Re-development of eGAR (Electronic General Aviation Report) online submission portal

Tender description

Why the Work is Being Done Border Force is putting many of its existing processes online, so as to make them quicker, cheaper, and more efficient. eGAR submission is one such process. A previous iteration of the eGAR submission tool acted as a proof of concept. Border Force now needs a new team to redevelop the tool from the Alpha stage, using open source technology, tried and tested methods of data ingest and recognised user research methods. To ensure that an easy to use product is produced which passes all GDS assessments and spend control procedures. There is a tight deadline driven by legislative changes. Problem to Be Solved Presently, there are 3 different methods for submitting a GAR (General Aviation Report). The overall process, from obtaining the information, to depositing it in a central database, involves lots of manual processes. Border Force wants to bring the GAR submission into one place, in the form of the eGAR online tool. The previous iteration of the tool acted as a POC and needs to be redeveloped with a focus on user led iteration with improved bulk upload functionality. Any redevelopment of the tool must therefore meet all GDS Service Standards and pass GDS assessment at each stage of development. Who Are the Users General Aviation (GA) is defined as any (non-military) aircraft not operating to a published schedule. There are 90,000 GA flights made into the UK every year. All GA flights must submit a GAR. GARs are used by GA flights to notify Border Force and/or the Police of their arrival into the UK. GARs must contain information such as aircraft type, passenger / crew personal details, arrival / departure times, etc. GA flight operators and pilots – the Users – need one central, online means by which they can submit their GAR. The tool must be quick and easy to use. Early Market Engagement A previous iteration of this tool already exists, built by an external supplier. In terms of identifying a supplier to undertake the redevelopment of the tool, however, there has been no early market engagement. Work Already Done A previous iteration of this tool already exists, built by an external supplier, which was a proof of concept. There are already well defined Functional and non functional requirements together with user research which can be used as a starting point. However more work with users will be necessary to ensure that the new development is truly user led. Any new iteration of the tool must begin at the Alpha stage of development, and must meet the 18 GDS service points outlined in the GDS service manual. Existing Team 1 x internal project manager 1 x Internal Product Owner 1 x Internal Service Manager Current Phase Alpha Work Location The work is predominantly based in London within the M25 (Westminster initially at 2 Marsham Street and then Croydon), however proposals of remote working at a different location will be considered. Working Arrangments Expenses will conform to HO internal policies and will not be payable within the M25. The team is expected to work across the multiple sites; the main sites are expected to be Westminster, Croydon, or Heathrow. The team must be available during standard HO working hours. Security Clearance All staff engaged on the programme must currently hold or be capable of being security cleared to SC level. Additional T&Cs This contract would probably be deemed outside the intermediaries legislation (IR35) but could be affected by factors outside HO control. HO assumes no liability and will grant no guarantee of status. IPR in any Developed Technology will rest with HO. The Contractor will warrants to the Authority that all components of the Developed Technology shall: (a) be free from defects in material and workmanship; and (b) perform in all material respects in accordance with the agreed specifications Skills & Experience • Proven experience building easy-to-use web-based / mobile applications • Proven experience building services on AWS • Proven experience conducting and documenting user research, and iterating project work accordingly (test driven development) • Proven experience delivering projects using the agile project management methodology • Demonstrate understanding and ability to deliver digital services/products to the Government Digital Service standards • Demonstrate a successful approach to completion of required GDS Service Assessment, Security Health Check, Penetration Testing, Service Readiness, and release reviews as part of quality and acceptance tests. • Proven ability to support and improve the solution once live • Development solely using Open Source products or products which IPR will vest with the HO upon delivery Nice to Haves • Previous successful experience delivering digital services within Government • Proven track record of building services with robust disaster recovery plans in place • Proven track record of building services automated testing procedures. • A track record of successfully delivering IT projects within public sector organisations • Previous experience of working successfully with provisions for an offline user interface • Knowledge of Java 8, Scala, Spring Boot, NodeJS, HTML5/CSS, Docker and Kubernetes, SOAP, REST and GitHub • Use and knowledge of an existing DB flavour already used in the Home Office e.g PostgreSQL, or NoSQL DBs such as MongoDB. • Use and knowledge of GitHub, GitLab, Drone, Jenkins • Experience of Home Office Forms (an open source project - https://github.com/UKHomeOfficeForms/hof) • Understand issues pertaining to applying security checks to individuals travelling across borders. • Demonstrate experience of writing cloud native / 12-factor apps • Demonstrate knowledge of working with 3rd parties to develop standard interfaces and data exchange portals. • Proven track record in the development of automated testing procedures. • Have experience of successfully transitioning projects into a live service environment within a government department within the last 12 months • Have availability of resources to be able to start as soon as possible No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 3 Proposal Criteria • All essential and nice to have requirements will be evaluated further as part of the overall proposal criteria below • 2nd stage Evaluation criteria have 8 categories: Specific Competencies 40%, Plan for initial phase 25%, Policy 20%, Methodology 10%, Security 5% • Specific Competencies: Includes all essential and nice to have technology criteria • Specific Competencies: Includes all essential and nice to have business and project plan • Written response as to the type of agile delivery criteriamethod proposed. • Specific Competencies: Ability to transfer to Business as Usual • Plan: Quality of delivery plan for first phase of engagement and statement of work, including user research • Policy: Cloud - Open Source - IPR and Licensing • Methodology: Agile - Government Digital Service • Security: Compliance with people security requirements Cultural Fit Criteria • Experience working with public sector organisations • Work collaboratively with key contacts in Home Office • Transparency in decision-making • Strong pro-active approach to incident and problem management Payment Approach Capped time and materials Assessment Method Written proposal Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 65% Cultural fit 5% Price 30% Questions from Suppliers Budget range budget range of between £0.5m £1.5m over two years (excl vat)