Support and improvement to Operations Platform

Tender description

Why the Work is Being Done This work is to iterate and support an inhouse platform and services, providing new business products on this core infrastructure.We expect products to adopt a ‘mobile first’ and maintain a strong focus on user needs. Border Systems have built a private beta solution to meet its Operational needs and now need to scale this up to deliver live supported services. The solution uses open source software and technology choices made in conjunction with the Home Office preferred technology stack. We are focused on lowering the cost of technology and will look to both build and consume shared services as appropriate. Problem to Be Solved This requirement sits alongside a number of other programmes to digitise ‘line of business’ processes alongside the rollout of new technology. Cloud hosted Form based data collection and reporting solutions, workflow and integration with other Home Office & Government solutions to solve Line of Business needs. Development of the solutions must meet user needs, adhere to GDS Service Standards and be documented to meet reviews by Technical Design Authority to a blueprint that has been put in place. Roles needed are Delivery Manager, Technical & Security Architects, Business Analysts, Developers, User Researcher/Content/Interaction Designer, DevOps, Data Architects/Modellers/Specialists, Support Analysts, Test Engineers. Who Are the Users Users are largely based in the UK, with some in juxtaposed sites and some further overseas. Solutions will therefore need to work (or degrade) to work over some lower speed links (3G, 4G, satellite) Early Market Engagement No market engagement has been undertaken. Work Already Done A solution has been built and is in use for private beta, with the architectural and technology choices made. Training will be provided on the tools used for Software Development Lifecycle, the runtime environment and, where they exist, proven design patterns but the partner is expected to have deep technical knowledge of the technologies used Existing Team A mix on internal and external staff have developed the solution and they will continue. Over the period of the award, we expect the supplier to provide a small cross-functional team to deliver requirement and provide knowledge and skills transfer to civil servants so the product can become a sustainable solution in the long term, and partner with them on delivery of products. Current Phase Beta Work Location The work is predominantly based in Croydon but may also involve attendance at other locations as necessary. Proposals of remote working at a different location will be considered as will a combination of co-location and remote working. Your response should set out how you could maintain the availability of your services over time, and your ability to supply a team to the required level. Working Arrangments Expenses will conform to HO internal policies and will not be payable within the M25 geographic radius. The team is expected to work across the multiple sites, the main site is expected to be Croydon and to be available during standard HO working hours. Security Clearance The Delivery Partner’s personnel will require SC security clearance, and this will need to be in place before any work can commence. Current SC can be transferred from a relevant Government department with supporting evidence. Additional T&Cs IPR and any Developed Technology will rest with HO. HO tools will be used (and created)for the Software Development Lifecycle and supporting the solution. Monthly financial reporting reconciled to a SFIA skill matrix Monthly expense reconciliation Monthly progress reporting against planned deliverables and other balanced scorecard measures. Development and presentation of assessment packs for the GDS Alpha, Beta and Go-live assessments Production of good quality release notes and other documentation to ensure a smooth handover to live service. These roles are deemed to be outside the scope of IR35 of the Intermediaries legislation. Skills & Experience Technically competent and understanding of microservices architectures running using a containerised platform (Kubernetes) and delivering solutions that are secure by design. Strong & demonstrable knowledge coding in the open, around the languages used (java and javascript), and the core opensource software used (Camunda, Form.io, d3.js) Ability to develop tools and capability to support the products being built. Ability to, and experience, of gathering, understanding and specifying technical requirements and interfaces – working with users Understanding of the Integration of systems primarily using REST and where needed SOAP and RPA, and test approaches. Experience of iterative/agile software delivery Specific Competencies: Ability to transfer to Business as Usual and establish/build capability for the supplier. Plan: Quality of strawman approach/plan for first phase of engagement and statement of work, including user research and how will deliver engineering excellence. Security: Compliance with people security requirements Excellent communication skills and the ability to explain Border Systems technology strategy to key stakeholders Ability to support services – in hours and out of hours Nice to Haves No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 3 Proposal Criteria Reference to work where the team have coded in the open using the core technologies Camunda, Form.io, d3.js in javascript and java (15%) Technical competence: Skills and experience of architecting solutions using kubernetes on hyper scale cloud providers (10%) Demonstration of approach of ‘secure by design’ and architecting solutions using keycloak for identity and access management (15%) Technical capability - demonstrate engineering excellence, supporting governance processes (5%) Experience of technical standards applicable for Border Systems, eg Security Mechanisms for electronic ID documents, PKI infrastructure, PNRGov standards (10%) Demonstration of ability to innovate (5%) Working successfully on complex programmes in law enforcement & public sector organisations (3%) Team structure (2%) Cultural Fit Criteria Work as a team with our organisation and other suppliers (2%) Be transparent and collaborative when making decisions (2%) Have a no-blame culture and encourage people to learn from their mistakes (1%) Take responsibility for their work (1%) Share knowledge and experience with other team members (1%) Challenge the status quo (1%) Be comfortable standing up for their discipline (1%) Can work with clients with low technical expertise (1%) Payment Approach Capped time and materials Assessment Method Written proposal Work history Reference Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 65% Cultural fit 10% Price 25% Questions from Suppliers Budget range £3.5m over two years (excl vat)