it professional technical services site program t#:14atmacquia/drupal platform. project deliverables...
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RFO0308
SITE RFO Template Updated 10/17 1
Vendors must have an active, approved master contract under the SITE program and be approved in the
category or categories listed in the RFO document in order to respond to and RFO. Vendor is responsible for
reading all addenda associated with the RFO.
IT Professional Technical Services
SITE Program
T#:14ATM
Request for Offers (RFO) For Technology Services Issued By
Office of MNIT Services @ Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA)
Project Title: MDA Website
Categories: Developer/Programmer (1-3)
Web Application Design & Development (1-3)
Program/Project Management (1)
Seeking a team of up to seven resources from a single vendor. The vendor must be approved in all of the
above categories in order to respond to this RFO. (All proposed resources must fall under the
Developer/Programmer, Web Application Design & Development, and Program/Project Manager categories.
Any resources not identified as one of the above listed categories will not be considered when evaluating a
proposal, and may result in the disqualification of the entire proposal.
Business Need
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s (MDA) website is a portal to communicate important
information to farmers, agricultural businesses, the general public and employees. Internal and external
feedback received from customers and Stakeholders provided the business justification to support a
complete redesign of the existing MDA website. As demand increases for completely seamless website
experiences, MDA must reevaluate our web strategies to meet these expectations. Having an easy-to-use,
easy to navigate and overall customer-centric website plays a crucial role.
MDA will collaborate with vendor to build a new MDA Website. The final product will be optimized, mobile-
friendly and offer a customer-centric look and feel to make it easier to locate information and the resources
required.
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The new MDA website will be compatible with modern mobile devices, multiple web interfaces (Internet
Explorer, FireFox, Google Chrome, Safari) and will adhere to the Minnesota State Accessibility Standard and
MNIT Branding standards.
The new MDA website should go live on or before June 15, 2018. The website will be hosted on the
Acquia/Drupal platform.
Project Deliverables
1. Project Planning & Kick off
Deliverable: Develop a schedule and timeline of activities for the project; hold kickoff meetings with key
stakeholders to identify project goals, outcomes, and expectations.
2. Strategy Workshop(s): Internal Stakeholders
Deliverable: Conduct strategy workshop(s) with a group of key MDA internal stakeholders. Summarize
the results from this strategy workshop to differentiate true vs. perceived needs.
3. Strategy Workshop(s): External Users
Deliverable: Conduct strategy workshop(s) with up to fifteen (15) individual external stakeholders.
These are members of the public, businesses, and other key external visitors to the MDA website.
Summarize the results from this strategy workshop to differentiate true vs. perceived needs.
4. Card Sort
The card sort process collects user input as a means to categorize and structure website content so it is
intuitive for all the different audience groups using the website. A card sort evaluation helps determine
an Information Architecture, but most importantly it ensures a more user-friendly website.
Deliverable: Develop and conduct card sort processes for the following:
o Two groups of up to ten (10) external users (20 total) will be engaged in a proctored online card
sort process. The first group of ten external users will participate in an “open card sort” while
the second group of ten external users will participate in a “closed card sort”.
o Two groups of up to ten (10) internal users (20 total) will be engaged in a proctored online card
sort process. The first group of ten internal users will participate in an “open card sort” while the
second group of ten internal users will participate in a “closed card sort”.
5. Content Inventory
A content inventory breaks down the content, metadata and associated assets. This searchable
inventory will be utilized in evaluating existing content and developing a new integrated content
strategy.
Deliverable: A searchable content inventory of the existing MDA website in an Excel workbook format.
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6. Information Architecture
Information architecture (IA) focuses on organizing, structuring, and labeling content in an effective and
sustainable way. The goal is to help users find information and complete tasks. To do this, you need to
understand how the pieces fit together to create the larger picture, how items relate to each other
within the system.
Deliverable: Create an Information Architecture document identifying how the site should be structured,
what kind of content it should host, and how to accommodate future growth and change.
