Automation Test Specialists

Tender description

Why the Work is Being Done To build test automation capability in-house and to increase the coverage of automation for internal and external facing systems across the organisation. Problem to Be Solved We have a large number of projects and systems that require a supplier to provide technical expertise in helping to build the automation capability within the testing team. We are therefore looking to engage a supplier who can act as a partner to the IPO to help increase the automation coverage of new and existing systems, but more specifically to up-skill our existing team and turning them into subject matter experts. Who Are the Users The Internal Testing Team require automation test capability to support the delivery of key new and existing projects as well as increasing automation test coverage of already live systems. To assist in this process of developing automated test capability we need a supplier to act as a partner and subject matter expert to deliver various pieces of work over the life of the contract that will facilitate this goal. Early Market Engagement Aside from a general awareness that this requirement has been fulfilled by suppliers in other government organisations, no formal market engagement has taken place. Work Already Done Some of our systems are automated, however, there is a need to increase the coverage across all working systems and systems in development. Existing Team The successful supplier's team/specialists will sit within agile multi-disciplinary teams but will be fully supporting the testing team requirements. Current Phase Not applicable Work Location Intellectual Property Office, Cardiff Road, Newport, NP10 8QQ Working Arrangments Individuals will work as part of an agile delivery team working to a delivery manager for tasks and a test manager for ways of working. Work pattern will be standard office hours Monday to Friday (40 hours per week), however it is expected that a flexible approach will be taken and agreed between the IPO and successful supplier as each SoW is agreed throughout the life of the contract. Security Clearance Supplier's teams will need to be SC cleared. Additional T&Cs N/A Skills & Experience Have extensive experience across industry recognised test automation tools Have experience of using Selenium Webdriver with Visual Studio / Specflow / C# Have experience of Meter / Visual Studio Performance Testing Have Experience of designing and creating re-usable automated test scripts and procedures Have good understanding of programming languages .NET/Java/Scala and database technologies MS SQL Server Have experience of working and delivering within an Agile methodology Have the ability to up skill and knowledge transfer Have Agile methodology (Scrum / Kanban) skills and experience Have BDD / Cucumber / Gherkin skills and experience Nice to Haves No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 5 Proposal Criteria Detailed explanation of the proposed approach including timescales Explanation of how knowledge transfer to IPO staff will be achieved to enable them to take on future testing and maintenance without 3rd party support Description of Agile skills and the use of the defined testing tool set Details of proposed resources including skill set and expertise Details of resource capacity and how this is flexed in response to client demand Case study evidence of delivery of similar services to similar clients Commercial rates for proposed resource and how these demonstrate value for money Cultural Fit Criteria have experience of working in a team have excellent Communications skills work in a transparent and collaborative manner transfer knowledge and experience to civil servants to support learning from this engagement Payment Approach Capped time and materials Assessment Method Written proposal Reference Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 70% Cultural fit 10% Price 20% Questions from Suppliers Budget range £100,000 for the duration of the contract.