SUMMARY

The AOC is seeking proposals from prospective Offerors to provide a Project Management resource to manage two (2) projects at the Judiciary, the Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) Project and the Document Redaction/Artificial Intelligence Project.

Offeror may propose no more than one (1) resource. Offeror shall propose resource(s) for which they have the right to represent. If multiple Offerors propose the same resource, the AOC reserves the right to make such investigations, as it deems necessary, to confirm the representation of any proposed resources, and reject the Offeror’s proposed resource.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The AOC recently awarded a Contract for document redaction process software and is in the final evaluation stages of an RFP for online dispute resolution software. The Offeror proposed resource’s project management of both projects will require working with vendors, court staff, and IT staff to successfully complete implementation. The Offeror proposed resource will be supported and guided by the JIS Program Manager of Strategy & Research and will be required to utilize the Judiciary’s PMO processes as notated in Section III.D.1.a.(1).

Online Dispute Resolution Project

The Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) project will use software to expand and broaden the Judiciary’s alternative dispute resolution options and help to alleviate the traditional court dockets. The ODR project is a response to the Judiciary’s desire to advance, simplify, and increase access to justice by adopting and incorporating an ODR platform into case management practices. The AOC desires to offer an online adjudication process using an off the shelf, cloud hosted software solution. The software is expected to be a COTS option with the ability to configure for the Judiciary.

The ODR project will begin with pilot locations and three (3) case types. Pilot locations have not been identified yet and but may include one (1) court location for all three (3) initial case types, or separate court locations for each of the three (3) initial case types.

The initial case types include:

• Minor traffic- guilty with an explanation,
• Small claims,
• Child support order, stipulated custody, and access order to Title IV-D cases.
• The minor traffic case types allow for drivers to enter their citation number and determine if they are eligible to use ODR to resolve their case. The case eligibility will be determined based on criteria from the Judiciary’s case management system. If eligible, the driver can opt in and use the ODR platform for online adjudication.

The small claims case type will off-load some of the volume of Judiciary court dockets by allowing parties to negotiate for themselves over an online platform. The platform will offer many types of communications and notifications from asynchronous and synchronous text/email, to supporting a 3rd party neutral if requested.

The child support case types are intended to provide a fair and efficient forum to help parents resolve family legal matters. The ODR platform is expected to provide a less adversarial setting that supports the outcome of family cases through negotiation, rather than litigation. The focus of the ODR pilot for child support cases will be to offer parents online dispute resolution capabilities to create stipulated custody, parental access, and child support orders.

Redaction/Artificial Intelligence Project

The redaction/artificial intelligence project will implement an off the shelf software solution, hosted internally, to identify PII, as well as configurable key words, to shield sensitive data in our case management system and case documents. Data that needs to be redacted includes structured data, such as SSN and DOB, as well as unstructured data or key words. The software will identify and redact both typed and handwritten values. The project will start in a single pilot court and will expand to full state roll out after a successfully pilot. The software has been selected and it will integrate with our existing case management and file and serve systems.

The artificial intelligence component of this project will start in a pilot court to implement software that takes the place of a human being doing the required data entry. The software will recognize a particular court form and will be able to locate the necessary data on the form to complete the data entry and case management record updates in our case system. The human being component will transition to a QA/Reviewer vs. completing the required data entry. The AI process is expected to greatly improve the court’s record keeping and docketing processes.

OFFEROR & RESOURCE QUALIFICATIONS

• The Offeror shall have one (1) year of experience in providing recruitment, staffing, and/or otherwise providing professional consulting services.
• The Offeror shall propose resource(s) that the following minimum qualifications:
  • Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology (IT) or an IT related field (e.g., Computer Science), as determined by the AOC, or ten (10) years of experience managing IT projects (i.e., leading a project, not serving as a team member under a project manager) in lieu of degree.
  • Five (5) years of experience managing IT projects with budgets of $500,000.00 - $1,000.000.00 or more, and
  • Active Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification.
• The AOC prefers Offeror proposed resource(s) to have the following qualifications:
  • Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) Foundations Certificate.
• The AOC prefers Offeror proposed resources(s) to have experience working with the Courts and/or State Governments.

