with all proposing parties?

Yes, in the form of an addendum to the RFP.

13. Can you tell me the number of users who will be using the BI Dashboard and Business Intelligence Solution?


14. Can you also tell me the makeup of those users, I.e. Administrators, Power Users, etc?


15. Do you have requirements to export your consolidated data warehouse data to external systems via Web Services?

TTUHSC does not have a consolidated data warehouse at this this and is outside the scope of this RFP.

16. Do you retention policies for any of your data that require purging from the data warehouse?

N/A

17. Do you require support for Jasig CAS

Version 3.0, or a different CAS implementation?

Jasig Central Authentication Service 3.5.2.1 We prefer to use Active Directory Federation Services (SAML based) for Single Sign-on with CAS as our second choice.

18. Are you aware of any existing challenges that should be addressed before implementation of this project?

Unknown at this time.

19. Do you have a target implementation timeframe goal?

CY2015

20. To address your needs for a description of expected role and responsibilities of TTUHSC staff, will

Yes


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a senior TTUHSC executive / stakeholder be actively involved in the project to ensure the commitment from those individuals throughout project implementation?

21. Do you have an existing data warehouse that integrates information from any of your source systems?

No.

22. Please provide a list of the known data sources and what information from them will be brought into the data warehouse.


23. Your Key Capabilities describes the business areas for which KPIs are required. Please provide a list of the individual KPIs and other metrics that you intend to publish in this solution. If they are not all yet known, can you list those that are already identified, and provide an idea what percentage of the total items it represents?

See clarifying statement

24. What Centricity applications do you use? Do you have access to the databases used by these applications?


25. What Press Ganey solutions do you use? Do you have access to the databases used by these applications?


26. What financial system do you use? Not seeking a warehouse solution at this time. See clarifying statement.

27. What notification methods are required (e.g. email)?


28. For what types of events are notifications expected?


29. What kind of collaboration mechanisms do you require?


30. Would the BI and dashboarding solution required to be available over the internet?

Secure Portal would be considered.

31. Approximately how many users will require access to BI and dashboarding solution?


32. Can you elaborate on table/object level, row level, column level rule/role based data security requirements?

Development services are not the major scope of this RFP. See clarifying statement.

33. Can you provide an approximate list of all possible data sources and the back end data storage technology?


34. Is there a data warehouse in place or plan to build a new data warehouse as a part of the solution?

No. Outside the scope of this RFP.


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35. Is this an existing project or a new one? Is there an incumbent in place?

No existing unified dashboard, currently.

36. Are functional and technical SMEs

available? Yes

37. Regarding metrics/KPIs, are these being produced manually using excel or some other data tool?


38. Has TTUHSC done any ground work to understand the complexity of data sources and the amount of data related work required?


39. Can you provide the respective sizes of available data sources? Alternatively, could you provide the row counts of major tables intended for reporting?


40. Are there any real time data requirements? Is it acceptable if data is retrieved from all sources and consolidated into a warehouse via. daily/weekly batch processes and used for efficient and faster reporting?

Daily. See clarifying statement.

41. Will the power users need training and ability to create their own dashboards?

Yes

42. What is the expected composition of your organization’s project team for this initiative?

Composed of IT and Business analyst professionals

43. How many of your employees will participate on the project team?

3-5

44. What roles will your team play on the project team?

Subject Matter Experts

45. What level of experience do these project team members have with this type of initiative and the technologies your organization expects to implement for this initiative?


46. What percentage of each project team member’s time will be allocated to this project over the course of the initiative (for example, the project manager might spend 100% of his or her time on the project during the project lifecycle, while an end-user representative might spend 30% of his or her time on project activities)?


47. Where are these project team members located? If they are located in many regions, what is the expectation around in-person versus remote participation in project activities?

TTUHSC, Lubbock TX


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48. What roles does your team expect awarded Contractor to play on the project team?

Installation and training. See clarifying statement.

49. What level of experience does your

team expect Contractor team members to have with this type of initiative and the technologies you expect to implement for this initiative?


50. Does your team expect that Contractor project team members will be 100% allocated to this project over the duration of the project?


51. What is your team’s expectation about the location where Contractor team members will perform project work (for example, on-site, remote team participation, other)?


52. Does your team have any expectation regarding Contractor rates (minimums and maximums) for roles on this project?


53. Does your organization use a standard project management methodology (e.g., Agile, Waterfall, etc.) that a Contractor is expected to employ for the initiative outlined in the RFP documentation?

TTUHSC IT project protocol will be used, if necessary.

54. For this kind of initiative, we often build in-person workshops and meetings into the project plan to help achieve team consensus and to more efficiently develop project deliverables. Is your team open to this kind of approach, or do geographical or other constraints preventing us from using this approach?


55. Have you established a priority for the key performance indicators (KPIs) and other metrics that you would like to first deliver to leadership and other decision makers? What is the timeline related to those priorities?


56. What is the estimated total users of the new dashboard solution?

• In development / pre-production

• In production

See clarifying statement Limited to 3-5 super users in pre-production. Potentially all (~40) in production.

57. What is the estimated concurrent user count?

• In development / pre-production

• In production

See clarifying statement. Limited to 3-5 super users in pre-production. Potentially all (~40) in production.

