T/IT/0047 Software Development Services

Tender description

Summary of the work • Provide experienced GCP resources with expertise in full stack web development, cloud technologies, Agile, DevOps and CICD. Mix of Developers, UX Specialists and Technical Leads. • Support team in working within a software development lifecycle, applying good development practice within a GCP environment using appropriate tools and documenting outputs. Expected Contract Length 2 year call-off contract Latest start date Monday 3 June 2019 Budget Range 1500 man-days across a 2-year period, up to a maximum of £1,000,000 Why the Work is Being Done DfT’s Digital Service is a strategically important team. There are a set of key programs that are being delivered in DfT which are split between • Providing the Digital, Data and Technology capabilities that equip everyone to work • Driving efficiency by optimising the Department’s business processes and practices • Increasing workforce productivity by delivering better services, and a digital culture • Providing advice and expertise to policymakers on the impact of technology in the transport system Problem to Be Solved We need a delivery partner to continue to develop our core digital services. This will be a mix of continuous improvement to existing systems, delivery of new systems and service delivery on in flight projects. We need expertise to provide specific outcomes to support the key programs of work being delivered within Digital Services this year. This will supplement our existing internal development capability and provide additional expertise on our new cloud platform (GCP). Who Are the Users Internal staff across DfTc estate Early Market Engagement Not applicable Work Already Done Not applicable Existing Team A number of Agile Teams, consisting of In-house resources based on the following team structure: • 1x Delivery Manager, • 1x Product Manager, • 1x User Researcher, • 1x User Experience (UX) designer, • 1x Digital Architect, • 1x Senior Developer, • 1x Developer, • 2-3x Apprentice/Junior Developers Current Phase Not applicable Skills & Experience • Experience of using GDS Design Principles and Digital Service Standard to deliver public facing digital services, outlining the principles applied, methods adopted and ability to deliver successful outcomes • Experience of delivering / developing software that complies to Government security guidelines or equivalent • Experience in full stack web development in Google Cloud Platform • Experience in DevOps, CICD in Google Cloud Platform • Knowledge of Agile and Scrum methodology • Embedding Agile techniques and best practice approach to software development within a software development lifecycle framework • Demonstrate understanding of service-led or micro-service led architecture and delivery of repeatable, scalable services within development • Evidence of Product delivery focused • Experience of Google Cloud technologies: App Engine Flex (.Net core) with Cloud SQL • Experience of Test Driven Development (TDD) approach • Experience of Acceptance tests • Experience of participation and organised pair + mob programming sessions; code reviews. Both as a team member and team lead • Substantial experience in the full development lifecycle including testing and deployment • Experience in providing coaching or mentoring to junior developers and how to embed best practices within a team Nice to Haves • Experience of working on government digital projects • Able to start immediately, to provide capacity to the development team to start delivering the plan to establish and embed a framework for a professional function. • understand serverless development and experience working within that environment Work Location Windsor House, 50 Victoria St, Westminster, London, SW1H 0TL and Ashdown House, Sedlescombe Road North, St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, TN37 7GA Working Arrangments The Delivery Partner Technical Staff will be co-located with the Digital Team in London/Hastings, Monday-Friday, 37 hours (10-4 core). The projects will follow the GDS Digital Service Standard and Technology Code of Practice using Agile methodology: daily stand-ups, sprint planning, sprints, demos, retrospectives, show and tells. The Technical Staff will be working with an existing team that is junior and as such will need to take the lead by being a role model in Agile development and ways of working (pair programming, Scrum methodology) and invest time in knowledge sharing and coaching to increase the capability of the DfT teams. Security Clearance Security Clearance. Will consider BPSS initially if SC can be provided later. Additional T&Cs Not applicable No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 10 Proposal Criteria • Evidence of experience defining and implementing new services in a cloud environment. (12%) • Approach and methodology with particular attention to agile and collaborative delivery (8%) • Technical competence in the identified technologies / processes and delivery practices (12%) • Demonstrable experience of working alongside clients in