IRS Service-Wide Online Survey and Digital Website Feedback Platform

Questions & Answers / Clarifications

This document provides responses to vendor questions regarding the IRS's requirements for a reporting and dashboard solution.

• Role-Based Reporting: IRS requires the ability to create dashboards that can be distributed to stakeholders via email and included in reports, supporting multiple levels of users. However, they do not require automatic syncing to organizational hierarchy for role-based reporting.
• Real-Time Access: IRS expects 24/7 access to data and scheduled updates to existing dashboards, without manual intervention from a support team. Mobile application access for real-time reporting is not required at this time.
• Data Analytics: The solution should have built-in analytical capabilities for dashboards, but only to produce static results. Advanced data analytics modules beyond dashboard features are not expected to require additional support.
• Survey Instruments: IRS does not require native survey instruments as part of the platform; minor configuration is preferred over developing new survey instruments.
• Feedback Aggregation: While IRS is interested in aggregating feedback data, their primary interest is in gathering feedback from OMB- and PGLD-approved digital intercept customer satisfaction surveys.
• Alerting Capabilities: IRS does not require real-time, configurable, role-specific alerting capabilities for out-of-compliance locations.

These clarifications refine the IRS's expectations regarding real-time access, mobile capabilities, survey integration, and alerting, which may impact how vendors structure their proposals and solutions.

Questions & Answers / Clarifications

This document provides responses to vendor questions regarding the "Employee experience survey platform" solicitation, clarifying submission instructions and details about optional capabilities.

• Submission Instructions: Vendors should follow instructions in the applicable notice or solicitation (SAM.gov or NASA SEWP). SAM.gov vendors should submit via RFI instructions, and NASA SEWP contract holders via NASA SEWP Response procedures. Duplicate responses are not explicitly required.
• IVR Integration: The requirement is for an integration to transfer and ingest IVR data, not a complete turnkey IVR solution.
• Survey Volume: For the employee experience survey platform (75,000 employees), the Government anticipates 20,000 to 75,000 total surveys annually.
• Website Feedback Platform: Page view estimates are 350 million as the base requirement, with additional estimates requested for 500 million and 750 million page views.
• IVR Data Ingestion Volume: The 50,000 responses for IVR data ingestion are per year.
• User Experience Testing: Approximately five (5) moderated sessions and five (5) unmoderated tests are anticipated for the optional user experience testing capability.

These clarifications provide specific details on submission methods, the scope of optional capabilities (IVR integration, user experience testing), and estimated volumes for surveys and page views, which will help vendors prepare more accurate proposals and pricing.

Statement of Work (SOW) / Performance Work Statement (PWS)

To provide the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) with an externally hosted, Software as a Service (SaaS) web survey research tool that enables the creation, administration, analysis, and reporting of complex online surveys for taxpayers, employees, and stakeholders. The tool is critical for supporting IRS programs, processes, services, customer experience, and regulatory reporting requirements.

• Core Functionality: Provide a SaaS web survey tool for designing, administering, analyzing, collecting, reporting on, and downloading data from complex web-based research surveys.

• Website Feedback Platform: Include a digital website feedback platform for brief interactive digital (pop-up) surveys to gather qualitative and quantitative feedback on user online experience.

• Security: The hosted solution must reside in a FedRAMP-authorized cloud environment at the High FedRAMP level, accessible via SSL/HTTPS, and maintained separately from other customers.

• User Access: Authorized IRS users will have direct access to create, deploy surveys, collect responses, and access raw data and summary reports.

• Branding: Provide privately branded URLs or a dedicated server and dedicated IP address for platform-generated emails.

• Support: Offer customer support, help, and how-to documentation accessible internally, along with administrator capabilities for user management and privacy settings.

• Availability: SaaS platform available 24/7, except for scheduled maintenance.

• Support: Acknowledge support requests within 1 business day; communicate scheduled outages at least 72 hours in advance; notify of emergency issues within 1 hour.

• Training: Provide introductory training and all training materials within 10 business days of license start; offer 24/7 online help materials.

• Deliverables: Provide a secure SaaS platform, responsive customer support, initial training, required survey functionality, secure data storage and deletion, and accessibility artifacts (VPAT or accessibility statement).

• Period: Not explicitly stated, but implies ongoing service.

• Place of Performance: Secured hosting services, training, and customer support provided at the contractor's place of business or managed cloud environment. IRS users access the platform externally.

• FedRAMP Authorization: Must be at the High FedRAMP level.

• Section 508 Conformance: Requires a current VPAT or accessibility statement.

• Data Ownership: All surveys and related data are property of the federal Government.

• No Government Furnished Property (GFP).

• Additional SaaS licenses.

• Higher response tiers for SaaS subscriptions.

• Expanded digital website feedback platform capacity (up to 750 million page views).

• Employee experience survey platform.

• User experience testing features.

• IVR integration for survey data ingestion.