7. Sitemap
A sitemap is to determine current user browsing patterns, identify problem areas or areas of confusion
and focus on guiding users to their desired goal.
Deliverable: Create a sitemap which prioritizes content into logical groupings and connects related
information together.
8. Wireframe designs
Wireframes communicate the order, structure, layout, navigation and organization of content, and not
the visual aspects of the design such as imagery, color and typography. Wireframes will also be
designed reflecting a responsive design implementation of the updated Information Architecture.
Deliverable: Create wireframes to illustrate the key content areas and features of each page type.
Wireframes will focus on desktop and mobile wireframes for 5-10 page types.
9. Visual design
The visual design phase of this project is the marrying of the overall page architecture and website goals,
creating the “look and feel” of the user interface.
Deliverable: Create three (3) visual design prototypes for review and feedback from MDA. Once a design is chosen, further refine the design using MDA branding standards, graphics, and images. Up to three (3) rounds of refinement should be provided before the design is considered production ready.
10. Style Guide A style guide documents the general design principles which should be followed. It ensures the site stays consistent year after year. Deliverable: Create an MDA Website Style Guide documenting elements such as the layout, color palette, typography, navigation, html elements, media, assets, and any other important stylistic information.
11. Content Migration Tool
Deliverable: Provide a technology solution which enables MDA users the ability to enter content into a standard format that can be exported easily into the Acquia/Drupal environment.
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12. Website Build Build the new website using the Acquia/Drupal CMS pursuant to the defined functional build specifications. Deliverables:
o Milestone 1 – Creation of data structure and content organization o Milestone 2 – Creation of navigational elements, page templates, layouts, and sub-layouts
(content presentation layer) o Milestone 3 – Build additional templates to accommodate responsive design using Bootstrap,
Skeleton, or a similar framework o Milestone 4 – Adaption, support and adjustments based on unique content needs o Milestone 5 – Integration of existing MDA applications for display and access within the MDA
website including ‘skinning’ of apps with appropriate CSS o Milestone 6 – Set up site search and search templates
13. Testing
Perform functional testing and quality assurance (QA) reviews to ensure that all aspects of the website comply with the wireframes and design standards as defined in the functional build specifications. Perform accessibility compliance testing to ensure the MDA website is compliant with Section 508 of the Federal Rehabilitation Act and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 level A and AA. Deliverables:
o Conduct at least three (3) separate functional testing and QA reviews throughout the website build
Testing will include using a variety of browsers (current release and previous two releases)
Chrome
Firefox
IE
Safari
Opera o Development of design and layout practices that include a Disabilities – ADA compliance
checklist and processes o Conduct at least two (2) separate accessibility tests to ensure new designs across the entire
MDA website comply with current 508 and WCAG A and AA compliance standards and requirements.
14. Documentation / Training Create site management guide and Drupal editor documentation, and conduct knowledge transfer training to designated MDA and MNIT staff, including content migration assistance. Deliverables:
o Site management guide documentation detailing site structure security and permissions management and monitoring tools
o Drupal content editor guide documentation detailing style guide content entry tips
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content items – shared / local content types o Training and knowledge transfer
Drupal content editor training site maintenance training site build knowledge transfer
15. Deploy
Deploy the new MDA website to production; and provide stabilization support. Deliverables:
o Launched website
o Post-launch support for two months
Project Milestones and Schedule - to be determined at time of posting
Anticipated Project Start Date: January 16, 2018
Site Go-Live date: on or before June 15, 2018 (this is a hard deadline)
Anticipated Project End Date: August 31, 2018
The State will retain the option to extend the work orders in increments determined by the State.
Proposed schedule:
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Project Environment
The Acquia/Drupal platform will be acquired through a separate contract. That cost does not need to be
accounted for in this request. The vendor for this project is expected to participate in planning and
selected technical sessions with the Acquia/Drupal platform implementation team.
MDA Staff have three implementation teams: Executive team, Content Migration team, and Project
work group team. Members have been identified for each team. In addition, MNIT staff at MDA will be
assigned to assist with various technical project work.
