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FDP Expanded Clearinghouse – Phase 2 Proposal. V.7 Page 1
FUNCTIONAL and TECHNICAL
REQUIREMENTS
DOCUMENT
FDP Expanded Clearinghouse Pilot
Phase 2 – Web-based System
DEVELOPMENT & IMPLEMENTATION COLLABORATION
BETWEEN:
The Federal Demonstration Partnership (FDP)
Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC)
University of Washington (UW)
FDP Expanded Clearinghouse Pilot Entities
DRAFT 6.8.
Developed by:
Neal Hunt Contract Manager, VUMC Chris Renner Senior Application Developer, VUMC Bryce Embry Application Developer, VUMC Mark Sweet Co-Chair, FDP ERA Committee and member, FDP Executive Committee David Wright FDP Executive Director and member, FDP Executive Committee Jason Myers Associate Director, IT Operations UW Office of Research Information Services, U of Washington Lynette Arias Co-Chair, FDP Expanded Clearinghouse Working Group Jennifer Barron Co-Chair, FDP Expanded Clearinghouse Working Group Pamela Webb Co-Chair, FDP Expanded Clearinghouse Working Group
Robert Prentiss FDP Expanded Clearinghouse Working Group / UT Austin Jennifer Rodis FDP Expanded Clearinghouse Working Group / University of Wisconsin
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.4 Acronyms and/or Definitions
API Application Programming Interface, a set of protocols or standards for communicating with web-based applications
Community FDP member institutions
CSS3 Cascading Style Sheets; language used to describe the presentation of a document written in markup language, e.g., HTML
Composer package manager Tool for PHP development
ECWG FDP Expanded Clearinghouse Working Group
EC-SDWG FDP Expanded Clearinghouse System Development Working Group
Entity An FDP member institution or organization participating in the pilot, identified by DUNS number
FAC Federal Audit Clearinghouse, a public database of single audit results maintained by the Office of Management and Budget
Git version control Free and open-source version control system
HTML 5 HyperText Markup Language; the fifth and current version of the HTML standard
InCommon Federation A consortium providing a service enabling users to use single sign-on (their institutional/organization account) to access on-line resources that take part in the federation
ISP Internet Service Provider
JavaScript Programming language used extensively in website development
jQuery for Javascript Javascript library
JSON format Data-interchange format
MySQL Open-source database management system
PHP General-purpose scripting language especially suited to web development
PHP Symfony PHP framework to create websites and web applications
RESTful API An API that uses a standard set of HTTP requests
SAM System for Award Management, searchable online database of entities and their eligibility to receive federal funds
1.5 Points of Contact
1.5.1 Information & Coordination
Points of Contact relevant to this project are listed on the first page of this proposal. Once the project has received Executive Committee approval, this document will serve as a formal MOU detailing the agreed upon responsibilities and requirements. A representative from each organization will be asked to sign the document documenting their organization’s acceptance of its roles and responsibilities.
1.5.2 Roles and Responsibilities
VUMC VUMC will serve as the lead developer for this Phase as well as be the lead on ongoing maintenance and
support until such time as any of the parties and/or the FDP Executive Committee wish to transfer duties to another party
EC-SDWG The system development working group will support VUMC in the development and maintenance of this
system and provide review, feedback and approval during all stages of development.
ECWG This working group will be responsible for the administrative oversight and operations of the Clearinghouse
system as detailed in the next section.
UW UW will serve as part of the system development group and provide back-up development and technical
support should it be needed.
FDP The FDP will serve as the ultimate oversight, in the form of the FDP Executive Committee to ensure
appropriate review, support and approval is provided throughout Phase 2.
Pilot Entities - Requirements of FDP Member Institution Subscribers
FDP Members who subscribe to the system will sign a business use agreement committing to the following:
- Subscribers will prepare, submit and certify their initial profile within 60 days of their logon ID being created (the subscriber’s profile will not be publically viewable until this step is complete)
- Subscribers agree to have internal processes in place to ensure their profile data are maintained and kept current, as follows; o Must be updated within 5 business days after a change in status: Suspension and Debarment status o Must be updated within 30 days after a change: Audit information F&A Rate agreement Fringe Benefit rate information Key Contact information Addition or loss of a standard accreditation or change in its status (e.g. AAHRP, AALAC) Expiration dates of approved systems (e.g. Purchasing System, etc.) - All other information must be reviewed at least annually.
- Subscribers routinely not adhering to profile maintenance standards may be suspended at the sole discretion of the FDP. No subscriber will be suspended without having first had an opportunity to cure.