58. Please provide a list of the various user roles that will access the reporting system. (e.g. administrators, power-users, executives, managers, line of business personnel)



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59. What other external vendors do you work with today that may be part of this project as well? Please list the vendor name and purpose they will have on the project

Data sources: GE (DBMS, Centricity,and Informatics); Press Ganey; Cerner (PowerChart); Association of American Medical Colleges AAMC (Faculty Practice Solutions Center).

60. Do you have any offshore resources that will be part of this project team?

No.

61. Would it be possible to please know the names of the other Contractors that we are competing with in this RFP process?

No, this solicitation is publically posted with the Texas Comptroller and is open to all interested parties.

62. Are there any formal written requirements for the development of these dashboards at this time - or will requirements gathering be part of the scope of work?


63. What aspect of delivering these dashboards will provide the most value to your organization? • Having a single source of truth in

data by pulling information from disparate data sources (integration)?

• Providing highly informative and visually friendly information to enable faster and better decisions (actionable intelligence)?

• Consolidation of reporting into one system that allows you to proliferate that information to various levels of the organization in a highly secure manner (consolidation of reporting)?

• All of the above • Other?

Actionable intelligence and consolidation of reporting. See clarifying statement.

64. What do you consider to be the most important aspect of this project from a delivery standpoint, and why? (e.g. time to delivery, quality of end product, cost) • Do you weigh these and other

aspects equally? • If not, what is your weighting of

each in terms of percentages?

Quality =50%; Cost = 30%; Time to Delivery = 20%

65. What are your organization’s current operating system and hardware standards? • Operating system (Linux,

Windows, UNIX, etc.) • Processors • RAM, etc…

We are a Microsoft Shop using Dell Servers. From a server standpoint we use Windows Server and IIS (web server) and Microsoft SQL Server. Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and Microsoft SQL Server 2012. From the standpoint of end user desktop machines, please see http://www.ttuhsc.edu/it/is/itsolutioncenter/faq/support.aspx

66. What is your organization’s policy / need on a physical versus virtual environment and how does that apply to this initiative? (e.g. Any standards like VM machines for development



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and QA, but physical hardware for production)

67. Does your organization usually set up the following standard configuration for its hardware environments (e.g., Development, Test, Production, and/or Disaster Recovery)? If not, how is your organization different and why?


68. Does your organization employ ACL/firewall restrictions on application hosts located within subnets? Are there any restrictions, policies, and/or procedures we need to be educated about when installing and configuring applications?

Unwilling to answer at this time.

69. Does your organization implement a Single Sign On (SSO) methodology, and if so what vendor/technology is being used today? Is it imperative to use this standard SSO, or is there some flexibility in terms of proposing new SSO solutions?

We prefer to use Active Directory Federation Services (SAML based) for Single Sign-on with CAS as our second choice. Yes, you must support the methods in use (Active Directory Federation Services (SAML based) with CAS as our second choice) for cloud based systems. We have the flexibility of using Active Directory authentication for those systems hosted in our data center.

70. Are there any requirements today that demand the need for Secured Sockets Layer (SSL) If so, is it just for the web/front-end or also at the application layer Most modern BI technologies have application components and sub-components that communicate over http, and this can create a potential vulnerability. That is why we ask this question

Appears to be outside the scope. See clarifying statement. Appears to be outside the scope. See clarifying statement. Appears to be outside the scope. See clarifying statement.

71. What ETL tools does your organization use today? What is the vendor name of the software Do you plan on continuing using this technology or are you considering a new ETL technology as part of this effort?

None. See clarifying statement. N/A N/A. See clarifying statement.

72. What business intelligence reporting tool does your organization use today? Do you plan on continuing using this technology?

None. N/A. See clarifying statement.


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73. Is there existing hardware/VM that can be leveraged for the new BI system installation or will there be a brand new requisition for hardware/VM?


74. Are there any other technology needs that need to be considered as part of this effort?


75. Are there any legacy reports that need to be migrated as part of this effort? If yes:

• What are the number of reports to be migrated

• Will any of these reports be

converted into the dashboards which are being requested?

• Should reports that are not

going to be migrated to these new dashboards also be considered part of the scope of work?


76. How many transaction systems will the new dashboards source their data from. What is the name of the transaction system software vendor? What is the version number of the transaction system software? What is the purpose of the transaction system software (e.g. Billing, Financial Budgeting, Surveys, etc…)

One. GE Centricity/ Informatics Unknown at this time. Billing and Collections

77. Does your organization have a data warehouse? If no, then is your organization interested in creating a data warehouse as part of this effort? If yes, then how would you describe your organization’s data warehouse in terms of capability and maturity? Offline/mirror copies of transaction system tables that get refreshed Some consolidation and transformation from transaction system tables into an operational data store A set of fully defined data marts consisting of facts, dimensions,

No central data warehouse. See clarifying statement N/A See clarifying statement See clarifying statement See clarifying statement


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aggregate and non-aggregate tables

78. How often does the data in the new dashboards need to be refreshed in order to be accurate?


79. How many new dashboards in total are you looking to create?

We are looking for a solution to create any number of dashboards on an as needed basis.

