TO: All parties interested in the Legacy Database Migration RFP

DATE: January 12, 2009

RE: Questions and Answers

  1. This is my first time putting in a bid for a contract with the San Francisco County. Is there a documentation that provides guidelines for first time bidders?

The RFP contains all submission information required for bidding. In particular, go to section 9.4 and follow all the instructions for completing and submission of the required forms.

  1. In reference to point “Integrate genetic analyzers (ABI 3100 model / PC-based)”, is this real-time/automatic interface requirement or in batch/manual mode?

Batch/manual mode – files are exported from LIMS and imported to instruments for analysis. Data is then exported from the instruments and imported back to the homegrown LIMS.

  1. Can the existing application be shown to bidders before submission of RFP? Not other than requirements and examples provided in the RFP.
  1. SFPD will provide hardware and development software (Database, .NET etc) for development, testing and production environment. Is this correct assumption?

Yes –we are expecting bidders to provide minimum specifications for the hardware and software but it will be purchased and provided by SFPD.

  1. Is the screen representative or not? If representative, what’s the total number of screens and underlying business logic?

The screen is representative – the files are created by LIMS, exported to the instrument (manually) for analysis and then the data is exported and imported back into LIMS (manually). There are various setup steps and calculations performed within LIMS that are used to setup the instruments for analysis.

  1. Please elaborate more on the following two points:

Instrument interface, Technical review of data

This is related to the user interface, there is currently an Instrument interface which needs to be expanded to another instrument (the user selects which instrument will be used). We are looking to use the current user interface which is an Access Form. Technical review of data refers to a second reviewer and signoff within the LIMS.

  1. I did notice a not-to-exceed cost of $50,000 and an end-date of 9/30/2010 for all the software licensing, training, services, scope and objectives of this RFP.Do I have that hard-cap understood correctly?

Yes, there is a hard-cap at 50K andwe do realize that makes the scope of migration difficult. We will do what we can with the available funding. We have another project in draft stage to implement a forensic management system. This small project is the first step toward the FMS project and we are moving forward due to the time constraint for funding and the stability issue of our access databases.