Integrated Modern Engineering, LLC (W56KGY-22-R-0004)

B-420636 Jun 29, 2022 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Integrated Modern Engineering, LLC (IME), a small business of Washington, District of Columbia, protests the exclusion of its proposal from the competitive range under request for proposals (RFP) No. W56KGY-22-R-0004, issued by the Department of the Army, Army Contracting Command--Aberdeen Proving Ground, for a commercial software solution for intelligence applications. IME challenges the agency's decision to eliminate its proposal from competition based on the evaluation of IME's performance in the phase one product demonstration. We dismiss the protest. View Decision DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of: Integrated Modern Engineering, LLC File: B-420636 Date: June 29, 2022 Adam D. Bruski, Esq., Warner Norcross + Judd LLP, for the protester. Jonathan A. Hardage, Esq., and Michael Skennion, Esq., Department of the Army, for the agency. Uri R. Yoo, Esq., and Alexander O. Levine, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest filed after the closing date for receipt of proposals is dismissed as untimely where the protester challenges the ground rules for the demonstration phase of the evaluation that were established by the terms of the solicitation. DECISION Integrated Modern Engineering, LLC (IME), a small business of Washington, District of Columbia, protests the exclusion of its proposal from the competitive range under request for proposals (RFP) No. W56KGY-22-R-0004, issued by the Department of the Army, Army Contracting Command--Aberdeen Proving Ground, for a commercial software solution for intelligence applications. IME challenges the agency’s decision to eliminate its proposal from competition based on the evaluation of IME’s performance in the phase one product demonstration. We dismiss the protest. BACKGROUND The RFP was issued on October 29, 2021, seeking a commercial software solution for an intelligence application with interoperability, security, training, usability, and data management capabilities, referred to as “All Source II” or ASII, to support the Army’s program manager for intelligence systems and analytics. Agency Report (AR), Tab 03G, Conformed RFP at 1, 3.[1] The solicitation required the proposed software solution to “meet the capabilities called out in the Base Performance Requirement Document (Base PRD).” AR, Tab 03H, RFP attach. 0001, Statement of Work (SOW) at 5; see AR, Tab 03I, RFP attach. 0002, Base PRD. The RFP also required the provision of support and incidental services to satisfy the ASII requirements specified in the SOW. RFP at 3. The solicitation contemplated the award of one indefinite-delivery, indefinite‑quantity contract with an ordering period of 5 years and orders to be issued on a fixed-price basis. Id. Award would be made to the offeror whose proposal was most beneficial to the government as determined by a tradeoff considering the following four factors: (1) technical; (2) price; (3) past performance; and (4) small business plan. Id. at 76. The RFP stated that the technical factor was significantly more important than price. Id. Evaluations under the technical factor required offerors to participate in two phases of product demonstrations, where each offeror would demonstrate the capabilities of its proposed product by accomplishing “[d]ata [t]hread” steps as defined in the “Product Demonstration Event Plan” (PDEP) for each phase. Id.; see AR, Tab 03L, RFP attach. 0005, Phase 1 PDEP; Tab 03M, RFP attach. 0006, Phase 2 PDEP. The RFP informed offerors that phase one product demonstrations would be evaluated on a “[g]o/[n]o-[g]o” basis. RFP at 76. An offeror that does not successfully complete all of the steps in the Phase I PDEP would be considered unsuccessful, rated “no‑go,” would not be part of the competitive range, and would not be eligible for award. Id. As relevant here, the RFP established that the agency would provide product demonstration sample data to offerors that requested it within 15 days of the issuance of the solicitation. Id. at 71. The RFP also provided a summary of the type of information that would be provided for the product demonstration. Id.; see AR, Tab 03N, RFP attach. 0007, Government Furnished Information. In addition, the RFP advised competitors that they had “the opportunity (but [] not a requirement) to participate in an open integration session prior to the execution of the product demonstrations.” RFP at 71. The solicitation explained that offerors may use the integration period to set up and configure their software solutions in the cloud and test connectivity to the agency’s test harness for intelligence applications. Id. The RFP also stated that this integration period would not be evaluated.