ACAS Digital Discovery phase project

Tender description

Summary of the work Discovery phase looking at 2 high traffic areas of acas.org.uk to establish user need through user research, create user stories, build agile capability internally through skills transfer and plan for alpha. Expected Contract Length Completion of Discovery Latest start date 01/11/2016 Budget Range Up to £60,000 Why the Work is Being Done This project is the first stage of work to improve our digital offer to enable us to meet the needs of our customers (both existing and new), and extend our reach amongst our target audiences. Our vision is that: Acas will be widely recognised as Britain's leading impartial authority on workplace relationships and effectiveness. We will provide employers and employees with a unique combination of digital, practical and expert services, to help them build thriving workplaces and working lives. Problem to Be Solved Acas already has well used online guidance services and a telephone based helpline. The services have been developed in parallel and therefore we want to understand how the user experience/customer journey can be improved so that the user accesses the right services at the right time. We know from MI and research that a proportion of users access our online guidance and then go on to ring the helpline. Our assumption is that we can reduce avoidable contact by improving the online guidance and the customer journey. Who Are the Users As an employee I need to find out about an issue so that I can resolve my problem at work. As an employee/employer representative I need to find out more about an issue so that I can support my client effectively. As an employer with a problem I need to find out about an issue so that I can resolve problems in my workplace quickly, and in the right way to avoid legal issues. As an employer wanting to do things right I need to find out more about an issue and take action so I can improve my workplace Early Market Engagement NA Work Already Done Reducing avoidable contact: Analysis of Helpline calls/discussion with agents indicates potential avoidable contact reduction; Research indicates 50% of customers visit site before calling; Web-traffic analysis suggests improved content, site structure and navigation would increase use of digital resources. Increasing reach: Survey of non-users indicates 1/3 would do so if they were aware it contained the information they were seeking; Awareness survey data shows under 35s have high user need but generally low awareness of Acas and it’s services; Customer research around use of online step by step guides; Customer research into specific guidance; Customer research into E-Learning. Existing Team Internally for Discovery we currently have available a digital product manager (f/t), a delivery manager (p/t and new to the delivery manager role), p/t project manager who we are planning to develop into a service manager. Plus additional internal resource available on secondment (to be agreed with supplier). One of the requirements on the discovery phase is skills transfer plus identifying team resource and skills needed for alpha. Current Phase Not started Skills & Experience • Experience of skills transfer to internal teams using shadowing, pairing and mentoring • User research skills and experience • Experience of working alongside internal teams to create agile team, building on existing capabilities in the organisation • Supplier must have experience of agile working practices. • Experience of creating user stories. • Experience of creating performance dashboards and identifying success measures. • Experience of planning for alpha including identifying resources needed and scope of project. • Experience of complying with GDS digital standards including managing digital exclusion. • Experience of translating complex information to a mix of customers who often have conflicting needs. Nice to Haves • Experience of stakeholder management. • Experience of working with organisations that currently use proprietary website CMS and supporting them in moving to open source. Work Location London NW1 Working Arrangments On site. This is to enable skills transfer and collaboration with internal resources, and give visibility of the project to senior stakeholders. Security Clearance Baseline security checks needed. Additional T&Cs NA No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 8 Proposal Criteria • Proposed approach and methodology. • How the approach meets our business goals. • Estimated timeframes for the work. • Value for money. • Approach to training and coaching in user research and delivery management. • Use of agile methodology. • Skills and experiences of the team. • Approach to coaching teams to adopt agile methodology. • Approach to quality assurance in user research and delivery management. • Evidence of delivering projects in reference to the GDS Digital by Default Service Standard. • How risks and dependencies are identified and approaches to manage them. • Approach to engaging with senior stakeholders engaged in cultural change. • Approach to maintaining control, transparency and assuring quality. • Approach to building the customer’s capacity to manage Agile projects in the future. • Transparent and collaborative when making decisions. • Have a no-blame culture and encourage people to learn from their mistakes. • Approach to working with the customer as part of an integrated team, with experience of working across geographically dispersed areas. Cultural Fit Criteria • Work as a team with our organisation and other suppliers. • Be transparent and collaborative when making decisions. • Have a no-blame culture and encourage people to learn from their mistakes. • Take responsibility for their work. • Share knowledge and experience with other team members. • Challenge the status quo. • Be comfortable standing up for their discipline. • Can work with clients with low technical expertise. • Overall fit with Acas Core Values (details available on request). Payment Approach Fixed price Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 60% Cultural fit 20% Price 20% Questions from Suppliers 1. Would it be possible to deliver this 90% remotely if we can ensure other ways to transfer skills and collaborate with internal resources? No. For this project we see it as essential that the supplier is on site for the 8 week project. This is to enable collaboration with internal team but also to enable the project to be visible to wider internal stakeholders. 