REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) INTERACTIVE VOICE … · 2017. 10. 31. · developed software application by Logic Tree Inc. that interfaces with WMATA’s back‐end trip planner system

Page 1 of 23

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA)

RFI # IVR_20170927

WASHINGTON

METROPOLITAN

AREA TRANSIT

AUTHORITY

(WMATA)

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

INTERACTIVE VOICE REPONSE (IVR)

DUE DATE: DECEMBER 13, 2017 AT 2:00 P.M. EST

Page 2 of 23


1.0 Project Introduction

This document is a Request for Information (RFI) regarding vendor capabilities in several aspects of an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system for WMATA. WMATA is seeking solutions and budgetary estimates for its Enterprise‐wide IVR needs. WMATA’s primary objectives in pursuing this outsourcing is to capitalize on vendor's experience in designing, implementing, and supporting the IVR system.

The purpose of this RFI is to solicit information that will enable WMATA to determine industry participation in response to the release of a possible future Request for Proposal (RFP).

This is a Request for Information only and your response is not an offer. This Request for Information

does not commit WMATA to any incurred costs in preparation of any submission to this notice, or to

contract for services and it is issued for WMATA Market Research purposes only

2.0 Instructions to Vendors This is a Request for Information (RFI). No cost(s) associated with your response shall be charged to WMATA for any reason. This document shall not be construed as a request or authorization to perform work at WMATA’s expense. Any work performed by a vendor will be at the vendor's own discretion and expense. This RFI does not represent a commitment to purchase or obligates WMATA in any manner. Submission of a response constitutes an acknowledgement that the vendor has read and agrees to be bound by such terms.

WMATA intends to submit a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) for the services described in this document prior to the end of April 2018. There is no guarantee that WMATA will publish an RFP. If an RFP is published, it will occur in the time frame described in this RFI. If published, the RFP will be sent to vendors that demonstrate adequate capabilities in response to this RFI. The information contained in this RFI is provided based upon the information gathered and/or known at this time. There are no guarantees as to the accuracy of this information. 2.1 Point of Contact All communication with WMATA must be directed to the single Point of Contact for this project, as follows:

Charmyne Reid, Contract Administrator WMATA ‐ Room 3C 600 5th Street, NW

Washington DC 20001 [email protected]

2.2 Submission of Responses

I. A response must be received at the above address by December 13, 2017 by 2:00 p.m. EST. The response shall include the RFI number and the POC name on the front of the package. Extensions to this date cannot be granted.

Page 3 of 23


II. Use the following appendices for responding to this RFI:

1) APPENDIX A: Template for Company Information. 2) APPENDIX B: Template for Budgetary Estimate 3) APPENDIX C: Template for RFI Responses

All requests for information in all sections of this document must be answered as concisely as possible while providing all information necessary to understand the outsourcing process proposed. Any deviations from requirements, or requirements that cannot be satisfied by the vendor, must be clearly identified.

III. Responses must include a statement that indicates that the vendor understands the requirements of the RFI and accepts the terms and conditions under which the RFI was issued to the vendor. The original response must be signed under the corporate seal by an authorized officer. The original and all copies, including all supplementary literature, must be forwarded to the point of contact identified in Section 3.1 of this RFI.

IV. Any information of a confidential or proprietary nature contained in a vendor response should be clearly marked ‘PROPRIETARY’ or ‘CONFIDENTIAL’ by item or at the top of each page. Reasonable precautions will be taken to safeguard any part of the response identified by a vendor as being confidential or proprietary.

V. All responses, once delivered, become the property of WMATA.

2.3 Response Format To facilitate a timely and comprehensive evaluation of all submitted responses, responses must be submitted using the format requested in this RFI. Any deviation from this format may lead to the rejection of the response. Vendors should limit the answers to the following questions to twenty (20) pages. A limited amount of supplemental materials may be provided, but for the purposes of this RFI, less is more.

