Questions
1) What does the word STRIPES stand for? (Date
posted – 04/18/07)
2) What is the scope of the STRIPES project? (Date posted –
12/23/04)
3) Will STRIPES be implemented across all of DOE? (Date posted – 04/18/07)
4) Will DOE small business offices be able to review items within STRIPES? (Date
posted – 04/18/07)
5) Will STRIPES be used for M&O contacts? (Date
posted – 04/18/07)
6) What is the overall timeline for STRIPES? Date
posted – 04/18/07)
7) What is the current status of the STRIPES project? (Date
posted – 04/18/07)
8) Who is working on this project? (Date posted – 04/18/07)
9) How can I participate in STRIPES? (Date posted – 07/18/06)
10) What in the system makes FAR and DEAR research easier? And how will it be maintained? (Date posted – 04/18/07)
11) Since STRIPES is data driven; will I still have to complete FPDS-NG fields? (Date posted – 04/18/07)
12) When will we know if the system will include financial assistance functions? (Date posted – 04/18/07)
13) How can I save work when I'm working on a document in STRIPES? (Date posted – 04/18/07)
14) Can a STRIPES user keep paper copies if the contracts close out? (Date posted – 04/18/07)
15) Is there an approval authentication process in STRIPES? (Date posted – 04/18/07)
16) How are contracts going to be uploaded into STRIPES? (Date posted – 04/18/07)
17) Will STRIPES address closed projects? (Date posted – 04/18/07)
18) Is there a back-up if the system goes down? (Date posted – 04/18/07)
19) In STRIPES, do you have to indicate the type of procurement action when you initiate a Purchase Request? (Date posted – 04/18/07)
20) Will STARS & STRIPES integrate? Why will STRIPES need the balance totals? (Date posted – 04/18/07)
21) Can Procurement Action Lead Time (PALT) data be tracked from a global view? (Date posted – 04/18/07)
Answers
1) Question: What does the word STRIPES
stand for?
(Date posted – 04/18/07)
Answer: STRIPES is the acronym for Strategic Integrated Procurement Enterprise System
2) Question: What is the scope of the STRIPES
project?
(Date posted – 12/23/04)
Answer: The Project encompasses those activities required by or directly associated with planning, awarding, and administering various unclassified acquisition and financial assistance instruments. In general, the required activities are comprised of the following functions: acquisition/financial assistance planning; pre-solicitation documentation generation; solicitation development; evaluation and award; administration, including approving payment requests; and instrument closeout. Additional functions that are to be provided, which are directly associated with the planning, awarding, and administering of the instruments, include:
Interfacing with internal and external systems, such as STARS, the iManage Data Warehouse, FedBizOpps, and the Business Partners Network (formerly known as the Integrated Vendor Profile Network and/or Central Contractor Registration (CCR))
- Compliance with DOE security and architecture requirements
- Workload management
- Workflow capabilities
- And appropriate reporting capabilities for both internal and external purposes.
3) Question: Will STRIPES be implemented across all of DOE?
(Date posted – 04/18/07)
Answer: Yes. The STRIPES implementation is Department-wide which includes all contracting activities that support all of the Program Offices.
4) Question: Will DOE small business offices be able to review items within STRIPES?
(Date posted – 04/18/07)
Answer: Yes. Small business representatives will be able to access documents, data, and reports within STRIPES.
5) Question: Will STRIPES be used for M&O contacts?
(Date posted – 04/18/07)
Answer: Yes. STRIPES will be used for M&O contracts. STRIPES will
be used for planning, generating, evaluating and administering all types
of acquisition contracts including interagency agreements, blanket purchase
agreements, purchase orders, task orders, etc. However, this system will
not be used for classified contracts.
6) Question: What is the overall timeline for STRIPES?
(Date posted – 04/18/07)
Answer: The software is currently undergoing configuration to meet DOE requirements. The Configuration Phase will last until July 2007. STRIPES user acceptance testing will begin in July and continue through December, 2007. STRIPES will begin its deployment phase in January 2008.
7) Question: What is the current status of the STRIPES project?
(Date posted – 04/18/07)
Answer: The STRIPES program was re-launched in March 2006 and is on schedule to go live in January 2008. The project is currently in the Configuration Phase, during which the selected software, Compusearch’s PRISM, will be configured based on the business rules and processes used at DOE. The Configuration Phase will be completed in July 2007.
8) Question: Who is working on this project?
(Date posted – 04/18/07)
Answer: The STRIPES Federal Project Manager is Douglas Baptist who is assigned to the Office of Procurement and Assistance Management at Headquarters. Other team leaders and team members represent contracting activities throughout the Department. Please see the ’Organizational Chart’ page of this website for a complete listing of the STRIPES Project Management Team Leaders.