80. How many reports will be displayed within each of these new dashboards?


81. Please provide a list of the dashboards and a brief summary of their audience. (e.g. Dashboard one:Budget Variance Reporting - Provides comparison of budget to actual on a YoY basis - Used by Executives in the finance office)


82. What is an acceptable first load time for each of these new dashboards (e.g. in seconds 1,10 , 20, etc…)?

Vendor should provide their own "first load time" capability.

83. What is an acceptable refresh time for each of these new dashboards after each prompt change (e.g. every time someone changes the filters for the dashboard. Again, in seconds please 1, 10, 20, etc…)

Vendor should provide their own "first load time" capability.

84. Will these new dashboards be static (e.g. just showing information) or interactive (e.g. allow users to filter results)?

Interactive, see clarifying statement.

85. Will there be any visual components to these dashboards (e.g. charts, graphs, etc..)? Is so, please specify what kinds of visualizations are appropriate based on your understanding of the requirements.

Graphical visualization components are expected to be a part of any reasonably considered dashboard tool.

86. Will these dashboards display current and/or historical data. If so, how many years of historical data will be needed to accurately create these dashboards?

Depends on the data source files, see clarifying statement.

87. In terms of data coming from source systems, including files etc… What is the order of magnitude of the data involved in creating these new dashboards. • Thousands • Hundreds of thousands • Millions • Multi-millions • Billion and greater

Depends on the data source files, see clarifying statement.

88. What systems and processes do you have in place today to ensure data quality in your reporting? Do you use a specific set of tools for this, or rely on process, or both?

Outside the scope of RFP. See clarifying statement.


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89. Are you interested in doing change data capture on any specific parts of the data? Snapshots, slowly changing dimensions, etc…


90. Are there any other important aspects of this project relevant to information needs that should be considered?


91. What Business problem are you trying to solve?


92. Who are the Executive Sponsors and business group impacted?

N/A

93. What is the projected Return on Investment of this project?


94. Why has this project been approved for RFP Evaluation?


95. What is the course of action if no solution meets TTUHSC needs for this RFP?

We expect a solution to meet TTUHSC's needs. See clarifying statement.

96. Can TTUHSC please elaborate on

“collaboration mechanisms” outlined in Key Capabilities section?


97. How many users will TTUHSC be delivering Dashboard and Business Intelligence to in 2015? 2016? 2017?


98. How are the Users interacting with the data and reports today?

Accessing individual dashboard and reports from single data sources.

99. Is the expectation for this environment to grow in year 1? Year 2? Year 3?


100. How does TTUHSC handle data governance with the Enterprise Data Tier and providing a User-Ready Analytical Tier?

Appears to be outside the scope. See clarifying statement.

101. Is there an existing Enterprise Data Warehouse as a data source?

No central data warehouse.

102. Can TTUHSC please detail the projected data sources to be integrated?


103. Is the Information Technology organization centralized or a de-centralized model?

Centralized.

104. Is this project plan for a Cloud-based Solution?

Could be considered

105. Does TTUHSC have any Cloud-based solutions today?

Yes

106. Has TTUHSC completed any Total Cost of Ownership analysis based on SaaS vs. On-Premise Deployment?

No


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107. Will the business departments be impacted negatively if no solution is implemented in 2015?

Yes

108. When does TTUHSC expect to deliver first application to Business Users? What is the projected “Go-Live” Date?

CY2015

109. Which business group has been identified as Phase 1 deliverable? Phase 2? Phase 3?


110. Estimated time frame in which the Dashboard and Business Intelligence Solution may be acquired?

CY2015

111. What are the expected project start and completion dates?

CY2015

112. What is the budget for this project? ~ $100,000 + future annual maintenance fees.

113. Do you have a BI system currently? If yes, who is the provider?

No.

114. When do you expect to issue an RFP for the Dashboard and BI Solution project?

Issued on February 10, 2015. Document Available at: http://esbd.cpa.state.tx.us/bid_show.cfm?bidid=115709

115. Please clarify the number of hard copies of the proposal required for submission?

One printed copy is required…..if and only if the respondent chooses not to electronically submit a proposal using the Techbid system referenced in RFP Section 3.2.

116. Do you want to make Dashboards and reports available across all devices (mobile, tablet)?

Network desktops at this time.

117. Does TTUHSC have any standard (or preference) for Business Intelligence and Reporting?


118. Does TTUHSC have any standard (or preference) for ETL?

N/A. See clarifying statement.

119. What is the currently utilized ETL tool?

none

120. What is the currently utilized data replication tool?

none

121. Does a consistent, system-wide data dictionary exist?

No.

122. What are the data sources’ data security requirements?


123. Can you share a list and examples of your of your top reports and reporting requirements?


124. Can you describe any customizations to data set which has been done to meet your specific needs? We are only concerned with data changes that

Need clarification on what they are asking in this question.

http://esbd.cpa.state.tx.us/bid_show.cfm?bidid=115709


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would be needed for reporting.

125. Is there hardware in place for this project or are you wanting an infrastructure review as part of this process?

Hardware will be in place.

