The Alabama Department of Human Resources (ALDHR or State) is the state agency responsible for the administration of the SNAP and TANF programs in Alabama, providing a vital resource to support family stability, safety, and independence for the state of Alabama. ALDHR is a county-based, State administered human services agency with offices in each of Alabama’s 67 counties. The agency has approximately 1,300 SNAP and TANF system users, located in both the State office and in the county offices. The mission of the ALDHR is to partner with communities to promote family stability and provide for the safety and self-sufficiency of vulnerable Alabamians. The State’s vision is to be an organization which is client focused, knowledge driven, result oriented, cooperative and collaborative with all stakeholders, open and effective in communications, and structured to provide quality and timely services.
The purpose of this RFP is to select a contractor to provide quality assurance services for the SNAP/TANF Information System (STIS or Project) for an objective assessment of the quality, completeness, and progress of work and work products. The Quality Assurance (QA) Contractor will be responsible for defining project work tasks and related quality standards that will add value, reduce risk, as well as satisfy the requirements of the Project and agency policies. The QA Contractor will verify that the various project plans, standards, processes, organizational structure, and work tasks fit the Project’s needs by performing quality control reviews. The QA Contractor will also review performance reports, deliverables and mitigate risk throughout the life cycle of the Project.
The QA Contractor shall also be responsible for the planning and execution of the Quality Assurance (QA) Test as well as the User Acceptance Test (UAT) for the System. The QA Contractor shall train State project SMEs and other State resources on their proposed testing methodologies for both of these critical tests. The State plans to utilize State Project SMEs to perform the QA Testing tasks led by the QA Contractor. For the UAT test, the State plans to bring in county workers and supervisors to supplement the testing of the Project SMEs.
The objective of the QA procurement is to secure a qualified contractor to provide independent and objective project oversight and to improve the outcome of this critical information technology project by providing regular and periodic assessments of the Project as it progresses through the system development lifecycle. Since the cost and complexity of correcting information systems problems increases dramatically as the timetable progresses, it is important to identify and eliminate or minimize risks before they become unmanageable and expensive. The State seeks a contractor that is both qualified and has a demonstrated history of working constructively with other agencies and contractors in a large project setting similar to ALDHR.
The overall general goals of the QA Contractor aspects of the project are to ensure that:
- The project is properly organized, planned, and documented
- Project team members and all Contractor staff have clearly defined tasks and responsibilities
- Contract requirements and performance measures are met and deliverables adhere to project standards
- Appropriate change readiness plans are developed, implemented and documented
- Appropriate change control processes are developed, implemented and documented
- Acceptance tests are specific, rigorously administered and documented
- Problems/issues/risks/defects/change requests are recorded, tracked and documented
- Appropriate documentation is maintained on all activities
- State Technical staff and end users receive appropriate training to perform their jobs
- Delivered solutions meet the intended time frames within budget
- All project costs are accurately documented (particularly related to federal funding streams) as required
- Project risks are minimized
The State will provide overall guidance and direction to the Project. The State will maintain ultimate responsibility for the management of the Project and takes ownership and responsibility for its success. The State understands that successful completion of the Project is dependent on the establishment of close and cooperative working relationships among the State, DDI (Design, Development and Implementation) Contractor, and QA Contractor. The QA Contractor will be required to provide the day-to-day management and administrative support for its staff and activities.
Questions and Responses (Round One)
QA RFP Pre-Proposal Conference PowerPoint