9) Question: How can I participate in STRIPES? (Date posted – 07/18/06)
(Date posted – 04/18/07)
Answer: Work with your local office Procurement Director or STRIPES Project Member (see Organizational Chart) to learn more about opportunities for your office to contribute to the STRIPES project initiative. You can also send an e-mail to STRIPES@hq.doe.gov with the word “Subscribe” in the subject line, to be added to the STRIPES mailing list and receive the latest project updates, or “Participate” to identify yourself for consideration as a Subject Matter Expert (SME). SMEs are asked to include a short description of your area of expertise.
10) Question: What in the system makes FAR and DEAR research easier? And how will it be maintained?
(Date posted – 04/18/07)
Answer: Both the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and the Department of Energy Acquisition Regulation (DEAR) are available in the STRIPES software. As a result, it will be easy for contracting professionals to conduct FAR and DEAR research within STRIPES through live links and search functions. STRIPES maintains the accuracy of clauses through monthly updates.
11) Question: Since STRIPES is data driven; will I still have to complete FPDS-NG fields?
(Date posted – 04/18/07)
Answer: One of the key benefits of STRIPES is improved accuracy of data within the system and to reporting systems. When information is entered in a specific field, STRIPES will grab that data and display that same data wherever that field appears within STRIPES. Once data is entered in STRIPES, the relevant data that STRIPES retains will also be shared in FPDS-NG when a document is approved and generated. STRIPES will feed relevant data to FPDS-NG; however, there are some additional fields that are not captured in STRIPES, such as the National Interest Action field, which will still need to be completed in FPDS-NG.
12) Question: When will we know if the system will include financial assistance functions?
(Date posted – 04/18/07)
Answer: To date, STRIPES is approved for the use of acquisition activities only. The STRIPES software has the capacity and functionality to support Financial Assistance; however, under OMB’s direction for the Grants Management Line of Business (GMLoB), Federal Agencies must gain approval from OMB before expending funds on a grant writing or grant generating system that is not one of the designated GMLoB providers. DOE has met with various Agencies to explore potential collaborations and, after many exploratory meetings with other Agencies, DOE recognized that the implementation of the STRIPES Financial Assistance software would be the most efficient manner to meet the wide range of DOE’s activities. As such, DOE has formally requested OMB to allow DOE to utilize the COTS solution for Financial Assistance (in addition to acquisition). The STRIPES project team will keep you informed on OMB’s final decision.
13) Question: How can I save work when I'm working on a document in STRIPES?
(Date posted – 04/18/07)
Answer: Every time a user moves from one screen to the next, STRIPES will save all of the entered data. The saved data is stored on the DOE server, so if a user leaves a document in the middle of preparation and returns to it later, the data previously entered will be available.
14) Question: Can a STRIPES user keep paper copies if the contracts close out?
(Date posted – 04/18/07)
Answer: We recommend that users digitize paper copies and then upload into the system. This will help to centralize the location of acquisition documents across the Agency. When a contract is closed in STRIPES it is archived and is not deleted.
15) Question: Is there a separate approval authentication process in STRIPES?
(Date posted – 04/18/07)
Answer: Yes. A user password is required for the initial log-in. For system security purposes, an “approval password” is also required whenever a document is approved for release to the vendor community. Entering an approval password helps validate that only the authorized person is approving or releasing the document.
16) Question: How are contracts going to be uploaded into STRIPES?
(Date posted – 04/18/07)
Answer: At this time, STRIPES will be populated with new contracts and new procurement actions. The project team is determining a transition plan and methodology for open and existing contracts.
17) Question: Will STRIPES address closed projects?
(Date posted – 04/18/07)
Answer: Actions already closed prior to STRIPES implementation will not be processed in the system. Actions completed and closed within STRIPES will be remain accessible within the system, in read only mode.
18) Question: Is there a back-up if the system goes down?
(Date posted – 04/18/07)
Answer: Yes. STRIPES has been engineered to provide automatic back-up of all system data to ensure that it can be recovered in the event of a system failure.
19) Question: In STRIPES, do you have to indicate the contract type when you initiate a Purchase Request?
(Date posted – 04/18/07)
Answer: No. STRIPES has the flexibility to establish the type of contract after a PR has been initiated.
20) Question: Will STARS & STRIPES integrate?
(Date posted – 04/18/07)
Answer: Yes. STARS & STRIPES will integrate. More specific information regarding the interaction between STARS and STRIPES is available from the STRIPES Integration Team led by Paul Coombs.
21) Question: Can Procurement Action Lead Time (PALT) data be tracked from a global view?
(Date posted – 04/18/07)
Answer: PALT can be reviewed through STRIPES standard reports. Also, a user can track PALT when they set up a milestone plan in STRIPES.