126. Can you describe your hardware standards and preferences? What database?

We are a Microsoft Shop using Dell Servers. From a server standpoint we use Windows Server and IIS (web server) and Microsoft SQL Server. Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and Microsoft SQL Server 2012. I am assuming that SOM is mining the PHI SQL cluster. It is MS SQL Server 2008 at this time. From the standpoint of end user desktop machines, please see http://www.ttuhsc.edu/it/is/itsolutioncenter/faq/support.aspx For the application server, the department will need to fund the server whether it be physical or virtual. If the solution will not require any third party software to be installed on our institutional Microsoft SQL Servers, then the solution could utilize them for databases (depending on size requirements). The department would need to work with IT to identify those costs once a finalist(s) is identified.

127. What is your current database version?

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and Microsoft SQL Server 2012. I am assuming that SOM is mining the PHI SQL cluster. It is MS SQL Server 2008 at this time.

128. Can you provide us data volumes of the transaction system?


129. What subject areas for reporting do you desire by domain? For example for Financials, do you want GL balances, GL Journals, AP, AR, and Fixed Assets?


130. What state and federal reporting obligations are you looking to the BI solution?


131. Does the board of TTUHSC have its own methods and standards for authentication and security or would the solution need to incorporate authentication and security methods and standards?

Yes, you must support the methods in use (Active Directory Federation Services (SAML based) with CAS as our second choice) for cloud based systems. We have the flexibility of using Active Directory authentication for those systems hosted in our data center.

132. What latency is required (real-time versus batch for Texas Tech data)?


133. What is the anticipated level of Texas Tech IT staff participation? What are the number and roles of resources such as: DBA, BI developer, etc.?


134. Is there a database or server platform preference? Is there the possibility to use existing DB and application servers?

Yes, we prefer Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and Microsoft SQL Server 2012. I am assuming that SOM is mining the PHI SQL cluster. It is MS SQL Server 2008 at this time.

135. Is there a requirement to load data from past years and, if so, how many years?


136. What is the total number of new/returning students and staff for the entire organization (TTUHSC) per year?

Please see the latest institutional fact book publication for the official published counts: http://www.ttuhsc.edu/hsc/factbook/documents/2015.pdf

http://www.ttuhsc.edu/hsc/factbook/documents/2015.pdf


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137. What is your current data warehouse? No central data warehouse.

138. I there representative sample of Dashboards?

No.

139. Can TTUHSC define the backup of this solution?

CommVault is used to back up all servers and databases.

140. Does TTUHSC require a physically separate platform for a test & development system for this solution (vs. production)?


141. Will TTUHSC provide extract files from their systems in a mutually agreed upon format where these files are accessible on the network or will the vendor have access to these systems in order to build the extracts?

TBD

142. Can you elaborate on the number and type of data sources to be used for the BI solution, giving details about the mentioned sources (GE Business Centricity, Press Ganey, Access, and Excel) and any additional ones?


143. How often would you expect the data to be updated? (Weekly/Daily/Twice a day/Hourly)


144. How many users would interact with the BI solution?


145. Do you have an approximate size of the data stored in the source systems (in terms of gigabytes o terabytes)?


146. Will the BI solution need to be accessed by people external to the institution?

No.

147. Approximately, what is the percentage of the potential BI solution users with Internet Explorer? Is there a way to avoid using this browser?

Internet explorer is available and used throughout TTUHSC and is likely not avoidable.

148. Is there a way to match records between systems (for example, using the same patient ID across different systems)?

Yes

149. Do you currently have a team able to answer technical questions about infrastructure, system architecture, and database locations? This kind of project often requires very close interaction between an organization's IT team and the BI team.

TTUHSC has IT team but question appears to be outside the scope. See clarifying statement.

150. Is there a department that knows all the business rules required for the implementation of the project? Are these rules documented in any way?



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151. Are you envisioning to have a dedicated team of Analysts working on analyzing data, adding new data sources and creating on demand reports, or it would be done by managers based on a set of pre-defined reports?

Both. Any pre-defined reports will be determined in house by our dedicated team of analysts.

152. Do you need to have predictive analysis capabilities working with unstructured data sources?


153. What are the roles of the users that are going to be working with the solution?


154. Are there need for forensics analysis? See clarifying statement

155. Will the word version of the requirements be available?

Yes, please send an email directly to [email protected] with your request. A Word version of the document will then be sent in reply.

156. Is Texas Tech interested in an On-premise or cloud based deployment?

Both will be considered

157. User Community: a. How many Report/Dashboard Consumers? b. How many Report/Dashboard Developers?


158. What Database Management systems are currently in place at Texas Tech

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and Microsoft SQL Server 2012. I am assuming that SOM is mining the PHI SQL cluster. It is MS SQL Server 2008 at this time.

159. If the Techbid sytem is used to submit proposal, do you also need a hardcopy and an electronic copy on a thumb drive? If so, does the hardcopy have to be submitted by 3/13 if the proposal was submitted via Techbid?

No, if submitted electronically (Techbid) a print copy is not required.

160. Is there a data warehouse in place today?

No.

161. What ETL tool is being used? None.

162. What products if any has Texas Tech already reviewed and is considering?

N/A

163. Does this RFP include analytics; what about predictive analytics?


164. How much data do we need to plan for initially for the data warehouse? a. What is the data growth per day, per week, per month? b. What is the data growth per year growth? c. What is the data growth for the next five years? d. How many years of data should be stored?


mailto:[email protected]


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e. How many years of data can be archived?

