UK SBS IT7281 ACAS Digital Advisory Service: Alpha

Tender description

Why the Work is Being Done Acas completed a discovery project late 2016 looking at our digital advice/guidance service with the working question: “Can we change the way we present information so that different users get the information they need more quickly and easily?” We now require a specialist agile team to work with us in the alpha phase to help achieve: increase user satisfaction for our service, increase use of our online guidance to self-serve, reduction of ‘information only’ helpline calls, increase ratio of web visits to calls and improved user experience for mobile and tablet. This will support Acas’ wider aims: http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1342 Problem to Be Solved Prototypes required for two areas of guidance (redundancy and holiday) to test navigation and content formats. Users need to find things easily, navigate complex subjects to find specific answers and gain confidence from plain language and authoritative content. Navigation and information architecture needs to be intuitive and scalable. Technical architecture support is integral to the project, Acas requires evaluations and recommendations for technology needed for Beta and Live (including CMS). The project must pass GDS alpha assessment and create agile capability building opportunities within Acas. Our service will not be on gov.uk and will use Acas’ look and feel. Who Are the Users Example user stories: As an employee who has been made redundant, I need to easily know where I stand so that I can quickly reduce my panic. As an employer who needs to make staff redundant I need to know the right way to do this so that I can plan my next steps. As a human resource advisor I need to quickly clarify my understanding of holiday entitlements so that I can answer a specific staff query promptly. Early Market Engagement Work Already Done Discovery was conducted Nov/Dec 2016. What we found/hypothesis to test in alpha: • Under 35s and small business owners have specific needs which are not yet addressed well. Enhancing the digital experience will enable us to engage more with this group of users. •Consistent messages early in the journey to remove trust-related “blockers” will increase engagement in the online experience •Content needs to be able to help address two user missions: solve specific problems and to educate users more broadly •Enhanced navigation will give us better user engagement with the website •Aligning content to best practice will increase user engagement Existing Team In house team: 1 x Service Manager (F/T), 1 X Product Manager (F/T). Secondments to shadow the process/capability build: 1 x Associate Delivery manager, 1 x User researcher, 1 x Content Designer, 1 x Business Analyst. Secondment roles have no agile experience other than user researcher who has some previous experience learnt from discovery phase. In house team does not have any experience of alpha. Current Phase Alpha Work Location Euston Tower, 286 Euston Rd, Kings Cross London, NW1 3DP Working Arrangments The team will be co-located with the project team in London, Monday-Friday usual office hours. Acas can account for occasional off-site working – to be agreed. The project will operate a standard agile scrum methodology: daily stand-ups, sprint planning, sprints, demos, retrospectives, show and tells. The supplier will need to take a lead by being role model in agile ways of working. They will need to collaborate with our team and invest time in knowledge sharing and coaching to increase the capability of Acas staff. The supplier will be responsible for recruiting user research participants as part of the bid. Security Clearance Baseline Personnel Security Standard clearance required. Additional T&Cs Skills & Experience Demonstrate your skills and expertise in the below criteria and how they will ensure the successful delivery of this project. (PLEASE LEAVE THIS BOX BLANK) Delivering digital services using a multidisciplinary agile team and scrum techniques (as in the GDS Service Manual) that meet the GDS Service Standards to pass GDS Alpha Service Assessments Delivering rapid development of prototypes created iteratively via user testing - based on Discovery findings to meet user needs (including assisted digital and accessible users) Leading an agile team as well as coaching, mentoring and upskilling people in agile techniques and roles to build capability within existing teams Creating and delivering robust KPIs for a service and using metrics, analytics, data and user feedback to create and prioritise key content and features Delivering the review of existing technical architecture and making successful recommendations for legacy systems as well as suitable alternative solutions Delivering the successful development of open source CMS including responsive templates, site publishing tools, front-end and UI web development Nice to Haves Demonstrate your skills and expertise in the below criteria and how they will ensure the successful delivery of this project. (PLEASE LEAVE THIS BOX BLANK) Managing and proactively engaging with complex internal stakeholder relationships to support digital transformation Delivering work on a non-transactional content based service and creating a robust information architecture and content taxonomy solution No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 5 Proposal Criteria Understanding of our requirements and what success would look like for this project. Approach, methodology and estimated timeline– taking into account discovery findings, further user research and testing, GDS assessment and planning for beta. How the approach or solution will meet user needs, including assisted digital and accessible users. Approach to our existing technical architecture, legacy system and technical recommendations. Approach to leading an agile team and coaching/mentoring/upskilling internal Acas staff. Identification of risks and dependencies and offered approaches to manage them. Project team structure (with roles and responsibilities) Cultural Fit Criteria Demonstrate your approach to engaging with internal senior stakeholders undergoing cultural change and how this will support project success. Demonstrate how you will work transparently, collaboratively and share your approach with the Acas project team and listen to their feedback. Demonstrate how you will take responsibility for challenging the status quo and stand up for your discipline while involving Acas staff. Payment Approach Capped time and materials Assessment Method Written proposal Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 60% Cultural fit 20% Price 20% Questions from Suppliers Budget range £140,000 to £165,000