United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Software Development and Integration Next Generation 2 [SDI-NG2] has been in progress for long, actually since 2015. Initially, the tentative timeline included a Draft RFP in August 2017 and Final RFP in November 2017. Since the Draft RFP has not been released, a shift to other milestones is a reasonable assumption. However, for those competent IT companies that have kept this opportunity on their radar, it is time to gear up for the last lap, since the anticipated proposal preparation window would not be more than a month or so. For a better understanding of scope and requirements, I try to highlight the major objectives and USPTO’s Mission & Vision for SDI-NG2.
Overview:
The USPTO Office of the Chief Information Officer’s (OCIO) vision is to transform the agency with next-generation technology and services. To achieve this vision, the USPTO has established strategic plans to optimize Patent and Trademark quality and timeliness, including the following IT goals:
a) Ensure Optimal IT Service Delivery to All Users
b) Provide Leadership and Education on Intellectual Property Policy and Awareness
c) Leverage IT Investments to Achieve Business Results
Objectives:
The core elements of this solicitation are:
- Software development and integration
- Development testing
- Configuration management support
- Production support and software maintenance and transition
- Program management support
Integration may include the integration of technical components, organizational components, and documentation.
USPTO anticipates an ongoing requirement for software development and integration professional Information Technology (IT) services. SDI-NG is the USPTO’s vehicle for software development and integration services for Commercial off the Shelf (COTS) products with customized software applications, database applications, and other solutions. The USPTO has identified SDI-NG2 solicitation objectives as follows:
a) Promote innovation and deliver cost-effective and seamless next-generation IT solutions;
b) Promote quality vendor performance in Non-Agile, Agile, and DevOps environments;
c) Stabilize and provide optimal service on legacy systems to employees and public users;
d) Provide cost-effective, transparent operations, processes, and information;
e) Support organizational culture shift to integrated product teams (IPTs) involving all system stakeholders;
f) Improve internal and external collaboration and information sharing; and
g) Enhance the internal and external user experience by developing user-driven products, and allow flexibility to adapt to changing priorities and requirements.
Contemplated Magnitude:
The USPTO anticipates that the SDI-NG2 effort will have a ten (10) year period of performance with a value in excess of $1B. It is anticipated to be a multiple award contract. It is anticipated that all task orders will be competed amongst all vendors. The quantity of task orders awarded each year is estimated to be from 60 to 100 with annual values up to $27M each. The USPTO anticipates that the awardee(s) will have ten (10) business days to respond to each task order and will be responsible for fully staffing each effort within ten (10) business days of award.
Technical Requirements:
Below is a list of SDI-NG2 technical requirements and skill sets, as presently established by USPTO. The final requirements are under review yet to be released in the draft and final RFP:
- Development Services
- Production Support
- Defect Triage
- User Experience Design
- Continuous Improvement Configuration Management
Skill Sets
- Practical Agile/DevOps, not just theoretical
- J2EE
- Java
- Javascript Libraries (Angular js, JQuery, DOJO)
- JUNIT and Eclipse
- JBOSS EAP/EWS and associated integration and components (FUSE)
- Oracle and MySQL
- Redhat
- Restful and JSON
- Web Services
- XML
For all those firms that have been patiently pursuing this solicitation, time for the final race is coming. The already provided details can induce major planning adjustments for the potential offerors.
