From the U.S. Government Accountability Office, www.gao.gov

Transcript for: GAO's E-Filing System - Logging Into and Navigating EPDS

Description: Tutorial on GAO's E-Filing system for bid protests

Released: January 2018

[ Opening Screen ] Electronic Protest Docketing System (EPDS) LOGGING
INTO AND NAVIGATING EPDS GAO Logo

Welcome to the tutorial on Logging into and Navigating GAO's Electronic
Protest Docketing System also known as EPDS. Before we get started,
please keep in mind that EPDS performs best when accessing it using the
following web browsers: Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Microsoft
Edge. We recommend that you do not use Internet Explorer. So, let's get
started. To log in to EPDS, type the URL https://epds.gao.gov in the
address bar of your web browser.

The EPDS Sign In page appears.

In the email field, type your registered email address. In the Password
field, type your registered password. Then, click the Sign me in button.

You are logged in to EPDS and its Dashboard appears. The EPDS Dashboard
has a Navigation Pane which consists of three tabs: Active Cases, File
New Protest, and Request to Intervene.

You can toggle the Navigation Pane on and off by clicking the Navigation
Pane button. Note that when the Navigation Pane is toggled off, you can
see all of the columns on the Dashboard, including the Case Status
column.

Click the Navigation Pane button again and the Navigation Pane
reappears.

Now, let's review the 3 tabs on the Navigation Pane. The first tab is
Active Cases. When you first log in to EPDS, Active Cases is selected by
default. When Active Cases is selected, you will see the bid protests
that are pending for you and your representatives. You can use the Show
entries field to adjust the number of protests you see on the screen at
once and you can click the Show Hide Columns button to choose which
columns you would like to see when viewing your Dashboard.

The Filter Records search field allows you to perform a keyword search
by typing in relevant information found on the Dashboard including the
B-Number, Protester or Agency. To view the Case Docket sheet for a
specific case, click the B-Number link.

As you navigate the site, you will note that EPDS tells you where you
have navigated. In this case, we are in the Case Docket Sheet component
of the Dashboard. Note that the Navigation Pane now has 3 new options:
Submit New Documents, Parties, and Email Preferences.

You can get back to Active Cases in one of two ways, by clicking on the
Dashboard breadcrumb or by clicking Active Cases in the Navigation Pane.
The Dashboard reappears listing your Active Cases.

Now, let's discuss the second tab, File New Protest. You would select
File New Protest, if you wish to file a new bid protest case. When File
New Protest is selected, you will receive a warning message asking if
you want to proceed to file a new protest. If you click the Yes button,
the New Protest Information form appears and you will need to complete
the form to file a new protest. Since we don't want to file a new
protest now, we'll click the No button. The Dashboard reappears.

Now let's select Request to Intervene from the Navigation Pane. You
would select the Request to Intervene tab if you wish to submit a
Request to Intervene on a pending bid protest case. To intervene in a
bid protest, you must know the B number assigned to the case by GAO and
enter it into the Search field at the top of the screen. Since we don't
want to intervene in a bid protest, we'll go back to the Dashboard by
clicking Active Cases.

User guides and other resources have been created to assist you with
using EPDS. You can access these resources from the EPDS Help menu by
clicking the down arrow and selecting the desired option: User Guides,
FAQs, Contact Us, or Feedback.

When you're finished working in EPDS, you need to log out of the system
by clicking the down arrow next to your name, and selecting Logout.

This concludes the tutorial on Logging Into and Navigating EPDS.

To learn more about using EPDS, check out the other tutorials in the bid
protest section of our website at www.gao.gov.