165. What are the different types of data that need to be stored or ingested? a. Structured data - (What are the different RDMBS sources?) b. Semi structured data – (Text files, CSV, Excel, etc.) c. Unstructured data – (Log files, machine logs, etc.)

Not seeking a warehouse solution at this time. See clarifying statement. Yes Yes No

166. What type of data warehouse is currently used in TTUHSC School of Medicine?

None.

167. What is the Architecture diagram of existing system? Please give us a copy?

There is no current central data warehouse or BI suite at TTUHSC.

168. What is the technology stack used in TTUHSC School of Medicine? a. Example - Microsoft SQL server Database, SSIS ETL, Excel

We are a Microsoft Shop. From a server standpoint we use Windows Server and IIS (web server) and Microsoft SQL Server. Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and Microsoft SQL Server 2012. I am assuming that SOM is mining the PHI SQL cluster. It is MS SQL Server 2008 at this time. From the standpoint of end user desktop machines, please see http://www.ttuhsc.edu/it/is/itsolutioncenter/faq/support.aspx

169. What is the technology licenses does TTUHSC School of Medicine currently have?

TTUHSC is covered by a Microsoft Campus Agreement and has a Microsoft Select Agreement. We also have agreements with Dell for hardware.

170. Do you want to leverage the existing data warehouse licenses and investments?

N/A

171. Do you want to build a new data warehouse from scratch?

No, see clarifying statement.

172. When do you want to see the information? a. What is Frequency of refresh and of reporting? i. Real Time Data Refresh ii. Hourly Data Refresh iii. Daily Refresh iv. Weekly v. Monthly


173. How do you want the information formatted? a. Different formats are tables, graphs, charts, etc.?

Power-users will determine on a case by case basis. See Clarifying statement.

174. Where do you want to see the Dashboards – on which Devices, Browsers? a. Web, e-mail, mobile, embed in an application, etc.


175. What are the devices, browser and screen resolutions specifications?


176. Which devices will be used for accessing the information?



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177. What and who should see the information? a. (Security, publication, user groups)

The information will be principally viewed and used by operational user groups and individuals

178. How many registered users will you have for the data warehouse?


179. How many business decision-makers will be using the data warehouse?


180. What’s your best estimate for the maximum number of concurrent users on the data warehouse at one time?

No data warehouse is being requested at this time. See clarifying statement

181. Where, geographically, will the users be located?

TTUHSC system

182. What are the time period for this the reports and data warehouse be accessed? a. During office hours, 24X7, 365 days?

24x7, 365

183. How many and what kind of reports do you need to develop; what questions do you need to answer?


184. How many ad hoc users do we expect will be using the data warehouse, and how intensively?


185. Don’t discount the subjective metrics, which might be hard to quantify but which add substance and meaning to your plans and help you with budgeting for the future.

Not a question.

186. What kind of hardware and network infrastructure do you currently have?

We are a Microsoft Shop using Dell Servers. From a server standpoint we use Windows Server and IIS (web server) and Microsoft SQL Server. Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and Microsoft SQL Server 2012. I am assuming that SOM is mining the PHI SQL cluster. It is MS SQL Server 2008 at this time. From the standpoint of end user desktop machines, please see http://www.ttuhsc.edu/it/is/itsolutioncenter/faq/support.aspx. For the application server, the department will need to fund the server whether it be physical or virtual. If the solution will not require any third party software to be installed on our institutional Microsoft SQL Servers, then the solution could utilize them for databases (depending on size requirements). The department would need to work with IT to identify those costs once a finalist(s) is identified.

187. What are the Business goals: (Detail the goals that the data warehouse must satisfy.)


188. What are the Current Business problems to solve: (Detail the business problems that the data warehouse will solve.)


189. What are High-level functions: (Detail the high-level business functions of the data warehouse. A high-level walkthrough of the business processes involved helps visualize what’s going on at this level).



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190. What information do you want to see on the reports, dashboards, KPI?


191. Types of the data and how it needs to be grouped in the dashboards?


192. What purpose will the data warehouse and reports be used for? a. To give Descriptive Information? b. To give Reports to Call Center Operations? c. To give Different types of Analytics? d. To give Predictive Analytics?


193. Any Success Criteria for the project: (Detail the metrics for success.)

N/A

194. What are the User Profiles, Department Profiles a. (Describe the types of end-users of the data warehouse. If possible attach a User Profile Matrix as a chart for quick reference. Capture both technical and business user roles.) b. What levels of employees who will be seeing the Reports?

o C level o Senior Management o Middle Management o Executives o Call center staff

No data warehouse is being requested at this time. See clarifying statement See clarifying statement

195. Please give User Task Descriptions: (How do the users complete key tasks using the current automated or manual system that the data warehouse will replace or supplement? Itemize and describe primary user tasks, detailing the Business Process Model.)


196. Re-engineered Task Descriptions: (How will the new data warehouse enable users to complete key tasks that are being re-engineered?)


197. Constraints: (List all known technical, budgetary, resource and other constraints that will prohibit satisfying these Requirements. Identify showstoppers.)

Not known at this time.

198. Specification: Are there any requirements for size and type of font, margin, width? Is there a maximum number of page[s]?


