New Style of IT Technical Design Uplift

Tender description

Summary of the work Computer system development, implementation and modification of a large-scale deployed IS for UK Defence. The system of systems (known as New Style of IT (Deployed) (NSoIT(D)) will see a 3-security tier IS accessible in the Deployed Space by users in all Single Service Commands. Expected Contract Length 4 months with the option to extend to 24 months Latest start date 31st October 2016 (plus or minus 1 Month) Budget Range Up to £500,000 for the initial 4 month contract Up to £3.5M additional as an Option subject to MGBC approval and satisfactory outcomes Please provide a separate LoL for T&S up to a max of £10k per year (all T&S subject to in-house approval) Why the Work is Being Done MOD ISS Deployed Platform Services (DPS) is updating its deployed Information and Communications Systems (ICS) platforms which will be provisioned onto maritime platforms and into air/land environments. The design work for this is MOD owned and conducted in-house by ISS, as is a large proportion of the engineering effort required to roll the capability out to end users. It sees an evolution in technical capability when compared to the DII Deployed systems utilising the lessons learnt through UOR delivery into Op HERRICK and in particular coalition systems such as OVERTASK and MAGPIE. Problem to Be Solved To deliver NSoIT(D) the decision was made to use JACKDAW development methods and approach to deliver a unified System of Systems, covering SUKEO, MISSION-SECRET and OFFICIAL domains. The shortfall in skills is within the Technical Design and Engineering area. This requirement is for a team to augment the JACKDAW Design & Engineering Team. A successful outcome would be the design and engineered, production-ready prototype of NSoIT(D) computer hardware and software components. The vast majority of hardware and software is COTS, so the focus will be on bespoke configuration, engineering changes, additions to the existing system baselines, and associated automation scripting. Who Are the Users Tri-Service IS Users are in two groups: System Maintainers administer, configure and deploy the system on behalf of parent HQs; Staff Users use the functionality of the IS in the deployed space. The first group needs to work rapidly, e.g. through the ability to orchestrate system components or limiting numbers of physical devices to be deployed through virtualisation. The second group must have the ability to log into a familiar working environment with modern, responsive applications enabling collaborative working. This should be achievable regardless of where they are deployed or constraints such as bandwidth or environmental conditions. Early Market Engagement The development of this System of Systems is well underway but the existing Design Team, led by the MOD and supported by two other industry partners, must be augmented as the scope of the delivery increases. Work Already Done The JACKDAW (BLUE) system is reasonably mature in its development, albeit is currently undergoing its first major evolution in design. Work to develop this across the other 2 domains (BLACK and RED) is now on the critical path, as is augmentation to continue to mature BLUE. Existing Team There are two suppliers working with the MOD, making this effectively a team-of-teams: - The MOD provides the overarching Design Authority, set team priorities and assure work delivered - Actica Consulting, who began supporting the MOD in architecture and design and who continue to provide the Chief Engineer and Security Assurance Coordinator functions - BAE Systems, who provide the first augmentation of design and engineering support, with deliverables bought by ISS specific to the BLUE sub-system. Many of these deliverables will have direct read-across to JACKDAW/NSoIT (D) as a whole in order to make the systems coherent. Current Phase Alpha Skills & Experience • Experience in Agile and within iterative development projects (4%) • Designing and implementing operating system security settings (4%) • Microsoft Windows products (4%) • Cloud services management (4%) • Security Clearance to UK DV (4%) • Full Stack Developers (4%) • Solaris (4%) • Linux (4%) • Orchestration products e.g. Ansible, Puppet (4%) • Security logging and audit (4%) • Security separation techniques (4%) • Rack layout and build (4%) Nice to Haves • Virtual and physical networking (2.4%) • Computer science and/or software engineering to graduate level (2.4%) • Security documentation production to meet ISO27000 or similar (2.4%) • Airworthiness dependencies on application sets (2.4%) • Maritime integration (2.4%) Work Location Deployed Platform Services, JACKDAW, Spur D2, Building 405, MOD Corsham, Westwells Road, CORSHAM, Wilts, SN13 9NR Working Arrangments MOD Corsham will be the team's home location. Face to face interaction is preferred where possible. Remote / flexible working is encouraged if beneficial to getting work done more efficiently and effectively. Some travel required across the UK for interaction with users and business areas particularly at which JACKDAW is deployed or located in the UK. Travel and Subsistence is payable for duty away from MOD Corsham - Leave expectation: Not in excess of 6 working weeks per calendar year pro-rata Security Clearance Team must be DV to meet the requirements of this opportunity. If team members are not already DV cleared then they must be willing and capable of going through the DV process upon appointment. A minimum of 2 members must be DV upon appointment, with the remainder SC. Additional T&Cs Team size recommended profile over 4 initial months (less the Option) is: - 5 people from day 1 ‘til end Month 1 - 10 people for Months 2 and 3 - 5 people for Month 4 Option: There is the Option for the full team (recommended profile 10 - 2 designers, 8 engineers) to continue after Month 3 (from Month 4) until end of Month 24 depending upon successful approval of MGBC and satisfactory delivery of the Design & Engineering Team’s outputs. Suppliers are to confirm their approach dealing with conflicts of interest. No more than 2000 words per proposal No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 