Digital Channels partners

Tender description

Why the Work is Being Done The Met Office needs to reach and engage with all UK citizens to protect life, well-being and property from weather and severe weather. Our website and apps are key, providing localised weather in detail and on the move. To maintain and grow our position in the market, we need to ensure our forecasts and warnings are available to a wider range of devices, providing an outstanding user experience. Our focus will be on upgrading to one responsive website, as well as continuing to evolve our weather app to better meet user needs. Problem to Be Solved We are seeking a partner to provide market expertise and user research, support the ongoing development of our consumer digital portfolio, including the development of a new responsive website, and provide support and maintenance for the app. We are looking to develop a single optimised, responsive site, which effectively and efficiently meets user needs, with a public beta released by early Dec 2017. This work will also cover the development of a consistent, cohesive visual design to be implemented across our consumer digital portfolio, and delivering new user-led, added value features to our app, to ensure we remain competitive. Who Are the Users Our remit is to provide weather and severe weather warning information to UK citizens at home and abroad, therefore we have a very large, general user base. As a UK citizen I need to access Met Office weather information, no matter what device I am using So that I can plan my activities appropriately. As a UK citizen I need to access National Severe Weather Warnings information from the Met Office, no matter what device I am using So that I know when severe weather might affect me and can take action to ensure I stay safe and protect property. Early Market Engagement Work Already Done Currently we have a desktop website and a mobile website both in live stage. A site audit of of these is in progress. Analysis of these sites will provide a basis for discovery. Our Met Office Weather App is also live, having been launched in May 2016. We have a backlog of ideas but need to have a period of re-focus on the user and discovery for new ideas. We have recently developed a new customer segmentation model for the Met Office and refreshed our weather icon set and National Severe Weather Warnings service. Existing Team The Met Office has an existing web development and support team and has already on-boarded an infrastructure supplier. The new supplier will be expected to work with these resources to support and deliver new and existing functionality. Met Office Product Owners will direct the development. The supplier will be expected to provide UX and UR capability and potentially supply resource to augment the internal Met Office team where gaps are identified up-skilling if required. For the app, no internal capability exists and the supplier will be expected to support the current app and supply development and testing capability. Current Phase Live Work Location For the web The work will be to deliver software to virtual environments hence can be performed from any appropriate physical location, however the liaison to agree the outcomes will mean that face to face working will be required. This will take place at either the supplier location, the Met Office, at Fitzroy Road, Exeter, Devon or at another appropriate location. A significant proportion of meetings and face to face working is expected to occur at the Met Office in Exeter. Working Arrangments The supplier is expected to work as an extension to our team. We will expect the team(s) to work face to face on a weekly basis with a significant proportion of time spent at the Met Office and potentially some time at the supplier’s site. The supplier will be expected to participate in regular agile ceremonies, such as Sprint Reviews, at the Met Office fortnightly and must have the ability to join regular and ad hoc meetings with the use of collaboration tools. Expenses will be as per the Met Office policy, which will be distributed to all shortlisted suppliers. Security Clearance The Met Office will review the accreditation documentation of prospective suppliers in accordance with their assertions on the Framework. These may include policies on security, code management, quality control and recruitment. Additionally, we may undertake individual clearance to BPSS or SC level for specific team members according to their role. Additional T&Cs Standard terms used Skills & Experience A proven track record in delivering a broad digital strategy for enterprise partners - 15 points User research skills and resources with the ability to translate findings into deliverable outcomes for web and app - 15 points User experience leadership skills that will turn user insights into a deliverable strategy - 20 points User experience design skills to work alongside internal Met Office teams to deliver those outcomes - 20 points Front end development skills to mentor, train, support and if required, deliver those outcomes across web and app - 5 points App development skills in iOS and Android with a wide portfolio of apps - 20 points Experience in agile development and resources to support agile development (scrum master etc) – 5 points Nice to Haves No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 5 Proposal Criteria Approach and methodology How the approach for both app and web will meet user needs by describing the proposed discovery strategy How the approach or solution would meet our goals of reaching more users, whilst growing loyalty with our existing userbase Key risks and dependencies of your proposed strategy and mitigations you would put in place to manage them Proposed Team structure and capabilities on a phase by phase basis for the web strategy Proposed team structure and capabilities for the support and delivery of the app strategy Organisational capacity to provide additional or flexible capability aligned to the scheduled deliverable Value for money Cultural Fit Criteria Alignment to the GDS digital principles with a ‘user first’ focus Embedded agile alignment A culture of openness and collaboration A willingness and understanding of the principles involved in being a ‘strategic partner’ rather than a supplier A flexible approach to communication, especially in the promotion of agile principles A willingness to support co-location and face to face working where beneficial A cohesive approach to working with internal capabilities Evidence of thought leadership in the creative and strategic space Payment Approach Capped time and materials Assessment Method Written proposal Case study Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 55% Cultural fit 20% Price 25% Questions from Suppliers Budget range the agreed budget is aligned to the delivery programme across 2 years to the end of march 2019 and will encompass alpha through to delivery, with appropriate pre-agreed spend allocated on a phased basis. overall the budget will be of the order of £2.25m to £2.75m.