Existing website content will not be automatically migrated to the new site. All site content will go
through a review process for accuracy and plain language. The cost for reviewing content does not need
to be accounted for in this request. The vendor for this project is expected to participate in planning
and selected working sessions.
Project Requirements
The new website must go live on or before June 15, 2018.
Concurrent activities will occur. The vendor should ensure the project team can maintain the required
pace to complete all activities on time.
The new website will meet State of Minnesota Accessibility requirements and branding standards.
Responsibilities Expected of the Selected Vendor
The majority of the work should be performed onsite. On the work plan, indicate work activities not
performed onsite.
Selected deliverables include reports or template files which should be delivered in a format readable by
MDA without the need for any specialized non-standard third-party software.
The vendor is responsible for project management responsibilities of their staff assigned to the project.
The vendor is responsible for providing training/ knowledge transfer to MDA and MNIT staff.
The vendor will provide a weekly project plan report to project team via an agreed-upon method. The
vendor will regularly update the project plan and related documents and present these updates to the
MNIT Project Manager for review and approval.
The vendor Project Manager will meet regularly with the Executive Team to review current deliverables
and provide project status updates. The vendor Project Manager must be available for periodic
presentations/updates to MDA leadership.
Mandatory Qualifications
To be initially scored as pass/fail. Thereafter, proposals that meet the Mandatory Qualifications will be scored
in part on the extent to which the proposal exceeds these mandatory minimums. See Desired Skills and RFO
Evaluation Process, below.
Note: The proposed team must have the following skills/years of experience (combined). All resources submitted
must be at or below the Vendor’s Maximum Hourly Rate for the identified category.
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Proposals that exceed 7 resources will not be considered
Website strategy and/or Group Facilitation experience – 3 years of experience
Acquia and/or Drupal experience – 3 years of experience
Web application development and design – 5 years of experience
CMS configuration experience – 3 years of experience
Web training and documentation experience – 3 years of experience
Project Management experience – 3 years of experience
Desired Skills
Proposals that meet the Mandatory Qualifications will be evaluated in part on the following Desired Skills.
Responder should demonstrate in its proposal the length, depth, and applicability of the proposed team’s
prior experience in the desired skills below.
Experience with content migration processes
Previous relevant work experience and performance
Web development & design for a governmental entity
Process Schedule
Process Milestone Due Date
Deadline for Questions 12/20/2017, 1:00 PM
Anticipated Responses to Questions Posted 12/22/2017
Proposals Due 12/28/2017, 3:00 PM
Anticipated proposal evaluation complete 1/5/2018
Anticipated work order start 1/16/2018
Questions
Any questions regarding this Request for Offers should be submitted via e-mail according to the date and time
listed in the process schedule to:
Name: Roleen Marchetti
Email Address: [email protected]
Questions and answers will be posted via an addendum to the RFO on the Office of MN.IT Services website
according to the process schedule above.
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Other persons ARE NOT authorized to discuss this RFO or its requirements with anyone throughout the selection
process and responders should not rely on information obtained from non-authorized individuals. If it is
discovered a Responder contacted other State staff other than the individual above, the responder’s proposal
may be removed from further consideration.
RFO Evaluation Process
Criteria %
Required Skills and Experience of Team 30%
Desired Skills and Experience of Team 15%
Company Experience 10%
Work Plan Detail 15%
Cost 30%
The State reserves the right to interview any or all proposed teams. In the event interviews are conducted,
technical scores may be adjusted based on additional information derived during the interview process. The
State further reserves the right to remove a proposal from consideration if the team is unavailable for interview
as requested by the State.