- Pass-through entity subscribers agree to use Subscriber’ profiles to obtain static/annual information for their subawards, and to not request this same information is other formats from fellow subscribers.
- Subscribers agree to participate in standardized subaward tracking during the Pilot time period, and to furnish their data as requested by the FDP Expanded Clearinghouse Co-Chairs.
- Subscribers who use the API agree to refresh their local data at least weekly, or at each time a profile is downloaded for use, whichever they prefer.
3.1.1 Functional Requirements
In order to accomplish the above articulated need, the FDP Expanded Clearinghouse requires a community-wide data collection and management system that includes the following base functionality: ( See Appendix B for system mock up)
- Data Accessibility
- Entity profile information is publicly available via a searchable website
- Profile data is available for direct system-to-system access via an HTTP API (read only)
- System will track the date and time of last API data pull
- Profile details for individual institutions can be downloaded in Excel or PDF format
- Entity Profile Administration
- Entities may submit online requests to have their profile added to the clearinghouse
- Authorized users can update the entity’s profile directly on the website
- Date and user name are logged when profile is changed
- Designated entity representatives can delegate editing rights to other users at their institution
- User Accounts
- User accounts are password protected (Utilization of InCommon Federation will be considered in future phases of development )
- Password reminders and resets are handled by the website
- With the exception of system administrators, all user accounts are tied to an institution
- Data Integrity
- At designated intervals (at least monthly), the system sends an email reminding entities to update their profile
- System will also be able to send reminders on certain data elements when the data has become out of date (SAM expiration date, Audit date, etc) A list of these data elements will be developed by the ECWG and provided to the ECSDWG.
- If feasible, system will also provide alert/notification upon sign-in by entity user when any of the above dates or data elements requires updating
- Consideration will be given to requiring a Profile update at FDP Annual report time to help ensure Profiles are kept current
- New profiles must be reviewed and approved by FDP designee before appearing online
- FDP Administration Panel
- System provides designated FDP administrators with additional rights.
- FDP Administrators create new entities and approve new profiles
- FDP Administrators designate first primary user for entity
- FDP Administrators can create, edit, and disable user accounts.
- System Security
- Public has read-only access via website
- API provides read-only data access
- Profile editing requires password-protected user account with manually-assigned rights
- Change log records details on data modification (date, username)
- Consideration will be given to potentially hiding of email address from public view to avoid collection by spam senders
- Links to related systems/external compliance databases
- Future development considerations include: o Links from each Entity Profile to Entity’s SAM.gov page. Consideration will be given to a select set of fields in SAM that could be accessed to help “jump start” the profile creation (ECWG to compile list) o Assessment of feasibility of merging data from current FDP Institution Profile o A-133 data base integration o FCOI clearinghouse integration o Assessment of feasibility of utilizing data in the Federal Audit Clearinghouse (FAC)
3.2 Summary of Impacts
3.2.1 FDP Organizational Impacts
The FDP Expanded Clearinghouse Web-based system will require an initial team of developers and testers. These roles will be filled by the EC-SDWG on a volunteer basis. The project will require administrative, project management, and training duties that will be performed by the ECWG. Any financial management needs of this project will be coordinated through David Wright, Mark Sweet and Pamela Webb with the FDP Executive Committee.
To support the ongoing needs of this system the FDP will require an oversight committee to oversee and manage the system and the community’s data to ensure ongoing reliability and integrity of the system (ECWG). It is expected that once built, this system will exist on an ongoing basis with at least an annual review process build in to determine effectiveness, needs for updating or changes, potential need for termination, or other circumstances.
Entities will have access to their data and reporting, but publication of community-wide data will be authorized by the FDP Executive Committee.
3.2.2 FDP Operational Impacts
In anticipation that the web-based FDP Expanded Clearinghouse will eventually replace the various data collection components currently maintained by or through FDP we expect the long-term overall impact to FDP to streamline the type of data currently being housed on the FDP webpage. We anticipate an eventual time savings for FDP staff and members, since there will one combined and centralized location to house what is currently:
- FDP member institution profile
- A-133 data base
- FCOI clearinghouse
- FDP Expanded Clearinghouse excel/pdf repository
Users will interact with the system in real-time via the web. FDP members will be expected to acquire and maintain a secure and reliable internet connection adequate to facilitate data entry by their staff. Questions on the system in general, data entry, reporting and use will be facilitated by the FDP Expanded Clearinghouse Working Group. FDP pilot institutions are required to alter their current subrecipient entity forms and internal processes to accommodate the expected data collection and data entry, including timeliness. All user information, guidance and FAQ’s will be developed by the ECWG and EC-SDWG and maintained on the FDP webpage. All Pilot entities will have access to instructions and training materials to access to the system, including FAQ’s regarding the system.