co-located and integrated teams (4%) • Demonstrate understanding of the challenges of implementing in a government agile / hybrid environment (5%) • Value for money: Demonstrate a transparent financial structure and fair pricing for the Service (4%) • Risk: demonstrate experience in the identification of key assumptions, dependencies, risks and issues, with robust mitigation plans (5%) Cultural Fit Criteria • Collaboratively work as a team within our organisation and with our suppliers (5%) • Transparent and open when making decisions (4%) • Share knowledge and experience with other team members (6%) Payment Approach Capped time and materials Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 50% Cultural fit 15% Price 35% Questions from Suppliers 1. Q1 Given that this is for a call off of up to two years can you please advise how price is going to be evaluated as part of this exercise? Is this going to be a rate card evaluation? Cost will be evaluated based on best day rate i.e. rate card 2. Should an external supplier have provided support during the Discovery Phase can you please advise who the supplier was? No external supplier providing these same services have been involved to date 3. The project stage has been defined as an Alpha stage. Can you please advise if any external suppliers were involved in a Discovery phase for this project? No external suppliers providing the same services (as being procured) have been involved to date 4. Is there an incumbent supplier who currently provides these services, or has done so recently? There is no incumbent supplier who is providing the same services as we are procuring for this requirement 5. Are these services currently being provided by an existing supplier? No they are not 6. Would you consider having a portion of the team doing development and testing work being located nearshore, instead of on site? A key requirement for these services is the mentoring of the existing DfT development team. We feel that is best achieved with the vendor resources on site in our DfT offices 7. Can you please confirm what front-end technology is currently used for application development? ASP.NET Core Razor Pages 8. Can you please confirm what you understand the role to be for the digital architect as this isn't a DDaT defined role? Same as a Solution Architect 9. Can you please provide more business context for the type of applications being built by your existing teams and the nature of the in-flight projects? The applications in scope are a mix of standard line of business applications dealing with functionality such as Room Catering and Procurement as well as such as more specific transport focused solutions for areas such as Rail and Ports. 10. Would you consider a collaborative approach from two companies? We are looking for a single supplier 11. "Your essential requirements include ""Evidence of Product delivery focused"".Is this a typo which should read ""Evidence of Product delivery focus"", or otherwise can you clarify what you are asking for by this?" Yes, It is a typo, is should read “Evidence of Product delivery focus” 12. Will the selected delivery partner work with DfT to deliver defined project outcomes, or supply resources on an ad hoc basis? It is an outcome based contract 13. We note that up to 10 suppliers will go through to stage 2. Will there be a further down-selection and presentation stage? Yes there will be. 14. If a supplier can demonstrate significant cloud platform experience but on a different platform from GCP – for example, AWS or Azure – would they be ruled out? GCP experience is preferred but suppliers will not be ruled out if they do not have GCP experience 15. One capability question is titled "Evidence of Product delivery focused". Please can you confirm the full capability needed, as this seems to be abbreviated. This is a typo, it should read Evidence of Product delivery focus. 16. Please can the Authority confirm if it will be content to process and hold new SC clearances or whether the Supplier will be expected to do so. If the latter, can the Authority please confirm if non List X companies are therefore ineligible to apply for this opportunity. We will sponsor clearance for the successful supplier if Security Clearance (SC) is not already held. Generally, potential suppliers will be considered, if they hold Security Clearance (SC) or be willing to undergo the SC process. 17. If non list X companies are ineligible to apply for this opportunity and/or personnel who don’t already have SC will be unacceptable, please can the Authority confirm that this is in line with guidance at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/security-vetting-and-clearance#contractors-and-consultants , namely that "Advertising for staff that already hold a security clearance is contrary to government policy, unnecessary and potentially discriminatory." We will sponsor clearance for the successful supplier if Security Clearance (SC) is not already held. Generally, potential suppliers will be considered, if they hold Security Clearance (SC) or be willing to undergo the SC process.