2. Under Security clearance, the work outline states: "Baseline security checks needed". Does this mean they are a pre-requisite before applying, or that suppliers should be prepared to undergo your own checks? Suppliers would need to undergo a basic check, and we will organise these. You can find out more here http://www.disclosurescotland.co.uk/ 3. Under Proposal Criteria, the outline states: "Evidence of delivering projects in reference to the GDS Digital by Default Service Standard". We have delivered many projects that comply with both the spirit & essence of this standard in the private sector, but are not GDS-specific projects - can we still use these as references? Yes. However we will be looking for evidence of meeting the GDS standards so if using references that comply from the private sector please explain how they map to the GDS standards very clearly. 4. How long do you foresee this project lasting? 8 weeks 5. How do we acquire the details regarding ACAS Core values? Acas Core Values: • Our customers matter - we listen to our customers so we understand their needs: we ask questions and challenge our own assumptions; Our people matter - we develop our people’s knowledge and skills, and equip them to deliver best-in-class digital services; Our work matters - we reach more customers, who can fulfil their needs easily on the channels of their choice – increasing our reach whilst maximising the value for money we provide; Our future matters - we actively seek opportunities to develop our future digital services, by being flexible, adaptable and agile. 6. When would the discovery phase need to be completed by (and how much flexibility is there in timescales)? We’re allowing 8 weeks for the discovery phase and aiming to start w/b 31 October. This takes us up to the Christmas period so realistically we understand that the project may need to extend into the early part of January. However our preference is to plan the project with the successful supplier so that it completes at the end of December. 7. An 8 week period starting 1st November would mean the discovery phase ending during the Christmas period, which doesn't seem feasible given the likelihood of holidays for key ACAS stakeholders. What flexibility is there for the discovery phase to be completed in the early part of 2017 instead? We’re allowing 8 weeks for the discovery phase and aiming to start w/b 31 October. This takes us up to the Christmas period so realistically we understand that the project may need to extend into the early part of January. However our preference is to plan the project with the successful supplier so that it completes at the end of December. 8. From our experience of running website Discoveries with comparable organisations (both fully and part-time on-site) it is perfectly achievable to meet the actual goals of high levels of collaboration and transparency, without being 100% on site. In fact, there have been instances of poorer collaboration and transparency when working 100% on site. We also caution this requirement / solution may rule out excellent Discovery suppliers (especially those from outside the M25). If it could be demonstrated in a proposal how your need for excellent collaboration and transparency could be achieved without being on-site 100% would you give it due consideration? We will give every proposal due consideration however we have listed on-site collaboration as an essential requirement. Skills transfer to internal staff and visibility to wider internal stakeholders are key deliverables of this project, so any alternative proposal to being on-site would need to clearly demonstrate how this would be achieved. 9. Will there be an opportunity for a discussion with you (phone or face-to-face) prior to the submission of our proposal? No. All clarification questions will need to be submitted during the question and answer period of the Short List and Assessment stage. A face to face bid clarification stage will however be built into the Assessment Stage. 10. You mention that the Discovery phase will be looking at 2 high traffic areas of acas.org.uk - do these relate to specific user journeys? Yes. We will be looking at two topic areas that we know are high traffic areas on acas.org.uk and also on our telephone helpline. 11. Who will the supplier report to? Our Strategy Director is the Senior Responsible Officer for this project. 12. How do you differentiate the responsibilities between the PT delivery manager and the PT project manager – seems like role overlap. We are planning to allocate the internal resource in conjunction with the successful supplier – to ensure that we have the right resource in the right roles. 13. Who is responsible for content governance at acas? Content governance is managed by the Information and Guidance team and the Communications team, depending on the type of content. The two teams work very closely together. 14. What digital communication / project management tools will be used by the project team? We use sharepoint, yammer and office 365. We also use Trello. 