Support and challenge for building REST APIs

Tender description

Why the Work is Being Done The Council has built over 100 web integrations between software with its development team and external contractors. However, these are not well documented and do not support a modern microservices architecture. We have been exploring the opportunity for REST APIs to connect our digital services. These are documented at https://github.com/LBHackney-IT. We now want to support the training of our developers, ensure that our code is robust and documentation is easy to follow. Problem to Be Solved Our development team needs support and challenge to ensure that our REST APIs are built to best practice. This includes adopting test driven development and pair programming practices. Who Are the Users As a developer I need to be confident in test driven development so that I can write high quality code As a developer, I need to understand how to build REST APIs so that I can support the council’s approach As a developer, I need to write high quality documentation so that my code is consistent with the council’s approach As a digital agency supporting Hackney I need to understand how to build digital services consistent with its approach. As a third party developer, I need to connect to Hackney’s APIs so that I can provide a digital service. Early Market Engagement We discussed an initial brief with a range of agencies that contacted us via Twitter. Lots of different approaches were suggested, which helped us develop this brief. Work Already Done Three members of the development team have been seconded to a project team to develop a new housing repairs service, led by DXW. Through this work they have been supported in adopting test driven development and building APIs to the structure advocated by the White House. They have shared this approach with colleagues in the development team. These are documented at https://github.com/LBHackney-IT We are now exploring this approach further by developing REST APIs around our master datasets, LLPG and Citizen Index. Existing Team Development and Integration Manager, three lead developers and three junior developers, supported by an external consultant who is leading the work to develop the APIs. All of the team is familiar with .NET and the associated Microsoft stack. The team is also supported by three additional developers on short term contracts to support the teams developing digital services for tenants and leaseholders. Current Phase Alpha Work Location Hackney Council offices in Mare Street, E8 Working Arrangments We would expect the team to spend some time co-located to develop relationships, but other support can take place via Google Meet and Slack. Security Clearance Additional T&Cs Skills & Experience Have experience of working to the user-centred, Agile methods advocated in the Service Design Manual Have experience of developing the technical architecture for secure, scalable data platforms Have experience of designing and developing minimum viable solutions Have experience of developing ‘in the open’ - using tools such as Github Be able to advise on the best technology to adopt given the council’s aims Demonstrate experience of developing REST APIs to open standards Have experience of working with .NET and the Microsoft technology stack Have demonstrable experience of supporting knowledge-transfer Nice to Haves Developed a service to meet the national, or local government digital service standard Experience of master data management No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 3 Proposal Criteria Understanding of user needs from the service Clarity of the approach Experience from an analogous project Team structure, including skills, experiences and relevance of individuals Cultural Fit Criteria Work as a team with our organisation and other suppliers Be transparent and collaborative when making decisions Share knowledge and experience with team members and the wider service Demonstrate simplicity (e.g. do less but better, explaining complex issues in a clear, simple way, break down and prioritise complex issues) Payment Approach Capped time and materials Assessment Method Written proposal Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 55% Cultural fit 15% Price 30% Questions from Suppliers Budget range £60,000 - £80,000 excluding vat. we’d expect to flex the total price depending on the level of ongoing support and challenge required.