User-Centred Design

Tender description

Why the Work is Being Done The Immigration IT Portfolio is delivering around 70 projects which impact over 20,000 Home Office staff and millions of customers worldwide. We are looking for a supplier who can provide the necessary knowledge, skills and experience to help build a user centred design capability within the department, on a range of internal and public facing services from discovery to live. Specific skills required are content design, interaction design and user research as set out in the GDS Service Manual (https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/the-team/what-each-role-does-in-service-team) Problem to Be Solved The Home Office currently lacks capability in user centred design and the services are failing to meet the Digital by Default Service Standard. The supplier will support in-house delivery teams to build services which meet the Digital Service Standard, reduce duplication of effort, reduce failure demand and transfer knowledge and skills to Civil Servants. Who Are the Users People from overseas who want to come to or stay in the UK. Staff who need to make decisions, share information or process applications. Early Market Engagement None. Work Already Done The Home Office currently has an in house user centred design function. However, it is currently unable to meet the demands placed upon it. The new supplier would provide discrete teams for specific pieces of project work to ensure best practice is being followed across the Home Office. Existing Team The existing team is a multi-disciplinary agile delivery team, made up of product/service managers, business analysts, developers and design professionals. Current Phase Not applicable Work Location The Services will be delivered to Home Office’s primary location at Metro Point, 49 Sydenham Road, Croydon, CR0 2EU. The supplier may be required to travel on occasion to other Home Office locations within the UK. Travel and subsistence expenses will not be reimbursed for any travel within the M25 region Working Arrangments The Supplier will provide a user centred design service to project delivery teams across the Home Office. Each Statement of Work will cover that particular project and have associated outcomes and deliverables, and will be for a fixed price for fixed scope. The teams will be expected to work alongside the project teams where appropriate to deliver against the agreed deliverables. Security Clearance Service Provider personnel need to be compliant with BPSS as a minimum, and CTC clearance if working in Home Office buildings. Depending on the nature of the role, if escalated and/or privileged access is necessary then there may be a requirement for SC clearance Additional T&Cs The teams will be made up of Content Designers, Interaction Designers and User Researchers, will the mix depending on the requirements and scale of the project. It will be up to the supplier to decide what the most appropriate mix should be and reflect that in the fixed price for that SOW. The price evaluation for this procurement will assume a standard mix for evaluation purposes. This contract will 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. Skills & Experience Experience in building services to meet the Digital by Default Service Standard. Deploying teams of content designers, interaction designers and user researchers to work alongside agile delivery teams in government, and understanding how those roles work together. Experience in proving the benefits of a user-led approach in a deadline-driven environment Experience in designing services that meet both user needs and business objectives Experience in delivering digital solutions that meet Level AA of the W3C WCAG 2.0 accessibility standards Experience in successfully and collaboratively working, coaching and sharing knowledge with Public Sector client teams, particularly those with limited agile development experience Nice to Haves Demonstrable experience of working in multi-team agile delivery programmes Experience in working in government in within a similar context Experience in building customer or staff facing digital services in the immigration field Demonstrate thought leadership in user centred design and public sector delivery No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 5 Proposal Criteria Demonstrate understanding/ability to deliver digital products/services to government Digital Service standards Demonstrate approach to knowledge and skills transfer Ability to scale up to full team and flex resource when needed Illustrate core team skills/strengths, including CVs of key personnel Value for money Experience of using insight and evidence to create compelling and persuasive arguments Demonstrate understanding of the challenges of implementing user centred design in a government agile environment Domain knowledge of Home Office business requirements and issues Cultural Fit Criteria Have a proactive approach to service readiness Have a proactive approach to stakeholder engagement Have a strong dedication to a One Team approach Have a positive approach to development of client capablility Have a positive approach to people development Payment Approach Capped time and materials Assessment Method Written proposal Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 65% Cultural fit 5% Price 30% Questions from Suppliers Budget range £4,000,000 to £4,950,000