Total Information Processing Support Services (TIPSS-3)
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The TIPSS-3 contract was competitively awarded in October of 2005. as a Multiple Award Contract (MAC), including the support of the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice. Task Order types included Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee (CPFF), Time & Materials (T&M), and Fixed Price (FP). The contract was subsequently modified to emphasize increased usage performance-based task orders. The principal areas in this contract includes: Information System Services (ISS), System Security Services (SSS), Strategic Business Services (SBS)

Our supporting areas are unde the Strategic Business Services (SBS) Principal Task Area, and the services to be provided includes:

STRATEGIC BUSINESS SERVICES (SBS)

o Automated Tracking and Evaluation Tools Support;
o Business Process Re-Engineering Support;
o Change Management and Transition Management Support;
o Configuration Management Support, Including Planning and Reviews;
o Disaster Recovery, Continuity of Operation and Contingency Planning
o Ergonomics Support, Including Evaluations and Recommendations;
o Independent Validation and Verification Support;
o Metrics Support, Including Quality Measures and Function Point Analysis;
o Performance Engineering;
o Privacy Planning and Analysis Support;
o Process Analysis Support;
o Project Evaluation Support;
o Project Management Support;
o Quality Management;
o Relocation, Installation and other Hardware Related Support;
o Risk and Threat Analysis;
o Technical Support for the Disabled (Customization of Automated
o Interfaces, Needs Assessments, and etc.);
o Work System Design and Implementation;
o Work System Design and Usability Labs Support;
o Workload Analysis and Concept of Operation Support

Contract Overview

The TIPSS-3 contract is a multiple-agency contract and provides sources of information processing support services for the Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury Bureaus, and other federal agencies. The IRS will be the primary user of the contracts to provide the full range of information processing support services for project-level support.

The support required encompasses a large spectrum of services, from local microcomputer applications to large-scale integrated systems. Services are required across virtually all software languages and hardware platforms. The scope of TIPSS-3 does not include the purchase or lease of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware or software for the government. However, such requirements that are integral and/or incidental to the support functions being performed may be identified in task orders and provided by the contractor. The value of COTS hardware and software should normally not exceed 20 percent of the value of a task order. When applicable, care must be taken to coordinate with responsible functional experts to ensure appropriate systems integration, compatibility, and legal rights.

TIPSS-3 consists of three principal task areas:

   1. Information systems services (ISS)
   2. System security services (SSS)
   3. Strategic business services (SBS)

Features of the TIPSS-3 Contract

• Host agency is the U.S. Department of the Treasury, IRS
• Open to all Department of Treasury and can be used government-wide
• $3B contract ceiling

TIPSS Statement of Work (SOW)
 
The SOW is the first key-planning document that is prepared. The SOW covers all technical, management, and administrative aspects of a requirement. The SOW describes the actual work to be done by the contractor, some of the critical components are:

(1) Providing detailed specifications or describing the requirements of the project;
(2) Identifying quantities – this is done by determining the Level-of Effort required by the project or by listing the deliverables needed by the project;
(3) Determining the Performance Periods – length of time that support is needed and is usually expressed in 12-month periods;
(4) Determining the Place of Performance – where are the contractors going to work, usually either a Government location or a Contractor location; and
(5) Identifying the Acceptance Criteria – providing the Contractor the details regarding what factors are involved with how the Government will accept deliverables from the Contractor to ensue quality products are received as a result of the task requirements.

There are three formats to select from when developing your requirements:

1. Term Type
The term format is used when the project has a general idea of what types of work need to be acquired, but the specifics usually are not available before Task Order award. The term task order format is also used when the project knows what is needed, but the project does not know the specific timing of when the deliverables may be required.
With the term task order, the Contractor is obligated only to provide their best effort at meeting your requirements using a specified number of hours by labor category within a specified time period. The deliverable, the hours and the due date for completion of the deliverable is identified and agreed to in what is called the Work Request.

2. Completion Type
The completion format is used when you know exactly what you want and when you want it; this type of task order is used when the project delivery items (deliverables) and delivery schedule are known prior to task order award. Each deliverable is well defined in the SOW and the due date for each deliverable is usually expressed in a number of days after “task order award.” Under a Completion Task Order, the contractor is obligated to deliver specific items within a delivery schedule. With the completion task order, Work Requests are not utilized because all of the specifics of the deliverables are identified in
the SOW.

3. Performance-Based Acquisition (PBA) Type
This is used when the project knows what is needed and how to measure whether the projects needs have been met or not. This document that supports this approach is referred to as a “Performance Work Statement (PWS) rather than the SOW.
The TIPSS Program Office has developed a template for the PWS to help your project begin the process of migrating towards the performance-based arena.