Deque Systems, Inc. (36C10B22R0002)

B-420969,B-420969.2 Nov 21, 2022 Jump To FULL REPORT VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Deque Systems, Inc., a small business of Herndon, Virginia, protests the award of a contract to IronArch Technology, LLC, a small business of McLean, Virginia, under request for proposals (RFP) No. 36C10B22R0002, issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for accessibility compliance software services. The protester challenges the agency's evaluation of offerors' proposals and alleges that the agency made an unreasonable best-value determination. We deny the protest. 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: Deque Systems, Inc. File: B‑420969; B‑420969.2 Date: November 21, 2022 Amy Laderberg O’Sullivan, Esq., James G. Peyster, Esq., and William B. O’Reilly, Esq., Crowell & Moring LLP, for the protester. Alexander B. Ginsberg, Esq., and Michael J. Anstett, Esq., Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP, for IronArch Technology, LLC, the intervenor. Mary G. Courtney, Esq., Annemarie Drazenovich, Esq., and Reza Behinia, Esq., Department of Veterans Affairs, for the agency. David A. Edelstein, Esq., and Alexander O. Levine, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1. Protest of agency’s evaluation of awardee’s technical proposal is denied where protester has not demonstrated that the agency’s evaluation was unreasonable. 2. Protest of agency’s evaluation of offerors’ past performance is denied where solicitation did not require agency to compare the relevance of past performance examples and protester has not demonstrated that the evaluation was otherwise unreasonable. 3. Protest that agency did not evaluate transition risk is dismissed where solicitation did not require such an evaluation. DECISION Deque Systems, Inc., a small business of Herndon, Virginia, protests the award of a contract to IronArch Technology, LLC, a small business of McLean, Virginia, under request for proposals (RFP) No. 36C10B22R0002, issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for accessibility compliance software services. The protester challenges the agency’s evaluation of offerors’ proposals and alleges that the agency made an unreasonable best‑value determination. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND The VA’s Section 508 Program Office provides accessibility services, conformance testing solutions, and innovative strategies for implementing the goals and objectives of section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 794d (section 508). Contracting Officer’s Statement (COS) at 1. This includes assessing the accessibility compliance levels of various VA information and communications technology products, such as websites, Adobe PDF documents, and eLearning courses. Id. On February 3, 2022, the agency issued the solicitation as a small business set‑aside, seeking automated and manual testing, reporting, help desk activities, and training in support of the Section 508 Program Office’s accessibility compliance assessments. Id. The agency intended to award a single fixed‑price contract for a 12‑month base period and two 12‑month option periods. Agency Report (AR), Tab 5, RFP[1] at 7, 25. Deque previously provided similar services to the Section 508 Program Office. COS at 11. Deque’s prior contract ended on November 7, 2021. Id. The RFP included a performance work statement (PWS) describing the tasks the contractor would be expected to perform. RFP at 20‑78. Of relevance to this protest, the PWS included section 5.3, “section 508 accessibility compliance scanning tool,” which required the contractor to provide a commercial off‑the‑shelf[2] section 508 compliance tool, and which set forth a list of 91 requirements that the contractor’s tool would have to meet. Id. at 30‑39. The RFP provided that award would be made on a best‑value tradeoff basis, considering four evaluation factors: technical, price, past performance, and veterans involvement. RFP at 116. The technical factor was significantly more important than price, price was slightly more important than past performance, and past performance was slightly more important than veterans involvement. Id. With respect to the technical factor, the solicitation instructed offerors to “propose a detailed approach that addresses . . . [t]he [o]fferor’s technical approach to provide a commercial off‑the‑shelf [s]ection 508 accessibility compliance tool in accordance with [PWS] section 5.3 upon contract award.” Id. at 120‑21. Offerors were also required to address their approaches to the PWS’s required auditing services and help desk support, as well as their management methodology. Id. The RFP stated that the agency would evaluate the technical factor as follows: a.