Vendor responses MUST provide the following information, in the requested sequence:

A. Based on the information provided, would your firm bid on an RFP for all listed services?

Answer the following if the answer to question A is ‘yes’. (See appendices for templates to use in submitting your RFI responses)

B. Provide the name, title, address, telephone and e‐mail for the primary contact for receiving an RFP.

C. Provide a high‐level description of your client base for similar services.

Number of customers

Geographical distribution of customers

Page 4 of 23


Potential for conflict of interest in customer base

D. Client references

One Current client of similar services

Two former clients of similar

Page 5 of 23


Rights and Obligations of WMATA

Reservation of Rights WMATA reserves to itself all rights (which rights shall be exercisable by WMATA in its sole discretion)

available to it under applicable law, including without limitation, the following, with or without cause

and with or without notice:

The right to cancel, withdraws postpone or extend the RFI in whole or in part at any time, without

incurring any obligations or liabilities;

The right to issue a new RFI;

The right to reject any submittals and responses received at any time;

The right to modify all dates set or projected in this RFI;

The right to terminate evaluations of responses received at any time;

The right to suspend and terminate this RFI, at any time;

The right to waive or permit corrections to data submitted with any response to this RFI:

The right to issue addenda, supplements, and modifications to this RFI;

The right to permit submittal of addenda and supplements to data previously provided with

any response to this RFI;

The right to hold meetings and conduct discussions and correspondence with one or more of

the Respondents responding to this RFI to seek an improved understanding of the responses to

the RFI.

Page 6 of 23


WMATA – Request for Information (RFI)

Page 7 of 23


Request for Information (RFI): Interactive Voice Response (IVR) System for WMATA

1 Purpose

The purpose of this RFI is to conduct market research on an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). The system will be used by various WMATA departments for fielding and responding to customer requests (using touchtone phone, SMS, email, voice recognition, or other available technologies) for information and services associated with a public transit system, such as train and bus schedules, account, and fare information. Additionally, the system should have the ability to adapt quickly to a changing business environment and call types, and be scalable to implement new functionality to future call types and services.

2 Background

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA or Metro) is the transit provider for the

National Capital Region, providing safe, clean and reliable service to both residents and visitors. Our

customers include more than a third of the federal government workforce and millions of tourists who

visit the Nation’s Capital every year. Metro operates the second largest heavy rail transit system, sixth

largest bus network and fifth largest para‐transit service in the United States.

2.1 WMATA Office of Customer Service (CSVC) Current IVR System

CSVC is WMATA’s point of contact for its customers. It serves the public with the WMATA regional Call

Center that is accessible 7 days a week to help customers with general information, trip planning, train

and bus schedules. The office provides for customer self‐service with a telephone‐based interactive

system as well as web submissions via www.wmata.com. Other services provided by the office includes

Customer Relations, Lost & Found, and Customer Resolution for addressing complaints, commendations

and suggestions.

CSVC’s current IVR was developed and implemented by Logic Tree Inc. for WMATA in 2002. It processes

approximately 2.2 million calls/connections per year. The WMATA IVR is a specially designed and

developed software application by Logic Tree Inc. that interfaces with WMATA’s back‐end trip planner

system Trapeze to provide voice recognition itinerary planning in both English & Spanish, as well as real‐

time interfaces to bus and train automated vehicle locator systems. The IVR system applications allow

customers to interface by telephone with static and dynamic messages about fares, parking, SmarTrip as

well as real‐time next bus/train arrival information.

Page 8 of 23


The current IVR applications have been critical in enabling CSVC to handle the current call volume while

staffing levels have decreased. The system applications are available to customers 24 hours a day, 7 days

a week and have allowed the Call Center to provide needed customer services and information while

consistently handling over 50% of the total call volume in an automated fashion.

