PS/16/242 - Software Engineer

Tender description

Why the Work is Being Done In line with government policy, the Agency has set out to transform its ICT estate to a digital, cloud hosted, open source, multi-supplier environment within a cloud-hosted environment to deliver a transformed ICT estate and reduce total cost of ownership. This request is to support the DVLA pipeline of work providing Software Engineer resource as a service that will supplement the existing DVLA resources. Problem to Be Solved In order to support the pipeline of work the level of in house expert knowledge needs to be supplemented in order to continue support the delivery of the pipeline and enablement of the in-house team. The initial commitment is for 8 Software Engineer resources to be provided preferably by 3rd January but no later than the 16th January. The contract will also be able to provision for a further 12 resources over the life of the contract to be provided as and when required. Who Are the Users Multiple both internal and external customers. The resources will be required to supplement the existing Software Engineering community staff. The Senior Software Engineers are lead developers within one of the Applications Support teams, which undertakes the support and maintenance of DVLA’s applications both internal and public/customer facing. The software engineers will work as part of a flexible software delivery team working in a variety of styles, including Agile. Each call off will be supported by a predefined Statement of Work which will define individuals outcomes and success criteria. Early Market Engagement Work Already Done Existing Team A team of in-house Software Engineers exist. This resource will bolster current skills on an as needed basis with an initial commitment for 8 resources to be provided preferably by 3rd January but no later than the 16th January. The contract will also be able to provision for a further 12 resources over the life of the contract to be provided as and when required. Current Phase Beta Work Location DVLA Longview Road Morriston Swansea SA6 7JL Working Arrangments 5 days a week To be available on rota basis to undertake out of hours activities and provide on call cover to support the service Security Clearance Must have valid SC Clearance and be able to evidence. Additional T&Cs T&S charges only apply for staff that commute over a 75 mile journey in each direction. This is based on the distance that would be reasonable to expect a person to commute to the principal location(s). T&S is only applicable at the following maximum rates (excluding VAT): i. For T&S including travel but no overnight stay: Suppliers plain day rate plus £45.00. ii. For T&S including overnight stay: Suppliers plain day rate plus £90.00. Suppliers will need to be available for telephone interviews between 28th-30th December. Skills & Experience Substantial experience in software development using both recognised and/or specialist programming languages and technologies, including Java Input into Major Incident and Problem Management processes Mentoring junior developers System support (working day, weekends and on-call), including transitioning into support from project phase Able to demonstrate the competencies to rapidly acquire the skills in another development language. Continuous Improvement and defect fixes. Nice to Haves Experience of working within an agile system development methodology No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 10 Proposal Criteria Approach and methodology How the approach or solution meets user needs How the approach or solution meets your organisation’s policy or goal Cultural Fit Criteria Experience of working with Agile teams Experience of raising issues and driving change Ability to encourage efficient communication and continuous improvement Supporting enablement of in-house development capabilities, engaging with staff and creating an environment of knowledge sharing Payment Approach Time and materials Assessment Method Written proposal Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 70% Cultural fit 10% Price 20% Questions from Suppliers Budget range maximum £600 day rate (plus t&s where applicable)