199. What project deadlines do you have? Are there crucial milestones that the vendors should be aware of? Are you comfortable with vendors providing a different timeline?

CY2015


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200. Is it mandate for the vendor to get enrolled in state of Texas comptroller of public accounts? Does the vendor need to add the certificate of Franchise tax status in the RFP?

No, only if applicable as a Texas state business entity.

201. We currently do not have a HUB certification. Is HUB certification a mandatory requirement for us to be able to bid on this RFP?

No, but completion of the HUB Subcontracting Form and submission of the form is required regardless of HUB Certification status.

202. Please clarify on the maintenance aspect of the project. Is the contractor required to provide price proposal for the maintenance activity?

Annual application maintenance, updates, and fees are anticipated.

203. May we reconfirm that the scope of work does not include supply of system/application/middleware/database software licenses. Even the testing tools would be provided by Texas Tech University.

If the solution will not require any third party software to be installed on our institutional Microsoft SQL Servers, then the solution could utilize them for databases (depending on size requirements). Costs associated with application Servers, database servers, etc. including operating syste, backup software, etc. and that may be necessary for the implementation of the solution chosen would be the responsibility of the TTUHSC department or departments implementing the chosen solution. They would need to work with IT to identify these costs once they have selected a finalist(s).

204. How many users are expected to receive training. Who are the group of users such as business users, administrative users, operational users who shall be trained. We assume that Texas tech university would provide all the necessary infrastructure to carry out the training. Please provide the split of training (class room,e-learning,etc.) expected ineach of these categories. Please clarify. Do you currently have an online meeting/ Web conferencing tool? If yes, which one? What is the current level of use of these tools within your organization? What will be the exit criteria for the training?

Super users are expected to receive training and TTUHSC would likely provide infrastructure to carry out the training. Unknown at this time. Typical web based tools, e.g gotomeeting.com, webex, etc. Appropriate level of competency based on training objectives.

205. Will the training material need to be published in any other foreign language?

No.

206. Will Texas Tech university provide environments (servers and workstations) for the consultants?


207. What software is Texas Tech University already licensed for which are planned on being utilized for this project?

This is dependent on the solution isn't it. TTUHSC is covered by a Microsoft Campus Agreement and has a Microsoft Select Agreement. We also have agreements with Dell for hardware. If the solution will not require any third party software to be installed on our institutional Microsoft SQL Servers, then the solution could utilize them for databases (depending on size requirements).


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208. As mentioned in section 5.4, the term contractor is used is this distinct from proposer?

The term Proposer relates to a firm that responds to the RFP. The term Contractor is defined as the awarded firm (if any).

209. Our understanding is to add the following sections as an annexure Agreement Execution of Offer (duly signed by proposer) HUB Subcontracting plan

Please see the checklist on page two of the RFP. This is a useful tool to ensure submission of all required documentation.

210. What would be the expected number of users accessing the system and parallel access? Also is there a split up of Normal Users and Power Users.

Potentially all. See clarifying statement.

211. What are the types of audience using the Dashboard for example: 1) Executive Level, and 2) Staff


212. Is there any existing solution/process for uploading the data into data warehouse from Texas Tech University or any other source? If yes, does it need to be replicated?


213. In what form is legacy data currently residing? Is it in database tables or flat files? In case it is in database tables, please mention the database details(Oracle / SQL) with version


214. Does the Texas Tech University have any preference with regard to the technology to be used for the reporting application


215. RFP states that Integration with GE Business Centricity, Press Ganey, Access, Excel, etc. “source of data” candidates Can you provide some information on the different sources the University have: Approximately how many source systems are included and what is the range of their technology platforms

See clarifying statement See clarifying statement Range of technology platforms unknown at this time. See clarifying statement

216. May we request texas tech university to provide the data volume involved in this project , to help us to gauge the size of the project?


217. As mentioned in page number 13, Provide a general description for each of the following technical aspects of the product includes Delivery of software modifications and enhancements Do you require the vendor to add the process followed in Delivery of software modifications and enhancements or the frequency of software modification and

Both process and frequency.


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enhancement

218. As mentioned in page number 13, in the training section Do the vendor need to include the user guides and necessary documentation of the business intelligence solution as an annexure or attachments

Examples and documentation are appropriate and can be added as an exhibit to the proposal as appropriate.

219. Please provide details on daily load. What is the data growth rate expected?


220. Does Texas Tech University have an existing backup infrastructure that can be expanded to support this requirement? Is D&R plan expected from vendor?

TTUHSC uses CommVault to backup servers and databases. On individual desktops, users are required to identify data to be backed up and place it on a institutional share for backup or back it up themselves

221. Can you please provide the specifications for the current hardware that you may wish to reuse?


222. How many distinct users will be using the tools to create net new data visualizations?

Power-users only. See Clarifying statement.

223. Are you staff already familiar with certain tools and have a preference to any of them? For instance, SQL Server or Tableau?

SQL Server

224. Who are the users—specifically job role and management structures?


225. Please outline or segment each user group that you would anticipate using the reports/dashboards E.g. Finance, HR, etc.


226. How will the users interact with the reports? What actions are the users supposed to take after using the reports—i.e. next steps?

Influence/inform future decision making.

