DSS intends to award a purchase order on a sole source basis to Questionmark for the reasons set out in paragraph III below.  The Center for Development of Security Excellence (CDSE), Office of Education currently uses Questionmark and this requirement is to renew existing Questionmark Perception software licenses and their maintenance support services.  Additional Perception software licenses and support are being purchased to adapt to the growing number of Industrial Security students.

 This sole source justification is required by FAR 13.106 (b) (1).

 Background: Questionmark is an assessment management system that allows educators and trainers to develop, schedule, deliver, and report on surveys, quizzes, tests and exams.

The software provides role-based security for multi-author environments and allows for integration with other management systems.  Questionmark provides instant feedback to enhance the learning experience.  Questionmark also provides comprehensive technical support.

Questionmark is currently in use with the CDSE Security Training, Education and Professionalization Portal (STEPP).  This system manages all learning activities for DSS, the Department of Defense (DoD), and other globally located government and contractor personnel. 

STEPP is a customized version of the SumTotal System's Learning Management System (LMS), version 8.2 commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) product.   Since Questionmark is integrated with STEPP it easily allows the educators/trainers to generate the exams/quizzes directly from the course material.  Additionally Questionmark supports the Special Program Security Certification (SPSC) program, DoD Level 1 Adjudication Certification Program and Security Professional Education Program (SPeD).