The following lists the current IVR system modules:

Main Menu: Provides call steering functionality to different departments, transfer destinations

and other modules within the IVR

Real‐Time Next Bus Arrival: Provides real‐time arrival information for the next three buses for a

particular stop

Real‐Time Next Train Arrival: Provides real‐time arrival information for the next three trains for a

particular station

Scheduled Next Bus Arrival: Provides future and scheduled arrival information where either real‐

time information is unavailable or caller wants future times

Transit Trip Planner: Provides point‐to‐point directions using public transportation (bus & rail). It

also recognizes over 1M distinct grammars for WMATA and regional partners

Spanish voice recognition modules for Trip Planner and Scheduled Next‐Bus.

Similarly, several internal WMATA groups use call tree to simulate IVR functionality. These systems

provide FAQ, Broadcast messages, call steering functionality to different departments, and transfer

destinations.

3 Scope of Work

The following sections describe the functional and technical considerations that WMATA seeks for in a

new IVR system. They are presented as high‐level business needs and as questions or statements for

soliciting information.

3.1 Functionality

1 The system shall support about 2 to 5 million calls a year.

2 The system shall be used for answering a high volume of general information questions, trip planning, fares, etc.

3 The system shall be used for providing first line response to customer feedback, suggestions, complaints, and commendations, including escalating those not resolved to appropriate department/office.

4 The system shall provide for customer self‐service capability to resolve their own requests.

5 The system shall provide trip planning guidance through Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) XML interface module.

6 The system shall provide real‐time vehicle arrivals through XML interface module.

Page 9 of 23


7 The system shall provide answers to FAQs for the customer.

8 The system shall provide voice recognition capabilities in both English and Spanish

9 The system shall interact with customers in a way that mimics natural conversation.

10 The system must leverage the existing Nuance WMATA voice recognition database.

11 What other languages can the system support? What components are required to implement multiple languages?

12 The system shall should have support for languages in addition to English and Spanish.

13 The system shall be capable of overcoming ambient noise. A large number of calls are made from noisy locations.

14 The system shall be capable of supporting new functionalities in the future (flexibility).

15 What new functionalities can the system provide in the future that may be useful to a transit agency, such as WMATA?

16 The system shall be scalable to accommodate increased call volume. What scalability factors should WMATA consider for evaluating an IVR system?

17 The system shall be voice enabled.

18 The system shall support natural language (speech recognition) in both Spanish and English

19 The system shall provide for touch tone alternative for customer interaction.

20 The system shall provide a user interface for user configuration and messaging via the WEB

21 The system shall provide for ad hoc emergency prompt recording

22 The system shall correctly parse and interpret different presentations of the same meaning—for example “2100” and “two one zero zero”. How does the system parse and process speech inputs?

23 The system shall account for dialects and accents in its support of natural language (speech recognition). How does the system handle dialects and accents that may vary by customer?

24 The system shall support automated call distribution (ACD)—routing incoming calls to the most appropriate agents. Does the product offer any unique integration capabilities with ACD other than simply passing a call that needs to be routed to an agent?

25

The system shall be accessible by customer with a wide range of disabilities. It should meet the following standards: ADA 1990, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Section 508, and Communications Act of 1934, Sections 255 and 251 (a)(2), as amended by the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Describe your experience in offering technical solutions to ADA customers.

26 The system shall have the capability to send SMS and MMS text messages.

27 The system shall support text‐to‐speech.

28 The system shall provide the ability to set up floodgate messaging and canned bulletins,

29 The system shall provide the capability to let the caller know what is happening—for example “I am trying to find the next most appropriate person to handle your request”.

30 The system shall provide courteous, smooth error handling.

31 The system shall provide for a system flow in which the voice prompts promote meeting customer request on the system over communication with a live representative.

Page 10 of 23


32 The system shall provide key‐ahead of touch‐tone inputs such that experienced users do not have to wait for voice messages or prompts to complete prior to making a touch‐tone selection.

33 The system shall provide for the capability of the customer to request transfer to a representative at any time during a call.

34 The system shall provide for the capability for the customer to opt for the message to be repeated.

35 The system shall provide for the capability for the customer to opt for returning to the main menu or the start of a menu group.

