Eminent IT, LLC (19AQMM20Q0047)

B-418570,B-418570.2,B-418570.3 Jun 23, 2020 Jump To FULL REPORT VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Eminent IT, LLC, an 8(a) small business concern of Arlington, Virginia, protests the decision of the Department of State (DOS) to issue request for quotations (RFQ) No. 19AQMM20Q0047, for the maintenance, operation, and management of PeopleSoft v9.x or later in a production environment using Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), for competition among small businesses. The protester contends that the agency has improperly removed the requirement from the Small Business Administration's (SBA) 8(a) program. The protester also contends that the terms of the solicitation fail to provide sufficient information for intelligent competition. We sustain the protest in part, and dismiss it in part. View Decision DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This redacted version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of:  Eminent IT, LLC File:  B-418570; B-418570.2; B-418570.3 Date:  June 23, 2020 William A. Shook, Esq., The Law Offices of William A. Shook PLLC, for the protester. Kathleen D. Martin, Esq., Department of State, and Mark R. Hagedorn, Esq., and John W. Klein, Esq., Small Business Administration, for the agencies. Jacob M. Talcott, Esq., and Jennifer D. Westfall-McGrail, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1.  Protest alleging agency improperly removed requirement from Small Business Administration’s 8(a) program is sustained where solicitation did not create a “new” requirement. 2.  Protest alleging solicitation failed to provide sufficient information is dismissed where protest was filed more than 10 days after protester should have known the basis for its protest. DECISION   Eminent IT, LLC, an 8(a) small business concern of Arlington, Virginia, protests the decision of the Department of State (DOS) to issue request for quotations (RFQ)  No. 19AQMM20Q0047, for the maintenance, operation, and management of PeopleSoft v9.x or later in a production environment using Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), for competition among small businesses.[1]  The protester contends that the agency has improperly removed the requirement from the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) 8(a) program.  The protester also contends that the terms of the solicitation fail to provide sufficient information for intelligent competition. We sustain the protest in part, and dismiss it in part. BACKGROUND On February 21, 2020, the DOS issued the solicitation, which was competed among small businesses under General Services Administration (GSA) Schedule 70, Information Technology Professional Services.  Agency Memorandum of Law (MOL)  at 5.  The RFQ contemplated the establishment of a blanket purchase agreement (BPA) using the procedures of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) part 8.  Contracting Officer’s Statement (COS) at 1-3; Agency Report (AR), Tab 1, RFQ-0047 at 2.  The agency sought a vendor to maintain, operate, and manage PeopleSoft v9.x or later in a production environment, including any follow-on functional requirements and application support using SAFe methodology, for the Department’s Bureau of Human Resources, Executive Office (HR/EX).  COS at 1.  The solicitation anticipated that source selection would be made on a best-value basis where technical factors, when combined, were considered significantly more important than price.  Id.  The due date for quotations was March 31.  Id. at 3. According to the contracting officer, the SAFe requirement is for the agency’s Global Employment Management System (GEMS), and is intended to serve as the “flagship project” for implementing SAFe across the agency’s Integrated Personnel Management System (IPMS) for HR/EX.[2]  Id. at 1.  The agency explains that the “primary goal of SAFe” is to help create and expand a “Lean Enterprise,” which will allow the agency to deliver value in the shortest, sustainable time period.  Response to SBA Comments at 4.  The agency seeks a contractor capable of teaching “SAFe’s Lean-Agile mindset” in a PeopleSoft Federal Human Capital Management (HCM) environment to facilitate this expansion.  Id. at 1, 4.  As relevant here, the agency awarded a task order on September 20, 2015, for Peoplesoft-related services to an 8(a) small business named Buchanan & Edwards (B&E) under the GSA’s 8(a) STARS II Governmentwide Acquisition Contract (GWAC).[3]  AR, Tab 4, RFQ-3965 at 16; MOL at 3-4.  Similar to the current solicitation, the B&E task order required the awardee to provide, maintain, operate, and manage PeopleSoft v9.1 for the Bureau of HR/EX at DOS to support the development of GEMS.  MOL at 3‑4.  The period of performance for the task order was one year with four option years.  Id.