15. Would the team be open to using commercial software to analyse the navigation experience? Yes. 16. Who is the overall owner of the Acas website and what will their involvement be in the project? The Acas website is ‘owned’ by the Communications team and there will be internal resource from that team and our information and guidance team on the project. We are planning to allocate the internal resource in conjunction with the successful supplier – to ensure that we have the right resource in the right roles. 17. Do you know who your users are / have personas that you refer to? We have a range of information, evaluation and research into our users, and target audiences that we want to extend our reach with. Our marketing and insights team have personas that they have developed to support our promotional activity. 18. What CMS are you currently using and do you have plans to change / upgrade? We are currently using Goss Interactive CMS. We are planning to move to open source in line with GDS standards. https://www.gossinteractive.com/content-management 19. Using the RASCI model (Responsible, Approver, Supporter, Consultant, Informed) where do the telephone service team fit with regard to the proposed improvements to your website? The telephone service team are valuable sources of advice and consultation, and we would also want to keep them informed about progress. 20. As you wish to work within the GDS service standard, is there an expectation that: - the site will be accessed through a link on GOV.UK? - use GOV.UK’s look & feel? - go through the GDS assessment gates? - or do you wish solely to be guided by its principles. Acas.org.uk is referenced on the gov.uk website at the moment. The site itself is independent of gov.uk and will remain so. We expect to follow GDS design principles, and we are also planning to go through the GDS assessment gates but we are not planning to use gov.uk’s look and feel. 21. Has any provision been made to be able to work with external users of the ACAS site within the discovery period (e.g. workshops or focus groups)? No. We do have access to some users through an existing employer’s panel however we will be looking to the supplier to organise the user testing with the internal team. 22. In terms of our written response, how would you best like it formatted in order to accurately assess our suitability? Would you like our response to use the 11 headers in the "Skills and experience" section or the 26 headers in the "How suppliers will be evaluated" section? Or some other way of laying out our response? The relevant instructions and templates will be issued to suppliers who get through the initial shortlist stage. 23. May we ask if there is any existing methodology, process or procedure that we should be aware of (e.g. business cases, other forms of project management?) We are working on the assumption that a business case for Alpha will be one of the outcomes of this project. 24. Can we ask if Acas has ever embarked on such a project (e.g. similar size or complexity) before and if the same team are still in place? This is the first Discovery project using agile methodology for Acas. We have a very experienced social research and evaluation team who are keen to develop their user research skills. The project will report to an internal board. 25. There is mention of evaluation being based on demonstrating how the ‘approach meets our business goals’. Can we request these goals or ask if they are available on any public domain? Build end to end customer journeys across all Acas services that enable customers to help themselves wherever possible and make best use of digitalCreate digital capability across Acas including leadership at board level and digital ownership at every level, developing the digital skills Acas needs for the future, and agile ways of working that deliver iterative changeYou may also want to look at our strategic plan and strategic aims: http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=5709 26. Could we request the kinds of senior stakeholders (e.g. role types, seniority levels, departments) we would be expected to deal with as part of the required cultural change? Acas council – see link here: http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1401Acas Executive Board – CEO, and senior Directors http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=5089Acas senior managers across the country: see regional structure here: http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=2030Acas communications team – marketing, content and websiteAcas information and guidance team – guidanceAcas helpline and individual conciliation management and policy teams 27. ACAS mention additional internal resource available on secondment. Can we ask what resource is available? We haven’t finalised the internal resource available yet but we are aiming to ensure that we are able to maximise skills transfer during the Discovery project. We will ensure that there is enough resource available, and we would welcome supplier advice, based on experience of previous projects, on the most appropriate levels for a discovery project. 28. What roles do ACAS foresee suppliers providing for this Discovery? Please see specification for essential skills and experience. We will need as a minimum a delivery manager and user researcher, and potentially some developer capacity. 29. A budget of £60000 for an 8-week Discovery seems to be at the lower end of previous projects we have seen. Will suppliers be excluded if they either decrease the duration or exceed the budget? We can’t exceed the budget but if a supplier can deliver the project in less time, whilst clearly explaining how they would ensure appropriate skills transfer in a shorter period they would not be excluded.