4 Proposal Criteria • Availability of suitable resources from the required date 4% • Whether the proposed delivery team includes any subcontractors or partnered resources 4% • Capability of standing up the team from the contract award date 4% • Ability to deploy the team onsite at the Customer’s location (or appropriate near-shore / off-shore location) 4% • Ability to adopt the technical solution developed so far and methodology, gain a detailed understanding to allow on-going support and further development, where applicable enhance the solution and methodology 4% • Reference track record 4% • Willingness to align with the Programme Approach (for example the Definition of Done, the Test Strategy, the Release Planning Approach etc.), but to offer opportunities for improvements where identified 4% • Team structure and organisational makeup 4% • Identification of risks and dependencies that might impact deliver-ability of the Project, and suggested approaches to manage them 4% • Value for money / Competitive whole life costs 4% Cultural Fit Criteria • Work as a team with our organisation and other suppliers 4% • Transparent and collaborative when making decisions 4% • Have a no-blame culture and encourage people to learn from their mistakes 4% • Application of Agile and other Iterative Principles 4% • Ability to add value 4% Payment Approach Capped time and materials Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 60% Cultural fit 20% Price 20% Questions from Suppliers 1. URGENT UPDATE: INFORMATION NOTICE The scoring for the Technical element of this assessment was accidently displayed on the advert as % against each element of:- Essential skills and experience- Nice to have skills and experience- Proposal criteriaThis should have been displayed as score, not as percent. To be clear, for these 3 elements of the assessment there are a total of 100 points available which will constitute 60% of the overall assessment marking. The remaining 40% will be:- 20% on cultural fit- 20% on price 2. IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING SUBMISSION OF QUESTIONS. The email account registered for receiving questions is currently not accessable . Please resubmit any questions to the email address -laura.chandler337@mod.uk. Apologies for any inconvenience this may cause . 3. Is the requirement for 2 DV cleared engineers from the start of contract award, or to be willing and able to undertake the clearance on contract award? All our engineers are SC cleared and willing to go through DV clearance for this project. The requirement is for at least 2 of them to be DV upon Contract Award, for the remainder to be SC as a minimum, and for any SC people to start the DV process following Contract Award. 4. What are the desired outcomes from this exercise? A successful outcome would be the design and engineered, production-ready prototype of NSoIT(D) computer hardware and software components. The vast majority of hardware and software is COTS, so the focus will be on bespoke configuration, engineering changes, additions to the existing system baselines, and associated automation scripting. 5. Can the Authority share the outputs of the discovery conducted till date to provide further background and context? No, this information cannot be shared at this stage. 6. Can the Authority hold a supplier briefing call to provide a voice overlay to their requirements? No. 7. Can the Authority provide what Design & Engineering Team’s outputs are expected to be produced by the team at the end of month 3 as stated in additional information section. By month 3 a team of around 10 people with the specified team working to the satisfaction of the Design Lead in ISS is the expected output. 8. Can the Authority indicate the roles of the individuals that have been suggested in the additional information section, as in:- 5 people from day 1 till end of month 1- 10 people from months 2 and 3- 5 people for month 4- Optional of full team of 2 designers and 8 engineers at the end of Month 3 The recommended individuals are as follows:Day 1 till end of month 1 - 1 designer and 4 IS engineersMonths 2 and 3 - 2 designers and 8 engineersMonth 4 - 1 designer and 4 IS engineers as per month 1Optional at the end of Month 3 - 2 designers and 8 engineers 9. What roles does the Authority anticipate within this agile team in the above profile? The design of secure information system components based largely upon the configuration of COTS (and MOTS) software and hardware components together with the engineering effort to build and test prototype examples of completed components such as large, UK-based servers, deployable servers, and user access devices. 10. Will the Authority maintain its discovery team going forward in alpha? If yes, what roles are already in place? The current team will be maintained in addition to this uplift in capacity. To describe the current phase of the work as “alpha” is slightly inaccurate and a limitation of the form on which this opportunity is advertised. In reality there are elements of the core JACKDAW system which have already been disposed of, elements in service, and elements in development. 11. Can the Authority confirm if the work history will be assessed through the submission of additional material to provide company's credentials and team member's CVs. If not, please can you clarify? It will be assessed through a written proposal expected to describe a bit about the company’s experience and work history, with personal work histories and qualifications being assessed through written CVs. 12. Can the Authority define how the presentation stage of the assessment criteria will be assessed? The presentation will be an opportunity for the Authority to meet potential suppliers to ask them questions and gain a deeper understanding of their technical competence based upon clarifications from their written proposal. It will also allow the Authority to assess cultural fit by meeting the team who will do the work. 13. Can the Authority define how and by what means they would like Proposal submitting to them for review? A written document no longer than 2000 words in electronic format, preferably PDF.