Cost Scoring
Lowest cost will be determined by the bottom-line TOTAL PROJECT COST submitted by the Responder. The
Proposal with the lowest cost will receive 100% of the available points. The other Proposals will receive
points using the following formula:
Lowest Cost Proposal
-------------------------------------- x Maximum Points = Points Awarded
Responder’s Cost Proposal
EXAMPLE: (Using 30 points as maximum): If Responder A submitted the lowest cost proposal of $100,000, and Responder B submitted a cost proposal of $117,000, Responder A would receive 30 points and Responder B would receive 25.64 points (100,000.00 ÷ 117,000.00 x 30 = 25.64)
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This Request for Offers does not obligate the state to award a work order or complete the assignment, and
the state reserves the right to cancel the solicitation if it is considered to be in its best interest.
Submission Format
The proposal should be assembled as follows:
1. Cover Page
Master Contractor Name
Master Contractor Address
Contact Name for Master Contractor
Contact Name’s direct phone/cell phone (if applicable)
Contact Name’s email address
Resource(s) Name(s) being submitted
2. Company Background
Core Competencies
Technology Partner Certifications
3. Work Plan
Description of the methodology used
Project Management statement – how will all project artifacts be managed, frequency of status
meetings, project change requests
Milestones and high level tasks, including approximate duration of work
Indication of work activities performed offsite
Each deliverable identified above in the “Project Deliverbales” section and the estimated number of
hours for each resource assigned for the deliverable (do not include any costs in this section)
4. Team Experience:
Complete the response matrix below for each team member who will be working on this project.
Proposals without the years of experience and dates for each team member will be rejected.
Proposals that collectively do not meet the required years of experience for the mandatory
qualifications will be rejected.
RESPONSE MATRIX Resource Name:
Assigned Role For This Project
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RESPONSE MATRIX Resource Name:
MANDATORY QUALIFICATIONS:
(proposed team must have the following
skills/years of experience (combined)
Provide Dates and Company Name where the
resource has demonstrated the qualification; or
identify how the resource meets the requirement
(Yes/No is not sufficient)
Website strategy and/or Group Facilitation
experience - 3 years of experience
Acquia and/or Drupal experience - 3 years of
experience
Web application development and design - 5
years of experience
CMS configuration experience - 3 years of
experience
Web training and documentation experience - 3
years of experience
Project Management experience – 3 years of
experience
Subcontractor or Employee
DESIRED SKILLS: Provide Dates and Company Name where the
resource has demonstrated the skill (Yes/No is not
sufficient)
Experience with content migration processes
Previous relevant work experience and
performance
Web development & design for a government
agency
5. References
Include the name of at least two, but not more than four references who can speak to the vendor’s work
on a similar project. Include the company name and address, reference name, reference email,
reference phone number and a brief description of the project completed.
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6. Cost Proposal
Cost Proposal. Must be in a SEPARATE DOCUMENT and not listed in any other place in your submission. Include a separate document labeled “Cost Proposal” which includes:
o A proposed cost for each of the Deliverables set forth in the Project Deliverables section of this RFO (above). The proposed cost for each Deliverable must be broken down with the name(s) of the resource(s) being submitted, the category that each resource falls under (i.e., Developer/Programmer, Web Application Design and Development, and Program/Project Management), the proposed hourly rate for each resource, and the estimated number of hours that will be required from each resource for completion of the Deliverable.
o A bottom-line TOTAL PROJECT COST for completion of the entire project. (This should be the sum of the costs for the individual Deliverables.)
o The following chart, filled out with the high-level cost information as indicated. (This chart is meant to summarize the Deliverable costs and should not include the breakdown into resource / category / rate / hours as requested above. That information should be provided elsewhere in the Cost Proposal.)
Deliverable Total Cost for Deliverable
Deliverable 1: Project Planning & Kick off
Deliverable 2: Strategy Workshop(s): Internal Stakeholders
Deliverable 3: Strategy Workshop(s): External Stakeholders
Deliverable 4: Card Sort
Deliverable 5: Content Inventory
Deliverable 6: Information Architecture
Deliverable 7: Sitemap
Deliverable 8: Wireframe designs
Deliverable 9: Visual design
Deliverable 10: Style Guide
Deliverable 11: Content Migration Tool
Deliverable 12: Website Build
Deliverable 13: Testing
Deliverable 14: Documentation/Training
Deliverable 15: Deploy
Bottom-Line TOTAL PROJECT COST (sum of all of the above costs for the individual Deliverables)
Costs must be all-inclusive, i.e., any travel or living expenses must be pre-factored into the above costs. Please do not submit cost alternatives or ranges as the State requires singular costs in order to make a fair comparison of costs between the responders. If, despite this directive, cost alternatives or ranges are provided, the State will utilize the highest cost alternative and/or the highest cost in the range for purposes of cost scoring.