227. How many users do you anticipate total and per user group mentioned above?


228. How many concurrent users would

use the dashboard at the same time? Potentially all users (~40)

229. How many adhoc reporting users (or

power users) would you have? Of those, how many would be accessing

In clarifying statement. SQL = yes, Excel = yes


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the database via SQL? Excel connections?

230. Do you anticipate using these BI tools to share data externally on your external website(s)? For example reimagining your TTUHSC Factbook? If so: 1. Who are the users? 2. Please outline or segment each user group that you would anticipate using the reports/dashboards E.g. Students, donors, state officials, etc. 3. How will the users interact with the reports? What actions are the users supposed to take after using the reports—i.e. next steps? 4. How many site visitors do you expect to interact with the new dashboards each day?

a. How many concurrent users would use the dashboard at the same time?


231. Do you already have an instance of a relational database and Windows Server that we can use on this project? a. What is the existing database technology used on the source systems? E.g. SQL Server b. Please provide any documentation if available.

For the application server, the department will need to fund the server whether it be physical or virtual. If the solution will not require any third party software to be installed on our institutional Microsoft SQL Servers, then the solution could utilize them for databases (depending on size requirements). The department would need to work with IT to identify those costs once a finalist(s) is identified.

232. Do you already have server assets that we would use? If so, what specs? Are they on-premises, collocated, or cloud-hosted?


233. How would we gain access to your infrastructure?

On site and/ or remotely will be considered.

234. If not, will our proposal need to include hosting fees and/or cost of infrastructure fees?

Yes, as a separate line item.

235. Besides GE Business Centricity, Press Ganey, Access, Excel, are there any other data sources/systems needed to be integrated for your reporting/dashboard platform?


236. When and why are these data sources / systems used?



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237. What is the data theme for each data source? For example, enrollment data.


238. How often do the sources refresh? See clarifying statement

239. Can you please provide a rough estimate of the size of the data sets for each source? a. How many tables would be used per source? b. For each data source, can you please provide sample reports and/or sample queries


240. Is there unstructured data that needs to be stored? If so, please provide examples.

Not at this time.

241. How often does the underlying schemas of data sources change?

Nightly batch. See clarifying statement.

242. Roughly how many staff members will be trained on: a. Creating data visualizations b. Interacting with data visualizations over the web c. Updates or maintenance to underlying database or ETL maintenance

See clarifying statement. See clarifying statement. No data warehouse is being requested at this time. See clarifying statement

243. When would be the ideal completion and start dates of the project?

CY2015

244. Can you provide a sense of prioritization for certain reporting groups or dashboards?

Not at this time.

245. Are there any outside forces driving any specific deadlines or milestones on the project?

No

246. Which reporting methods are currently being used?

N/A

247. How many standard reports or dashboards would need to be built?


248. Can we see a sample data set you would like to see in a report? If so, please provide.


249. Will we need to build a Proof of Concept?

No.

250. Please define what iterations would look like between us.


251. How often would you like to be updated on project status?


252. We’d like to right-size our solution. If possible please provide a very basic high level estimate of your budget for

~ $100,000 + future annual maintenance fees.


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setting up the solution, hosting, and licensing.

253. Are mobile devices used within your organization? a. If so, which mobile devices will need to be supported? b. If so, how are they currently used? c. If not, how may they be used in the future?


254. What challenges and risks do you foresee that may arise?


255. We believe in user-centered design. Will we be able to conduct end-user interviews before assisting in dashboard creation?


256. Is it necessary to submit a printed version of the proposal if we use the TechBid System? Please confirm.

No, online submission is preferred and considered complete.

257. Please clarify the scope of the professional services to be offered. Are these services related to just the installation and maintenance of the dashboard and business intelligence solution? And/or is any solution development expected?


258. Is there a Data Warehouse in place? No.

259. Please describe the current IT landscape for data sources, data warehouse(s), and visualization tools, if any?


260. Is it expected that the Dashboard and Business Intelligence solution include a data quality tool? Do you currently have a data quality tool?

Outside the scope of RFP. See clarifying statement.

261. In terms of ETL, how complex will be the required transformation process?


262. How many admins and business users will interact with the dashboard and business intelligence solution?


263. Is it possible to present a Cloud and/or on premise solution? Is there any preference?


264. Our assumption is that infrastructure (hardware) cost for this RFP should not be included in our proposal, is this correct?

Assumption correct.

265. If development services are required, have you already defined the KPIs / Dashboards / Reports needed? Please specify the number of dashboards/reports and complexity?



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266. The RFP request that the vendor should provide the general aspects of the product including: Database support, server environment, Network. Will TTUHSC provide the current network and Infrastructure details where the product will be installed?

Yes

267. Does TTUHSC have proper HIPAA controls and practices in place? i.e. encrypted DBs, security testing, etc…

Yes

268. Are you looking for a Customized Developed Application or the Installation and Configuration of an existing BI tool?


269. In case of a Custom Application is required, please provide the Functional Specification or other Requirements document.


270. If requirements are not yet created, are the requirements in scope for this project, or the requirements will be provided by TTUHSC?


271. What type of contract are you looking for this project to be delivered? Times & Materials, Fixed Priced, hybrid?

Fixed is typically preferred, please see Section 6 of the RFP for expected initial pricing format.