The FDP Expanded Clearinghouse will be maintained in the current Excel spreadsheet / PDF repository fashion until such time as a web-based system has been developed, testing and fully adopted. Pilot entities will be required to assist in the transition between methods/systems.
3.2.3 FDP Expanded Clearinghouse System Development Working Group Impacts
The FDP Expanded Clearinghouse System Development Working Group will commit time and work together to accomplish the development and ongoing maintenance of the clearinghouse system in the following ways:
- Communication between and among group members
- Regular conference calls to review status and discuss open issues
- Establish and maintain up to date project timeline & status reports
- Functional and operational business side of the team will be represented by: Lynette, Jennifer, Pamela and ECWG
- Technical side of the team is represented by: Neal, Chris, Jason, Mark and David
- Lynette will operate as key point of contact for ECWG and UW’s involvement
- Neal will operate as key point of contact for technical group at Vanderbilt
- A central location will be developed to maintain working group documents (Dropbox or similar) o Functional and technical specifications o Action lists and notes
5.2 Systems Integration
An additional desired functionality of the system is to integrate with other external systems. The FDP Expanded Clearinghouse system will be desired to have the capacity to import and export data without ongoing support by the ECSDWG. To this end, the system will expose a RESTful API via HTTP to provide data in JSON format for external consumer access.
The clearinghouse system will also include the functionality to interface with the federal System for Award Management (SAM) web services to access certain data elements as defined in the functional requirements. In addition exploration of utilizing the bulk download capabilities currently available in the Federal Audit Clearinghouse will be explored to allow for the possibility of utilizing that data for uploading entity profile data elements as well.
5.3 Customization and Flexibility
The desirability for the ECSDWG to continually update and improve the system is a given. However, the FDP will also require that the system be flexible and customizable to suit their needs. The complexity of the system will limit the customizations available via the administrative interface at the FDP level. However, the code should be structured to make customizations a reasonably accessible task for a PHP programmer, and the FDP will have access to the code repository to make such changes as desired.
Any tools that will be utilized, outside of those discussed in this proposal will be discussed an agreed upon among the ECSDWG prior to use. No closed source or proprietary tools will to be used.
5.4 Sustainability and Open Source Plans
The system will be developed under the leadership of Vanderbilt University Medical Center using industry standard web development tools and practices. VUMC commits to develop the initial application as described in this document, and to provide additional support and development services up to 5 hours per month on an ongoing basis, without charge to FDP. Either party may pursue a transfer of maintenance responsibilities at any time. The ECSDWG will perform at least an annual review of how the system is working and whether responsibilities need to be shifted or changed in any way. VUMC may, at its discretion, or as contracted by FDP in exchange for appropriate remuneration, provide additional support or development services beyond this commitment.
The FDP and ECSDWG will have access to the source code for the software and may work with other parties to extend, enhance, or edit the system in collaboration with VUMC provided the changes and enhancements are committed to the GitHub repository. Source code will be stored on GitHub or in another mutually agreed repository.
5.5 System Documentation
There is no anticipated need for an end-user guide as system will include an intuitive user interface. VUMC will provide such documentation as necessary or as requested by the ECSDWG or FDP Executive Committee for technical requirements, including but not necessarily limited to documentation of the system-to-system API. Any end-user help documentation will be developed by the ECWG.
5.6 Rights to Code and Data / Data Ownership
VUMC, as the primary developer, shall retain all right and ownership in the software product including but not limited to source code, including right to license the product (but not the data) to any third party. VUMC will grant to FDP a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to the software product and derivative works, without the right to sub-license, for FDP and its agent(s) to use the software product for its own purposes. This shall include no more than one production instance at any time, with unlimited backup, development and test copies permitted to maintain, improve and test the software as necessary.
FDP shall retain all right and ownership in its data. VUMC shall receive a perpetual, royalty-free license to the data strictly for the purposes of maintaining, improving and supporting FDP’s installation of the software product.
5.7 Configurable System Parameters
The ECSDWG will work together to determine where the system may need to be configurable and ensure that all parties are in agreement and parameters are appropriately documented.
5.8 System Development and Go-live Approval Process
Under the leadership of VUMC, the initial system will be developed in iterations. As the developers complete portions of the application, they will make the updates available to ECSDWG for review. These reviews are intended to keep the application development on course, addressing any miscommunications early and providing the ECSDWG with a clear understanding of how the work is progressing. The ECSDWG will review the submitted product and provide a notice of acceptance or notes on changes that need to be made in a timely manner.
