Digital experience platform for UWE Bristol

Tender description

Why the Work is Being Done The current web presence is held on an outdated and unsupported CMS which lacks agility in supporting the business and its core audiences. This work aims to deliver a responsive, integrated and engaging digital publishing environment which places users at the heart of its development and is distinctive in the market. Problem to Be Solved Replace the existing unstable content management system with a robust digital experience platform and appropriate hosting services. Who Are the Users The website has a wide range of users with a number of different needs (staff, current students, prospective students, partners, businesses, researchers). We have captured our requirements as user stories which can be shared after first responses have been reviewed. Early Market Engagement We engaged the market in July last year and discussed project approaches and current platform options with a number of suppliers. We are aware of the project phases we can expect to work through and the preference for agile working. We are also aware of the indicative costs that different platform choices may present. Based on market discussions, we have agreed our project approach will build on our existing core programming skill base, which is .Net and Java. These will be used alongside presentation layer development skills, HTML, CSS, JavaScript and associated libraries. We are not looking to implement a system that requires us to introduce new programming skills. Work Already Done A discovery phase was completed with an agency partner in May 2017. The outputs of this work were a matrix of user needs divided into themes, competitor analysis, a card sorting and treejack exercise used to develop a draft Information Architecture. Requirements have also been gathered from across the business and the project is being reviewed for dependencies with other change projects (CRM, student records, curriculum management) as well as how it fits with a wider enterprise architecure of business capabilities. Existing Team The supplier would work with the UWE core project team (Project Manager, Web Manager, Development Manager, Enterprise Architect, Business Improvement Manager), the web content team based in Marketing and the Corporate Systems team based in IT Services. Current Phase Discovery Work Location Frenchay Campus Coldharbour Lane Bristol BS16 1QY Working Arrangments Remote working can be accommodated but ideally time would be spent on-site with internal teams to develop solutions collaboratively and to support sustainable transition of the project outputs into business as usual. Security Clearance n/a Additional T&Cs n/a Skills & Experience Experience developing multi-channel publishing solutions for large complex organisations Demonstrable experience developing applications and services with an enterprise level CMS/DXP product using .net and/or java Experience of planning and managing phased roll out of new website architecture / transition from current to future state (including migration planning) Experience designing and implementing content governance models and content lifecycle workflows Experience implementing multi-site/multi-domain publishing on a single platform Experience of testing and optimising websites for search engine rankings and speed performance Experience of developing structured content Experience of integrations with data feeds and content feeds from other systems or third-party channels Experience of integration with a CRM system to support user experience of the website Experience of authentication and single sign-on integrations Experience of planning and implementation of content personalisation Experience of delivering hosting solutions appropriate to size of website and volume of traffic/usage patterns Experience of implementing and configuring appropriate search tools Experience of integrating with databases and asset storage systems Experience of embedding accessibility principles in the design process and delivering to WCAG 2.0 AA standards with awareness of WCAG 2.1 compliance Experience designing navigation and page types to work with multiple devices Experience of rapid development of prototypes and iterating design concepts informed by user testing Experience of content modelling and taxonomy creation Experience creating a pattern library, source code repository and digital style guide Demonstrable experience of impeccable design work Nice to Haves Delivering digital projects with HE institutions Using AI and machine learning to benefit user experience A-B /multi-variant content development and optimisation Expertise in privacy/GDPR compliance and awareness of wider compliance requirements Experience of developing solutions for “headless” publishing No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 4 Proposal Criteria How the approach or solution meets user needs How the approach or solution meets our project goal Proposed approach and methodology Proposed technical solution Team structure Estimated timeframes for the work Value for money How the supplier has identified risks and dependencies and approaches to manage them Cultural Fit Criteria Collaborative and knowledge sharing in working style Transparent approach to work management Committed to deadlines and delivery Open and honest communications Evidence of tailoring responses to client needs Able to work well with in-house teams and non-technical stakeholders. Goes the extra mile to resolve project issues Uses lessons learnt in working style Payment Approach Capped time and materials Assessment Method Written proposal Case study Work history Reference Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 60% Cultural fit 10% Price 30% Questions from Suppliers Budget range £250,000-£500,000