7. Additional Statement and forms:
Conflict of interest statement as it relates to this project
Workforce Certificate Information (required if vendor proposal exceeds $100,000, including extension options)
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Equal Pay Certificate (required if vendor proposal exceeds $500,000, including extension options)
Affidavit of non-collusion
Certification Regarding Lobbying (required if vendor proposal exceeds $100,000, including extension options)
The STATE reserves the right to determine if further information is needed to better understand the information
presented. This may include a request for a presentation.
Proposal Submission Instructions
Vendor is proposing a team of resources to achieve the desired objectives of the project. The Work Plan
must indicate each team member, their role, and their estimated number of hours of work.
Response Information: The resume(s) and required forms must be transmitted via e-mail to
o Roleen Marchetti at [email protected]
o Email subject line should read: RFO0308 - MDA Website Proposal Response
Submissions are due according to the process schedule previously listed.
All responses are time and date stamped by the State’s email system when they are received.
Responses received after Proposals Due Date above will not be considered. The State shall not be
responsible for any errors or delays caused by technology-related issues, even if they are caused by the
State.
Vendor must copy [email protected] on any responses submitted for this RFO. Vendors that do
not intend to submit a proposal must send an email notification of a no-bid on the request to
[email protected]. Failure to do either of these tasks will count against your program activity and
may result in removal from the program.
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General Requirements
Proposal Contents
By submission of a proposal, Responder warrants that the information provided is true, correct and reliable for
purposes of evaluation for potential award of this work order. The submission of inaccurate or misleading
information may be grounds for disqualification from the award as well as subject the responder to suspension
or debarment proceedings as well as other remedies available by law.
Liability
In the performance of this contract by Contractor, or Contractor’s agents or employees, the contractor must
indemnify, save, and hold harmless the State, its agents, and employees, from any claims or causes of action,
including attorney’s fees incurred by the state, to the extent caused by Contractor’s:
1) Intentional, willful, or negligent acts or omissions; or 2) Actions that give rise to strict liability; or 3) Breach of contract or warranty.
The indemnification obligations of this section do not apply in the event the claim or cause of action is the result
of the State’s sole negligence. This clause will not be construed to bar any legal remedies the Contractor may
have for the State’s failure to fulfill its obligation under this contract.
Disposition of Responses
All materials submitted in response to this RFO will become property of the State and will become public record
in accordance with Minnesota Statutes, section 13.591, after the evaluation process is completed. Pursuant to
the statute, completion of the evaluation process occurs when the government entity has completed
negotiating the contract with the selected vendor. If the Responder submits information in response to this RFO
that it believes to be trade secret materials, as defined by the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, Minn.
Stat. § 13.37, the Responder must: clearly mark all trade secret materials in its response at the time the
response is submitted, include a statement with its response justifying the trade secret designation for each
item, and defend any action seeking release of the materials it believes to be trade secret, and indemnify and
hold harmless the State, its agents and employees, from any judgments or damages awarded against the State
in favor of the party requesting the materials, and any and all costs connected with that defense. This
indemnification survives the State’s award of a contract. In submitting a response to this RFO, the Responder
agrees that this indemnification survives as long as the trade secret materials are in possession of the State.
The State will not consider the prices submitted by the Responder to be proprietary or trade secret materials.
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Conflicts of Interest
Responder must provide a list of all entities with which it has relationships that create, or appear to create, a
conflict of interest with the work that is contemplated in this request for proposals. The list should indicate the
name of the entity, the relationship, and a discussion of the conflict.