This iterative process will repeat until ECSDWG is satisfied with the software product.
Once the parties agree that the software product is in a “Beta”, or near-final state, ECWG members be enlisted for private live testing, including entering new entity profiles, to flesh out remaining bugs and process issues to be fixed before go-live.
Once the initial system is complete, the ECSDWG will submit the software product to ECWG for final review and approval. Additional timelines and documentation related to the go-live process will be developed, as needed including potential review and approval process by the FDP Executive Committee.
6.0 EQUIPMENT AND SOFTWARE
6.1 Equipment
The ECSDWG will be responsible for utilizing currently existing equipment either at VUMC or the FDP, or for contracting with a web hosting service for server space. No additional equipment is anticipated at this time.
6.2 Software
The clearinghouse application will be built with PHP version 7, an open-source web scripting language. Data will be stored in a MySQL database, also open source. The user interface will be developed in HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript. VUMC will be employing components from standard and commonly accepted libraries such as PHP Symfony and jQuery for Javascript. PHP dependencies will be managed via the Composer package manager. The application will be able to run on any web server that supports PHP 7 and has a MySQL database. The ECSDWG will be responsible for securing the necessary server space.
The application code will use Git version control, and all commits will be archived in a designated repository which can be made available to other ECSDWG members. Source code will be stored on a mutually agreed platform.
2 nd^ phase would improve data entry and ensure all members have control over their own profile. Security is, of course, a concern.
- Password protected profiles
- Tracking changes, i.e. date last modified, person who last modified
- Institutions designate their own editors, not wait on a centralized process
- Responsibilities
- Vanderbilt
o Will communicate with the FDP leadership to assure that the application meets the organization’s objectives. o Will provide the manpower to design and develop the web-based application. Given other concurrent commitments, we estimate the development of this system will take approximately 4 months. o Will provide ongoing technical support for the application (bugs, enhancements, etc). o If FDP so desires, Vanderbilt will provide server space for hosting the application. If FDP decides to have the application hosted on a third-party’s servers, Vanderbilt will work with the hosting provide to assure that it meets the needs of the application developers.
o Will communicate with the Vanderbilt software development team to assure that the application meets the organization’s objectives. o Will purchase a domain name unique for this project, such as www.fdpclearinghouse.org, or provide a routable sub-domain. This domain will be configured to point to the web servers used for this project. o Will be responsible for routine user administration on the website (adding users, resetting passwords, etc.). We anticipate this will be a minimal time commitment (less than 1 hour per week).
F
A
S
FDP Expanded
Appendix B
Screen shots o
d Clearinghou
of mock up
use – Phase 2 Proposal Page 12
- 1.0 GENERAL INFORMATION Table of Contents
- 1.1 Purpose
- 1.2 Scope
- 1.3 Project References
- 1.4 Acronyms and/or Definitions
- 1.5 Points of Contact
- 1.5.1 Information & Coordination.........................................................................................................................
- 1.5.2 Roles and Responsibilities
- 1.5.3 Administrative Support and Oversight
- 2.0 CURRENT SYSTEM SUMMARY
- 3.0 FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS AND IMPACTS
- 3.1 Summary of Functions.......................................................................................................................
- 3.1.1 Functional Requirements
- 3.2 Summary of Impacts
- 3.2.1 FDP Organizational Impacts.......................................................................................................................
- 3.2.2 FDP Operational Impacts
- 3.2.3 FDP Expanded Clearinghouse System Development Working Group Impacts
- 4.0 PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS
- 4.1 Specific Performance Requirements
- 4.1.1 Accuracy and Validity
- 4.1.2 Timing and Capacity..................................................................................................................................
- 4.1.3 Failure Contingencies
- 5.0 ADDITIONAL SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
- 5.1 System Description
- 5.2 Systems Integration
- 5.3 Customization and Flexibility
- 5.4 Sustainability and Open Source Plans
- 5.5 System Documentation......................................................................................................................
- 5.6 Rights to Code and Data / Data Ownership
- 5.7 Configurable System Parameters.......................................................................................................
- 5.8 System Development and Go-live Approval Process
- 6.0 EQUIPMENT AND SOFTWARE
- 6.1 Equipment
- 6.2 Software
- FFDP Expandedd Clearinghouuse – Phase 2 Proposal Page
- FFDP Expandedd Clearinghouuse – Phase 2 Proposal Page