36 The system shall provide administrative functions to manage required functionality.

37 The system shall be capable of 99% uptime over 24x7x365.

38 The system shall support vocabulary text creation, recording, sound editing, and storage in a manner that is fully integrated with menu development.

39 The system shall provide bus transit information, such as trip plan, journey, and itinerary information. How??

40 What is the accuracy percentage for the speech recognition functionality?

41 Does system use a voice artist for prompt recording?

42 What is the standard turnaround time for updating prompts?

43 The system shall allow WMATA to create and publish messages throughout the menu in an ad hoc manner

44 Provide examples of percentages of calls resolved in other similar environments without any human intervention.

45

Is your software proprietary or an open system? And if it is proprietary, what is the process for requesting enhancements or the ability to customize a requirement? How does this impact future upgrades and what are the skill‐sets required by in‐house staff if the customizations are done onsite?

46 Describe the tools and methods of maintaining vocabulary of the IVR system

47 Explain what menu functions are adjustable or configurable, explain how the adjustments to the menu functions are made. Does the system provide acknowledgement, confirmations or warnings, when adjustments to menu functions are made?

48 Does the system support a combination of voice, fax, e‐mail, Web request, and text messaging through a single platform?

49 What are the newest features and benefits available in your latest IVR offering?

50 What is the expected lifecycle of the IVR product?

51 Provide examples of your IVR integration with Real Time information systems

Page 11 of 23


3.2 Integration

52 Slow performance caused by audio delay can frustrate and confuse callers. How does the IVR solution minimize audio latency? For example, does it incorporate features like intelligent caching of audio files and audio streaming rather than audio playback?

53 Explain how the IVR system prevents callers from being hung in a “loop” (unable to escape from a routine).

54 Describe how the system handles call transfer routines during normal business hours and outside of normal business hours.

55 Explain how your proposed system ensures that callers are transferred to the correct person/department.

56 Does your proposed system have limits to the number of prompts that can exist within the system? If so, how many? Are there limits to the number of menu items and/or menu inputs?

57 How does the IVR system support call queuing? What kind of options, reports and capabilities does the system offer to ensure that call queuing is efficiently handled?

58 What kind of capabilities does the IVR offer for emergency management? For example, does the system offer emergency voice broadcasting, employee call‐off hotline, or other capabilities for managing an emergency?

59 What kind of natural language, self‐learning, AI capabilities (Like Apple’s Siri or Amazon’s Alexa) does the system offer?

60 What kind of geo‐location technology does the system offer for determining and reporting on the location of callers? Does the system offer the capability to track calls from the same number for better customer response experience?

61 Does the system offer technology and capabilities to interact with social media? If so, how?

1 The system shall be integrated with WMATA telephone system with its own trunk group.

2 Will you be able to demonstrate how the IVR system can be integrated with WMATA’s telephony system? If so, what is your approach and what resources do you require?

3 Explain how the IVR system supports analog, digital, and/or VoIP integration and SIP for inbound and outbound calls.

4 What VoIP protocols are supported by the IVR solution? What is the recommended approach for integration with a VoIP‐based telephony system?

5 Describe the level of your VoIP integration experience. How many VoIP integrations have you performed?

6 The system shall integrate with Trapeze for bus transit information and services.

7 The system shall integrate with WMATA train management systems for transit information and services.

8 The system shall integrate with the WMATA fare collection system for customer account information and services.

9 Is the system a hosted solution or an on‐site system or a hybrid? Describe the architecture of the solution.

Page 12 of 23


3.3 System Administration

10 If on‐site resources are necessary, identify the hardware and software requirements for implementing the solution. Include architectural diagrams which describe graphically (logically and physical) hardware system and software layers and architecture.

11 Can the system be deployed using VM servers?

12 Describe the proposed system’s expansion capability, including both hardware expansion as well as new interfaces/applications/product features.