272. Does TTUHSC have a preferred DBMS platform for the BI solution? Is this the organization-wide standard?

No BI suite being requested. See clarifying statement.

273. Does TTUHSC have a preferred ETL tool for the BI solution? Is this the organization-wide standard?


274. How many users does TTUHSC anticipate for the BI solution? How many concurrent users?


275. What kind of data volumes does TTUHSC expect from the listed source systems?


276. What is the desired frequency of data loading into the desired BI solution? (real-time, near real-time, nightly batch, etc)

Nightly batch. See clarifying statement.

277. As listed in the Software / Service Specifications section on page 14, a key capability of the solution is “Ability to report specific elements, milestones, metrics, & targets for operational, financial, quality, patient satisfaction, people and business development key performance indicators.” a. Is TTUHSC open to responses that propose a phased implementation approach based on either subject area or source system? If so, what is the preference?

Outside the scope of RFP. See clarifying statement. Outside the scope of RFP. See clarifying statement. Federated approach. See clarifying statement.


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b. Is TTUHSC looking for a solution that consolidates and integrates source data into a single repository (i.e. traditional ODS/DW/star schema) or more of a federated approach (i.e. playing the data where it lies)?

278. As listed in the Software / Service Specifications section on page 14, a key capability of the solution is “Built in notification and collaboration mechanisms” a. Could you provide further detail on this statement?


279. Is TTUHSC open to additional software that facilitates the rapid development and prototyping of additional analytic capability?

Not in the scope of this RFP, See Clarifying statement.

280. To bid for this RFP, Is it mandatory to subcontract with an active HUB vendor as per section 3.7 HUB Subcontracting Plan in the RFP or can a subcontracting plan be provided now and subcontract be made once the project has been awarded?

Subcontracting plan must be provided with the proposal, formal subcontracts could not be made until the project has been awarded?

281. Does TTUHSC intend to build a data warehouse for the project or does TTUHSC currently own a data warehouse?

No and no.

282. Does TTUHSC currently use any Data Extraction Tool for any reporting purpose? If not what mechanism is used to put the data together?

None. No mechanism currently used to put the data together. See clarifying statement.

283. Does TTUHSC currently own a reporting tool and a dashboard tool? If TTUHSC is not using any standard reporting tool other than MS Excel/ Work/ PDF, Does TTUHSC intent to purchase any reporting tool for this project. If so, does the TTUHSC expect the vendor to provide any recommendation for the tool selection?


284. Is the data to be used for the Dashboard and BI solution ELECTRONICALLY available within TTUHSC network? Does TTUHSC anticipate to pull data from any external sources outside TTUHSC network?


285. Who will be involved in this project from TTUHSC side?

Composed of IT and Business analyst professionals

286. Can this project be done remotely? Will remote access be provided to all consultants involved in this project?



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287. Does TTUHSC have a ‘not to exceed’ budget for this project?

~ $100,000 + future annual maintenance fees.

288. Has TTUHSC engaged any vendor to prepare this RFP?

No.

289. What is the total number of estimated users that will be using the Dashboard and Business Intelligence Solution?


290. In order to understand the magnitude of the project please provide the following information: 1. How many data sources are we anticipating to include in the BI solution? 2. What are the different types of data sources for each (like Oracle, excel, SQL Server) 3. How many files or tables in each data source are we going to access for this BI solution?

See clarifying statement See clarifying statement Not seeking a warehouse solution at this time. See clarifying statement.

291. In order to ensure proper staffing, please provide some idea as to the number, type and commitment (FTE equivalent) of resources the TTUHSC plans to assign to this project? Does TTUHSC have a dedicated Project Manager that can be assigned to this project?


292. What is the go-live data planned for this project?

CY2015

293. Has TTUHSC sought help in the past or present from any consultant on any part of this project or for the data to be used for this project?

N/A

294. Did TTUHSC get an opportunity to see a demonstration of a Dashboard and Business Intelligence Solution from any vendors? If so, which vendor did the demonstration?

N/A

295. Will the proposed solution for TTUHSC be designed for only one location, or multiple locations?


296. Does TTUHSC have a preference for a software solution that is installed, or will a cloud-based software be considered?


297. What is the preference for the proposed solution? a.) A secure public cloud b.) A secure private cloud c.) A secure server on the TTUHSC premises?

c.

298. Does experience in other industries providing similar business intelligence solutions count, or does the respondent need to have prior

Will consider other closely related industry experience.


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experience in solutions for institutions of medical higher education?

299. Is there a preference for the dashboard application to be a web app, or a native app?


300. What is the size of the user population, and what type of growth is expected in the future?


301. What type of operating system will users have: Windows-based, Android-based, or iOs-based?

Windows.

302. What is the smallest-sized screen display used by users?


303. Can the solution benefit from having a mobile extension to the dashboard as well?


304. What kind of security do these applications require?

User Authentication using approved Single Sign On; SSL between the server and client; encrypted data at rest. Standard user and role management.

305. What volume of data is expected (daily transactions, as well as preferred storage)?


306. When is the solution expected to go “live”?

CY2015

307. Will this solution be owned by TTUHSC, or will the solution be used as an SaaS?


dashboard and business intelligence solution

Documents