Discovery Work To Understand Capabilities Provided By Air Tasking Applications

Tender description

Why the Work is Being Done DefSTARS is a Defence-wide Air planning and competency application which will require replacement with an agile, modular based application. Since initial delivery the user community has increased in size, with new data field additions such as engineering competencies and a Defence-wide increase in the Air safety supervision requirements. To prepare for replacement, Defence must understand the future user requirements and those of similar in-service Defence Air planning applications, as well as general competency tracking applications, to identify capability overlaps and scope high-level solution requirements ahead future market tender. The application is owned by the RAF. Problem to Be Solved Analysis of existing requirement sets for DefSTARs and other Defence Air planning applications, including BOCS, CMS and FlightLog, to generate high-level user requirements for informing application replacement programmes and potential overlap of functionality. Must identify high-level user requirements which can be built into agile, flexible and affordable application(s) which exploit future developing requirements, are delivered in an ‘evergreen’ defence IT infrastructure and are hosting environment agnostic. Also provide a comparative understanding of COTS capabilities. Requirements must support a single digital interface approach, supported by data analytics with open APIs to exploit an ‘enter once, use many’ digital culture across Defence. Who Are the Users The RAF is the lead user acting on behalf of Defence. DefSTARS supports 20,000 whole-force military users based in the UK and overseas. Users include aircrew, planners and engineers to maintain currency records, match currencies to taskings, record engineering and flying authorisations and produce a dynamic flying programme. The other Defence applications requiring exploration have similar deliverables, but with additional aircraft specific functionality. All Air planning applications need to safely and efficiently conduct dynamic flying missions for operational and training sorties through accurate and timely information, which can be interrogated in one digital interface over existing military IT infrastructure. Early Market Engagement Work Already Done Nil. User requirements have not been refreshed since introduction of the application and due to the complexities of the applications and how they have evolved since delivery, Air does not have sufficient experience or knowledge to perform this Discovery phase. High-level scoping of requirements for all Air planning applications is required to inform Air’s future Air planning application requirement setting. Existing Team Air will have a Product Owner team based at HQ Air Command, RAF High Wycombe. Sub-product owners and stakeholders are located across the RAF locations and will be required to be engaged. A core team will be based at RAF High Wycombe. Current Phase Discovery Work Location RAF High Wycombe, MOD Corsham, RAF and JHC units. Working Arrangments The supplier will work to the direction of the RAF Product Owner with weekly progress updates and regular milestone reports. The supplier is to provide a policy and programme plan for the development of Air programming application requirements. The supplier shall use their own equipment, where security requirements permit, and provide the services on hours/days as required to meet deadlines; as agreed between the supplier and Product Owner. The supplier shall provide resources to support the development of the service, including one or more digital outcome delivery specialists and have office facilities to support their own off-site working. Security Clearance Security Check (SC) cleared Additional T&Cs These MOD DEFCONs form part of this Contract: DEFCON 5J (Edn 18/11/16) Unique Identifiers, DEFCON 76 (Edn 12/06) Contractors on site, DEFCON 129J (Edn 18/11/16) Electronic business Delivery Form, DEFCON 516 (Edn 04/12) Equality, DEFCON 520 (Edn 18/11/16) Corrupt gifts and payments of commission, DEFCON 522 (Edn 18/11/16) Payment and Recovery of Sums Due, DEFCON 531 (Edn 11/14) Disclosure of Information, DEFCON 534 (Edn 18/11/16) Subcontracting and Prompt Payment, DEFCON 566 (Edn 07/14) Change of control contractor, DEFCON 642 (Edn 06/14) Progress meetings, DEFCON 658 Edition 10/17 - Cyber. Skills & Experience Recent and demonstrable experience of researching user requirements. Recent and demonstrable experience of researching user experience. Recent and demonstrable experience of delivering data analytics. Recent and demonstrable experience of working to tight timelines. Recent and demonstrable experience in the support and management of this type of solution. Recent and demonstrable experience of completing comprehensive reviews of existing technical solutions. Recent and demonstrable experience of collecting and documenting business requirements at a level of detail that will support the selection of a future solution Recent and demonstrable experience investigating and documenting the technical construct of a live solution including clarification of the technologies, user interfaces, external interfaces, programming languages, Databases, operating systems etc Experience in solutions that offer a dedicated team a clear understanding of compliance across their spectrum of delivery/responsibility Delivery of development services into an Agile /DevOps organisation. Working within SCRUM/Kanban frameworks within multi-skilled development teams; providing poly skilled individuals capable of contributing to the team beyond development. Demonstrable experience of successfully building secure applications that collect/manage personal and/or sensitive information with appropriate controls and protection in-line with MoD JSP440 and mitigate common risks listed by OWASP. Demonstrable experience of building application services suitable for being for being hosted on both Official security domains. Excellent communication and project management skills. Nice to Haves Demonstrable experience of working with the MOD, with a good understanding of ISS and wider business practices and relevant JSPs. An understanding of the MOD’s network architecture. No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 5 Proposal Criteria Evidence against the skills, experience and cultural fit. Availability of suitable resources from the required date Capability of standing up the team from the contract award date Provision of a comprehensive programme plan to deliver against the Digital Outcome phase. Ensure all risks and dependencies are clearly identified in a timely and informed manner and their potential mitigations. Ensure the RAF retains ownership of all data and information. Provide CVs and relevant experience of senior user experience specialist who could be part of the service. Provide two reference able client-focused case studies where your company have provided the desired service capability. Ability to mobilise the team quickly and approach to service continuity. How the proposal will optimise costs, and generate savings, in particular minimising transition costs between the current team and the new supplier. Ability to deploy the team onsite at the Customer’s location (or appropriate near-shore / off-shore location). Ability to demonstrate a deep understanding of MoD training environment and systems. Identification of risks and dependencies that might impact deliverability of the Project, and suggested approaches to manage them. Demonstrable experience of running/providing service management for a large user base. Value for money. Cultural Fit Criteria Recent proven experience in working with the product owner and product users to derive requirements and enhance user experience. Recent proven experience of an open and collaborative working relationship at levels with excellent communication and co-ordination skills when conducting stand-ups, team meetings, presentation and demonstrations. Has a no-blame culture and encourages people to learn from their mistakes, working as "Whole Force". Suppliers must demonstrate an ability and willingness to be transparent and work collaboratively within a multi-vendor delivery environment. Able to communicate effectively with users, technical architects and solve issues amongst complex integrations. Proven ability to add value to Information Applications Services through the use of innovation, continuous improvement and cost savings. Work as a team with our organisation and other suppliers Transparent and collaborative when making decisions Application of Agile and other Iterative Principles Ability to add value via continuous improvements providing efficiencies. Payment Approach Capped time and materials Assessment Method Written proposal Case study Work history Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 50% Cultural fit 20% Price 30% Questions from Suppliers Budget range budget limit of £200,000 (inc. vat) for discovery phase