13 Explain how the IVR system supports analog, digital, and/or VoIP integration for inbound and outbound calls.

14 Provide information on the recommended number of phone lines/simultaneous callers the IVR system can support, based on our call center’s call volume.

15 Does the IVR system support VoiceXML for potential integration with WMATA’s service infrastructure.

16 What system interface protocols/options does the IVR system provide to integrate with WMATA systems for various purposes, such as transit schedule, customer account information, etc.?

1 What administration functions are available 24 hours per day, excluding certain maintenance hours?

2 The system shall be accessible for administration functions via networked PC. What other networked devices can be used for performing administrative functions on the system?

3

The system shall provide both ongoing regular displays of system activity, and specialized tracing. What tools and features are available for monitoring, such as menu marking, system diagnostics, detailed trace file generation and other tools useful in monitoring system operation and menu development/analysis?

4 Explain the approach and procedures for backup and disaster recovery.

5 Provide technical skillsets that are required for administering the IVR system.

6 Submit sample screen shots and a high level diagram of major menu options and tools provided for administering the IVR.

7 Describe the administrative environment at a high level, e.g. web‐based, client server, etc., including any remote access capabilities.

8 Describe in detail the utilities available for system administration functionality.

9 Describe how administrative access is controlled.

10 What export capabilities does the system provide? Of what?

11 Does the system provide any proactive monitoring tools to anticipate and communicate system failures?

12 Describe the procedure for installing new software releases into a production environment.

13 Describe ongoing maintenance routine responsibilities, including any telephony related services.

14 Will any routine maintenance require the IVR system to be out of service? If so, please describe.

Page 13 of 23


3.4 Reporting

3.5 Security

3.6 Implementation

15 Explain how the maintenance agreement and warranty periods are administered.

16 Explain how the IVR system allows application changes while in use.

17 What type of user‐interface (command line, GUI‐based, etc.) options does the system provide?

1

The system shall generate statistical data for reporting to management for the purpose of evaluating IVR System usage, call response times, call queuing, call transfer requests, and specific function, route or directional requests within the system with ability to display data in formats such as graphs, charts, %'s.

2 The system shall provide for the capability to automate the generation of user‐specified reports at scheduled times.

3 The system shall provide the capability for user to create customized reports—such as the capability to customize utilization reports and present data in various formats including percent, graphs, and charts.

4 Describe the reporting functionality available from the system with particular focus on dashboards, standard reports, and the ability to create ad hoc customized reports.

5 What process exists to add additional reports?

6 Are there limits to the quantity of reports that can be run?

1 The system shall provide appropriate security to manage access to the schedule and voice data repository and management interface.

2 What are the security features available to protect customer and business critical information?

3

Provide information on how privacy of WMATA is ensured for hosted solutions from the workstation to the server and the database? Is the database encrypted, if so please describe the encryption method? Please describe how WMATA data privacy is maintained in flight from the user workstation to/from your application infrastructure and between the application infrastructure components.

4 Describe how administrative access is controlled.

5 Describe how database passwords are set up, maintained and changed.

1 Explain project methodology used to implement large scale complex IVR solutions.

2 Provide an overview of your proposed system’s standard implementation methodology including timeline

Page 14 of 23


3.7 Financial

3.8 Additional Information

Include any information that will be helpful to WMATA in the successful implementation of an IVR

system, such as best practices, road maps, changes and/or enhancements in the state of the art, and

related information.

4. Deliverables The following lists the proposed deliverables for this potential procurement (be sure to include

estimates of these deliverables in the budgetary estimate):

Vendor shall deliver for WMATA review and approval a system architectural design document to support WMATA’s IVR requirements.

Vendor shall provide budgetary pricing for proposed solution.

3 A subset of existing Customer data must be ported over to the new solution. What technique will be used to transform and map the data to the new platform?

4 What is the standard implementation timeframe?

5 Provide definitions for levels of post implementation support and the general price for each level.

6 Will vendor demo or pilot IVR solution to determine its fitness for WMATA? If so, what resources are needed from WMATA?

