Route Survey Tasking & Analytics

Tender description

Summary of the work An Application to automatically schedule and plan route survey missions, supply mission tasking to the UXVs, ingest, store and analyse the data in a Route Survey Database. Machine Learning to analyse mission conditions to improve future success rate. Incorporate Automatic Target Recognition & Change Detection for Post Mission Analysis. Expected Contract Length 12 months Latest start date Monday 1 April 2019 Budget Range £543,000 inc.VAT Why the Work is Being Done Aligned with wider Navy IW-Artificial Intelligence and Data Programme NELSON and wider edicts such as JCN-1/18-Human Machine Teaming. The Navy requires a new and improved platform from which to plan, task and analyse Q-Route surveys with an integral Machine Learning component to improve mission success over time. Problem to Be Solved Survey Missions are currently planned, re-planned and analysed in an entirely mandrolic fashion. Missions frequently return results below success criteria. Data is not fully utilised due to restricted review remit and temporary storage. Who Are the Users As a Route Survey Mission planner I need to issue survey tasks to sonar-capable assets so that they are planned as to give the best chance of achieving mission success Early Market Engagement DSTL through Programme WILTON has already engaged comprehensively with industry. RSTA will need to engage with these dependencies. Work Already Done Phase One (Sep 2018 - Mar 2019) commenced discovery phase; liaising with WILTON, UKHO and MASST stakeholders to identify user stories. Existing Team An embedded team within the wider Prog. NELSON has provided discovery planning, including identifying user stories, and migration of required geo-data. Current Phase Discovery Skills & Experience • Experience of integrating with and transitioning from legacy systems and existing digital services to new services • Proven experience of defining data transformation and migration strategies and architecture for data collection and manipulation solutions • Experience of developing Machine Learning and AI algorithms to exploit large data-sets toward a stated goal. • Experience in sonar data and geo data with a view to ingesting, manipulating and exploiting in the wider product functionality. • Experience in User-Research, Wire-framing and user-involved iterative UI development with specific experience in Sketch, Balsamiq and JavaScript • Experience of successful agile adoption and using agile controls to manage delivery & expectations of a client • Experience of maturing a client organisations ability to define requirements • Experience of supporting a client to ensure operational readiness, post-live support • Integration of 3rd party modules into overall product functionality. Nice to Haves • Experience in Python, Docker • Experience in PostGIS Database • UI Prototyping via Element • Experience of incorporating security by design into requirements, solutions and delivered digital services • Experience of successfully combining waterfall and Agile methodologies Work Location Semaphore Tower, HM Naval Base, Portsmouth PO1 3LJ, as well as remote working. Working Arrangments Team will operate as an autonomous Project reporting to Product Owners in RN and DSTL. Team will have ancillary responsibilities and report into the wider NELSON programme when, for example, new data-types are required for ingest due to RSTA requirements. Security Clearance SC must be held by all team members prior to starting. Additional T&Cs The following DEFCONS (latest editions) shall apply: 5J, 76, 502, 513, 515, 516, 518, 520, 522, 526, 527, 529, 530, 531, 534, 537, 538, 550, 566, 602B, 604, 608, 611, 642, 658, 659A, 694. No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 3 Proposal Criteria • Technical solution • Approach and methodology • How the solution meets user needs • How the solution meets RN's organisation's goal • Estimated timeframes for the work • Identification of risks and dependencies and approaches to manage them • Team structure • Value for money Cultural Fit Criteria • Experience of developing highly collaborative relationships with dependant client delivery teams, Product owners, stakeholders, other suppliers & management. • Work as one team within the NELSON organisation, fully immersing your organisation into ours to understand structure, objectives, challenges etc. • Experience applying controls to ensure the achievement of outcomes and manage expectations, and how & when these have been successful for you in other engagements • Experience sharing knowledge and experience across multi-supplier environment, augmenting the client’s internal team as appropriate and working 'agnostically' towards a single shared outcome. Payment Approach Time and materials Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 60% Cultural fit 20% Price 20% Questions from Suppliers 1. Has the work already completed/under way, been completed internally or by an incumbent supplier? The discovery stage including user story generation, high level technical architecture and basic wireframes, as well as geo-data migration onto the NELSON Data Platform, has been completed internally by Prog. NELSON. This has been completed by a mixture of crown servants and supplier support including from https://www.digitalmarketplace.service.gov.uk/digital-outcomes-and-specialists/opportunities/6275 . A member of the discovery stage team will be available full-time to the successful winner for 4 weeks to provide context and support on the adoption of the Discovery artifacts. 2. What is the budget range VAT exclusive? £452,500.00 (exc. VAT) 3. Is a COTS product applicable? During Discovery phase, market research did not find one single COTS product that fulfilled all the user needs. However, the requirement does not discount COTS products, including as component parts. 4. Can you confirm whether this is a Defcon 705 or 703 task – i.e. does all IP Vest with MOD? Furthermore, can you confirm whether any existing IP of a contractor will be considered and protected in the contract? Neither DEFCON 703 or 705 applies due to the IPR being covered by the DOS3 T&C’s. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/digital-outcomes-and-specialists-3-framework-agreement/digital-outcomes-and-specialists-3-framework-agreement 5. Are the Essential skills stated due to the underlying Nelson architecture, or are you open to other technologies being used? Essentials skills are required to be able to fully utilise the discovery phase work. Introducing new technologies to develop the solution in the future would be acceptable. The NELSON architecture will impose a range of technologies, e.g., containerisation. 6. Are you aware of other work in this space already funded by MOD? Yes – the discovery phase worked with a wide range of MOD stakeholders and identified a range of related projects. This helped informed the scope of this project, dependencies with other projects and user needs.