I. PURPOSE
This directive outlines the FSIS Information Technology (IT) and IT-related procurement process in accordance with policies of the FSIS Office of Administrative Services (OAS), the FSIS Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO), and the FSIS Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO). This process applies to procurement of IT software, services, and equipment. 

II. BACKGROUND

A. FSIS identified the need to evaluate, strengthen, and update the existing processes for all IT and ITrelated purchases to meet the requirements of the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) for acquiring IT goods and services. FSIS conducted an evaluation as a high-level study of the FSIS OCIO, the Office of Management (OM), and OCFO processes surrounding the procurement of IT goods and services over a micro-purchase dollar value ($3,500 for equipment and $2,500 for all services). FSIS established the Information Technology Procurement Process Improvement Team (ITPPIT) to implement FSIS OCFO’s recommendations in accordance with the FITARA. The ITPPIT is composed of members of OM, OCIO, the Office of Policy and Program Development (OPPD), and OCFO.

B. The ITPPIT made key improvements to the system to include the following:

1. Developed an improved process for procuring IT and IT-related goods and services and improved the understanding of customer satisfaction with the end-to-end IT procurement process;

2. Issued an FSIS Notice, guidance, and a toolkit on the integrated IT and IT-related procurement improvements; and

3. Ensured Agency investments, integrated strategic planning, budgeting, procurement, and the management of IT is in support of Agency missions and business needs.

III. IT PROCUREMENT PROCESS TOOLKIT

The latest version of the IT Procurement Process Toolkit can be accessed at IT Procurements on InsideFSIS (level 2 e-authentication is required to access this site). Here, FSIS employees can find interactive web links to various forms, processes, laws, policy, guidance, and templates needed to complete the improved IT and IT-related procurement process. 

IV. GENERAL IT PROCUREMENT PROCESS STEPS

A. Each program area is to consider the following questions when determining its IT and IT-related needs:

1. What outcome is the program trying to achieve or what business problem is it trying to solve with IT?

2. Can this IT need be met by acquiring available resources in FSIS, another USDA agency or the Department, or will the need require obtaining approval for a new IT product?

3. Is the IT need a tangible item (hardware, software), or is it a service (such as software development)?

4. Is this a program area-only IT need, or will other program areas or agencies need or benefit from the requested IT item or service (enterprise need is defined as being used by two or more program areas)?

B. Program areas are to consider the following questions regarding the funding of the IT and IT-related procurements:

1. What is the estimated cost, including initial cost and any associated ongoing costs, and what is the basis for the estimate?

2. Can the program area pay for the needed item or service out of its own funds, or does it need funds from another source, such as through the Enterprise Governance (EG) process?

C. Program areas are to review the IT Procurement Process Toolkit and be aware of the procurement cutoff dates by value and type of item. Program areas are to determine whether the IT procurement need falls under the requirements for category management, including hardware and software. If program areas have an enterprise need, they are to use the EG process to begin the IT procurement process. In addition to important cut-off dates and values, the Toolkit provides valuable information regarding the following types of IT procurement requests and actions:

1. Requests for Change (RFC);

2. Acquisition Approval Requests (AARs) (required by the Agriculture Acquisition Regulation (AGAR) and USDA Procurement Advisory No. 53 A for all IT and IT-related spending of $25,000 and above;

3. Enterprise Architecture requirements;

4. Section 508 compliance;

5. Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) - All development contracts are to structure or schedule payments in accordance with the SDLC Directive 1307.1;

6. Pre-Procurement Approval Customer Guide;

7. Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE);

8. Earned value management; and

9. Major, Non-Major, Standard, or Non-Standard IT investments, or IT-related investments and their funding and reporting requirements.

D. The program area is to consider the following questions to determine its timeline for IT and IT-related procurement:

1. When does the program area need to have the item or service available?

2. Does the timeline include sufficient time to ensure that all involved program areas have time to approve scope, budget, and quality levels?

E. The program area is to determine which procurement method that it needs to use based on the following:

1. The AD-700, Integrated Acquisition System (IAS) entry, or interagency agreement all require an approved RFC number to be included for the exact product and version being procured (RFC approvals are only for specified product models or software versions, and they do not apply to previous or subsequent models or versions).

2. For IAS entries, the approved RFC number (assigned numbers are not acceptable), the approved AAR number (for IT spending over $25,000), and the Major, Non-Major, Standard, or NonStandard IT investment, or IT-related investment that the spending aligns with must be included when the request is entered into IAS (not just before contract award). This is a change due to the implementation of the FITARA.

F. After reviewing this notice and the latest version of the IT Procurement Process Toolkit, program areas are to follow Section V to direct questions to the appropriate offices.

V. QUESTIONS

A. Refer general procurement questions regarding this notice to the OAS Procurement Management Branch (PcMB) at 301-504-4228 or at FSISProcurement@fsis.usda.gov.

B. Refer IT and IT-related procurement questions regarding this directive to the OCIO, Governance and Quality Assurance Division (GQAD), Governance and Information Management Branch (GIMB) at OCIOFeedback@fsis.usda.gov.

C. Refer questions regarding Capital Planning and Investment Control (CPIC) to the OCIO, Program Management Division (PMD), Investment Planning and Control Branch (IPCB) at 202-692-4203 or to OCIOITInvestment@fsis.usda.gov.

D. Refer questions regarding the IT procurement process evaluation to OCFO, Performance, Evaluation and Planning (PEP), Program Evaluation and Improvement Staff (PEIS) at 202-205-0001 or at PEISMailbox@fsis.usda.gov.

E. Refer questions regarding IT cost estimates to OCIO at IT.IGCE@fsis.usda.gov.

F. Refer questions regarding general cost estimates to OCFO, Budget Division (BD), Cost Analysis Branch (CAB) at 202-720-5248 or to Babar.Bilal@fsis.usda.gov.