7 Will vendor provide system design and integration with complete system design documentation? Provide details about the documentation that will be provided.

8 What is the recommend testing approach, including consideration of demonstration pilot?

9 What are training options for the implemented solution?

10 Provide list the total number of customers using your solution. Are any of them in the Transit industry?

11 What support is available for vendor after system has been implemented?

12 What is the recommended strategy and approach for migrating from WMATA’s current IVR system to the new implementation?

1

If hosted solution, provide a general cost of yearly subscription or licensing not including any enhanced support. For a solution that is not hosted please provide general annual maintenance costs and licenses cost/structure (per user or site). What are the pros/cons and associated costs for hosted vs on‐premise solution?

2 What would be a general cost of initial implementation for an organization with approximately 2 million telephone calls per year for two languages?

3 How the annual licensing is structured? Per call, per port, per IVR attendant?

4 Provide warranty information. What is the warranty period?

5 What is the "extended warranty" (i.e. Maintenance) to cover past initial 1‐2 years coverage?

Page 15 of 23


Vendor shall provide for WMATA review and approval a detailed system test and acceptance plan.

Vendor shall provide soft copy user, product overview, and system administration documentation of all proposed system software and hardware.

Vendor shall provide a project manager single point of contact. (WMATA shall provide a single point of contact for the project.)

Vendor shall provide budgetary pricing for user and system administration training.

Page 16 of 23


APPENDIX A: Template for Company Information

Please use the template to provide information about your company:

1 Company Name

2 Company Address

3 Company Website

4 Main Products and Services

5

Description of products and services that are already delivered to customers today, and could be comparable to what is requested in this RFI

6 POC for this RFI (Name, Email, Phone)

7 Number of Customers

8 Geographical Distribution of Customers

9 Potential for Conflict of Interest in Customer Base

References

Reference 1 (Current Customer)

POC (Name, Email, Phone)

Company/Agency

Description of Products & Services Provided

Reference 2 (Former Customer)


Company/Agency


Reference 3 (Former Customer)


Company/Agency


Page 17 of 23


APPENDIX B: Template for Budgetary Costs

Please use the template to provide estimated one‐time and annual budgetary cost information about your products and services. (Please list as many items as you believe that is needed for a comprehensive solution. Be sure to also include the list of potential procurement deliverables requested in Section 4 above.)

One‐Time Budgetary Estimate

Item Description Est. Cost

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Total

Annual Budgetary Estimate

Item Description Est. Cost

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Total

Page 18 of 23


APPENDIX C: Template for RFI Responses

Please use the template to provide your responses to the questions and statements documented in RFI section 3 Scope of Work. (The vendor need not feel compel to respond to every requirement/statement in the SOW.). Please feel free to provide additional comments that be will be helpful to WMATA.

Item Vendor Responses to RFI Section 3.1 Functionality

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

Page 19 of 23


24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

50

51

Page 20 of 23


52

53

54

55

56

57

58

59

60

61

Additional Information:

Item Vendor Responses to RFI Section 3.2 Integration

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

Additional Information

Page 21 of 23


Item Vendor Responses to RFI Section 3.3 System Administration

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17


Item Vendor Responses to RFI Section 3.4 System Administration

1

2

3

4

5

6


Item Vendor Responses to RFI Section 3.5 Security

1

Page 22 of 23


2

3

4

5


Item Vendor Responses to RFI Section 3.6 Implementation

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12


Item Vendor Responses to RFI Section 3.7 Financial

1

2

3

4

5


Page 23 of 23


Vendor Responses to RFI Section 3.8 Additional Information

Include any information that will be helpful to WMATA in the successful implantation of an IVR system, such as best practices, road maps, changes in the state of the art, and related information.

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) INTERACTIVE VOICE … · 2017. 10. 31. · developed software application by Logic Tree Inc. that interfaces with WMATA’s back‐end trip planner system

Documents