The responder warrants that, to the best of its knowledge and belief, and except as otherwise disclosed, there
are no relevant facts or circumstances which could give rise to organizational conflicts of interest. An
organizational conflict of interest exists when, because of existing or planned activities or because of
relationships with other persons, a vendor is unable or potentially unable to render impartial assistance or
advice to the State, or the vendor’s objectivity in performing the contract work is or might be otherwise
impaired, or the vendor has an unfair competitive advantage. The responder agrees that, if after award, an
organizational conflict of interest is discovered, an immediate and full disclosure in writing must be made to the
Assistant Director of the Department of Administration’s Office of State Procurement (“OSP”) which must
include a description of the action which the contractor has taken or proposes to take to avoid or mitigate such
conflicts. If an organization conflict of interest is determined to exist, the State may, at its discretion, cancel the
contract. In the event the responder was aware of an organizational conflict of interest prior to the award of the
contract and did not disclose the conflict to OSP, the State may terminate the contract for default. The
provisions of this clause must be included in all subcontracts for work to be performed similar to the service
provided by the prime contractor, and the terms “contract,” “contractor,” and “contracting officer” modified
appropriately to preserve the State’s rights.
IT Accessibility Standards
All documents and other work products delivered by the vendor must be accessible in order to conform with the
State Accessibility Standard. Information about the Standard can be found at
http://mn.gov/mnit/programs/policies/accessibility/.
Veteran-Owned Small Business Preference
Unless a greater preference is applicable and allowed by law, in accordance with Minn. Stat. § 16C.16, subd. 6a,
the Commissioner of Administration will award a 6% preference in the amount bid on state procurement to
certified small businesses that are majority owned and operated by veterans.
A small business qualifies for the veteran-owned preference when it meets one of the following requirements.
1) The business has been certified by the Department of Administration/Office of State Procurement as being a
veteran-owned or service-disabled veteran-owned small business. 2) The principal place of business is in
Minnesota AND the United States Department of Veterans Affairs verifies the business as being a veteran-
owned or service-disabled veteran-owned small business under Public Law 109-461 and Code of Federal
Regulations, title 38, part 74 (Supported By Documentation). See Minn. Stat. § 16C.19(d).
Statutory requirements and certification must be met by the solicitation response due date and time to be
awarded the preference.
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Work Force Certification
For all contracts estimated to be in excess of $100,000, responders are required to complete the Affirmative
Action Certificate of Compliance and return it with the response. As required by Minnesota Rule 5000.3600, “It
is hereby agreed between the parties that Minnesota Statute § 363A.36 and Minnesota Rule 5000.3400 -
5000.3600 are incorporated into any contract between these parties based upon this specification or any
modification of it. A copy of Minnesota Statute § 363A.36 and Minnesota Rule 5000.3400 - 5000.3600 are
available upon request from the contracting agency.”
Equal Pay Certification
If the Response to this solicitation could be in excess of $500,000, the Responder must obtain an Equal Pay
Certificate from the Minnesota Department of Human Rights (MDHR) or claim an exemption prior to contract
execution. A responder is exempt if it has not employed more than 40 full-time employees on any single
working day in one state during the previous 12 months. Please contact MDHR with questions at: 651-539-1095
(metro), 1-800-657-3704 (toll free), 711 or 1-800-627-3529 (MN Relay) or at [email protected].
Certification of Nondiscrimination (In accordance with Minn. Stat. § 16C.053)
The following term applies to any contract for which the value, including all extensions, is $50,000 or more:
Contractor certifies it does not engage in and has no present plans to engage in discrimination against Israel, or
against persons or entities doing business in Israel, when making decisions related to the operation of the
vendor's business. For purposes of this section, "discrimination" includes but is not limited to engaging in
refusals to deal, terminating business activities, or other actions that are intended to limit commercial relations
with Israel, or persons or entities doing business in Israel, when such actions are taken in a manner that in any
way discriminates on the basis of nationality or national origin and is not based on a valid business reason.