Drupal Support and Development for NOMS Digital Studio

Tender description

Summary of the work Two experienced Developers to help support and develop new features on a prototype digital service aimed at turning prisoners lives around. This service will be deployed to 2 prisons early 2017. Expected Contract Length 4 Months Latest start date 23/01/2016 / ASAP Why the Work is Being Done 2 experienced developers are required in Sheffield to ensure the delivery team for this product are collocated. The work is being done to prototype and test new features on a product in two prisons, learning valuable lessons for future in-cell service delivery. Developers will work with the existing team to support and continuously improve the product. Problem to Be Solved The Digital Prison programme is rolling out in-cell technology to prisons as part of a large reform programme. The Digital Hub is a key component of this programme, and aims to offer services to prisoners in their cell. These services in turn are targeted both at improving the safety and decency of prison life, and improving the chances a prisoner will have of re-integrating into society upon release. They include digital services for: education; employment; health and support; services which promote constructive use of time. Who Are the Users The two key user segments are prisoners in their cell and content providers. While all walks of life are represented in the prison population, many have low levels of literacy and poor experiences of traditional education. Safety is also a critical user need with a large number of assaults and self-inflicted deaths. Governors will have control over the content that is delivered in their prison so the second user segment - content providers - is also crucial. These providers need to be able to reach prisoners with innovative material in different media formats for the purposes of education and support. Existing Team Product Manager - NOMS User interaction designer - NOMS/contractor Delivery Manager - NOMS/contractor User researcher - NOMS/contractor Technical Architect - NOMS/contractor Developer - NOMS/contractor Current Phase Alpha Skills & Experience • Please send 2 Candidate CVs per role (4 CVs in total) to kiah_rose.sheppard@justice.gsi.gov.uk to be assessed against the below. • PHP programming and scripting • Backend Drupal 8 development - core, custom and contributed modules • Programming of API hooks to Laravel 5.2 front end • Comfortable with test tools such as Behat and PHPUnit • Development of analytics using Drupal modules and PIWIK • Drupal performance optimisation • Agile, iterative product delivery experience • Experience of user-centred design and working with design and user research in the team Work Location NOMS Digital Studio 2nd Floor, Greenfield House 32 Scotland Street Sheffield S3 7DQ Working Arrangments 4 days per week in the Sheffield office There is a £5000 limit on expenses. Travel costs to and from the supplier location to the Sheffield studio will not be covered. Travel costs to other locations for meetings and research trips can be expensed against this budget. Security Clearance Basic (Disclosure Scotland) No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 5 Proposal Criteria • Shortlisting - Candidate CVs will be assessed and scored against the published Technical Competence criteria. • Evaluation - Written proposal including Work History (Technical Fit, Cultural Fit), Candidate Interview (Technical Fit, Cultural Fit) Day Rate assessment (Price) • Technical suitability and experience of Candidates • Demonstratable Cultural Fit • Value for Money Cultural Fit Criteria • Passionate about agile principles • Experience of using the SCRUM framework • Collocation and face-to-face working is important • Frequent involvement and discussions • Proven track record of focusing on delivery Payment Approach Time and materials Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 55% Cultural fit 20% Price 25% Questions from Suppliers 1. You mention a limit of £5000 on expenses - please can you advise suppliers of your budget range for the 2 developers required for the 4 month period? We do indeed have an ideal budget range for this requirement, however at this moment in time we are not in a position to share this with Suppliers. We prefer to save budget discussions with Suppliers/Candidates in our shortlist. I hope this doesn't discourage any potential applications. 2. When are the CVs to be submitted? Will a submission date be sent us or is it the 12th of January 2017 - the closing date of applications? My apologies, I did not publish a submission date. Can CVs be submitted to kiah_rose.sheppard@justice.gsi.gov.uk by 5pm 12th of January. Thanks! 3. Do you have dates in mind for interviews? Yes. We will be holding interviews on Tuesday 10th, Monday 16th, and Tuesday 17th. We do not have space in the diary 'til Monday 9th to sift - we're aware that this may mean some candidates may not be able to attend the Tuesday 10th session at such short notice. Interviews will be held in Sheffield - if you are able to block out some time in the diary for the interview sessions in advance, it would be greatly appreciated.