SCOPE OF WORK

• Offeror proposed resource(s) shall be responsible for the following:
  • Managing two (2) Judicial Information Systems (JIS) IT Projects, including but not limited to:
    • Maintaining expert level knowledge and skills relative to the JIS Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and the Project Management Office (PMO) templates,
    • Creating and maintaining the Project Plan (PP),
    • Monitoring the ongoing project activities against the project management plan and any project performance baselines,
    • Monitoring and controlling project scope, cost, and schedule,
    • Tracking all project performance against any performance metrics,
    • Working in partnership with the project team, JIS infrastructure team, and project vendors to manage the release of new software,
    • Viewing stakeholders/business owners’ functional duties holistically to understand impact of dependent/inter-related business functions,
    • Chairing project and status meetings,
    • Managing project related issues including but not limited to:
      • Determining the source of issues, including but not limited to
        • System requirements,
        • Data,
        • Performance,
        • Workflow,
        • Business process,
        • Quality of the software, or
        • Training
      • Determining the impact of an issue – high, medium, or low – and Creating strategies for issue resolution.
      • Assessing where the issue should be assigned e.g., JIS, vendor, District Court Headquarters, Circuit Court, court IT, or back to the originator for clarification.
      • Consistently reviewing all updates to issues and ensure that there is complete and thorough documentation and appropriate assignment.
      • Control change and recommend corrective or preventive actions.
    • Maintaining and updating risk register, including but not limited to:
      • Determining the probability and impact of all risks, and
      • Developing risk contingency, mitigation, or avoidance options.
    • Ensuring each software release or patch contains:
      • Vendor test results,
      • JIS required configurations, and
      • Release notes,
    • Creating and reviewing integrated change control requests.
  • Creating and maintaining the following project artifacts as needed:
    • Charter (Scope Statement),
    • Stakeholder and Vendor Management,
    • Project Schedule,
    • Requirements Traceability Matrix,
    • Data Conversion/Migration,
    • Risk Register / Issues Log,
    • Deployment Plan,
    • Test Plan,
    • Acceptance Plan,
    • Status Reports, and
    • Meeting Minutes.
  • Preparing regular and ad hoc reports, including:
    • Weekly project report of progress and status,
    • Weekly time report, and
    • Additional reports as requested.

OFFEROR RESOURCE(S) SKILLS, EXPERIENCE, & CAPABILITIES

• Offeror shall propose resource(s) possessing the following preferred skills, experience, and capabilities:
  • Excellent oral communication.
  • Detailed oriented.
  • Business process analysis skills.
  • Data review and data migration skills.
  • Knowledge of the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK).
  • Knowledge and ability to utilize standards and guidelines relative to JIS Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC).
  • Highly organized with the ability to keep track of:
    • Multiple projects;
    • Requirements;
    • Action items; and,
    • Follow through to task closure.
  • Ability to:
    • Work in a matrixed organization to align resources toward project deliverables,
    • Work on multiple projects and objectives,
    • Translate technical concepts into business terms,
    • Establish and maintain effective working relationships with
      • Peers;
      • End users and vendor development staff;
      • All levels of management; and,
      • Judicial personnel, as necessary.

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

• Work shall be performed at the following locations, with an approximate level of work effort:
  • 50% of level of effort: Judicial Information System Office located at: 189 Harry S Truman Parkway, Annapolis, MD 21401.
  • 30% of level of effort: On site at to-be-identified project pilot locations within the Maryland Judiciary Circuit Court, District Court, and administrative office locations.
  • 20% of level of effort: Off-site remote work will be allowed at a location of Offeror proposed resource’s choosing.
    • The AOC reserves the right to determine an off-site location is not suitable (e.g., crowded public space with distracting background noise during meetings).
• The AOC reserves the right to modify the allocation of onsite and remote work effort throughout the life of the Contract. In the event of a modification, the Contract Manager will coordinate with the Successful Offeror on a mutually agreeable allocation of work effort.

SCHEDULE & COORDINATION

• Offeror proposed resource(s) shall be expected to perform during normal operating hours, Monday through Friday, 8:30AM to 5:00PM Eastern Standard Time (EST), with the flexibility to extend coverage hours to meet deadlines.
• The JIS Project Manager or Department Manager, PPM must approve work prior to or after normal operation hours, not to exceed 2,040 hours per year.
  • During go-live work, the Offeror proposed resource(s) must be able to:
    • Work a flexible schedule to include evenings, nights, weekends, and holidays, and
    • Provide on-call operational support as required outside normal operating hours, to include evenings, nights, weekends and holidays.

TRAVEL

• This position will occasionally require travel within the state of Maryland.
• Offeror resource(s) must have access to a vehicle to commute to sites as required and a valid driver’s license.
• Some site visits may require arranging local lodging accommodations and traveling to the region the night before the required site visit.
• The Department Manager, PPM must approve all travel and lodging arrangements in writing and in advance. Mileage, toll re-imbursements and lodging re-imbursements should be invoiced to the AOC and reimbursed in accordance with the Judiciary’s travel policy
  • Submittal of reimbursement paperwork is not a guarantee of funds reimbursement.