NHS Blood and Transplant - C165510 - Specialist Test Services

Tender description

About adding context and requirements test Pre-market engagement Not applicable. Work done so far We are a mature DDaT organisation with in-house testing capability. We have had contracts in place with testing partners to provide additional expertise and capacity to supplement in-house teams. We wish to establish a new contract for a testing partner to provide these services. Which phase the project is in Not applicable Existing team We are broadly based around the concept of product centres which have their own product and engineering staff aligned with GDS DDaT roles and definitions. The supplier is expected to work alongside existing teams (in a "rainbow" fashion) and also may work with other suppliers to deliver digital solutions. Address where the work will be done We have national offices, but the work can broadly be carried out remotely with occasional site attendance for critical meetings and events. Working arrangements We have national offices, but the work can broadly be carried out remotely with occasional site attendance for critical meetings and events. The supplier would need to comply with NHSBT expenses policy for any necessary travel. Individuals must be available to travel to NHSBT Centres in (but not limited to) Birmingham and Bristol. Work will be conducted predominantly remotely, but on-site meetings may be required on occasion. Provide more information about your security requirements: Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) Provide more information about your security requirements (optional): We would expect staff to have BPSS as a minimum. Latest start date 2023-12-05 Enter the expected contract length: 2 years Extension period: 1 year Special terms and conditions Subject to any changes in policy, the resources will provide their own laptops and mobile phones for use on NHSBT premises. NHSBT provides secure access to its network as required. Special terms and conditions Suppliers will provide a minimum of two relevant candidates for each role requested by NHSBT within 10 working days. The expectation is that each role requested should be available to start work within 1 month of the initial request Are you prepared to show your budget details?: Yes Indicative maximum: 1250000 Provide further information: It is estimated that the work can be delivered within the budget range of £750,000 to £1,250,000. Please note, NHSBT does not commit to a minimum spend figure. Confirm if you require a contracted out service or supply of resource Contracted out service: the off-payroll rules do not apply Summary of work o NHSBT builds and operates multiple digital solutions supporting the various internal directorates. Our software is used to improve and save lives. The organisation operates using a “Product Centre” model with each centre aligned to support the various directorates. We have in-house test teams for most of the product centres. In some cases there will be a need for additional capacity and capability to work across the testing lifecycle, but particularly focussing on test automation, performance testing and cyber security testing. There may on occasion be a need for additional capacity for manual testing services. Also, special projects may come through for which whole test teams are required which cannot be supplied internally. We currently have a testing services partner, but this contract expires in August 2023. The normal mode of operations is for projects to raise requests for specialist testing services in the areas of Automation, Performance Testing or other specialised testing. We then follow a standard process of looking to the partner to supply us with such services usually in a fixed cost aligned to fixed deliverables (e.g. execution of test cases and documentation of test results). We may also use other available means in the market in some cases. NHSBT would like to identify a test partner who will provide us with such services. Where the supplied staff will work No specific location (for example they can work remotely) Who the organisation using the products or services is NHS Blood and Transplant Why the work is being done NHS Blood and Transplant is an ALB to the NHS and provides national blood supply and organ/tissue transplantation services. We provide CNI (Critical National Infrastrucutre) that helps save and improve lives. We are looking for a strategic partner to work alongside our product centres delivering high quality and skilled testing expertise. The chosen partner must have a demonstrable experience of providing specialist testing services in a highly regulated or health domain. NHSBT would like to identify a test partner who will provide us with such services removing the need to go to market in every instance. We are focussing on specialist testing services such as performance and automation, however our requirements may also reach into other aspects of testing on occasion (e.g. manual or exploratory). The business problem you need to solve The service will provide testing resources to extend the testing services within delivery teams where additional capability, experience and/or capacity is required. We are particularly looking for expertise in test automation using tools such as Selenium, Specflow, TestComplete etc We also need expertise in load and performance testing using tools such as NeoLoad, JMeter, Octoperf, etc We need expertise in API testing using tools such as SOAPUI, Postman, etc Whilst not a mandatory requirement, expertise and accreditation in cyber testing would be highly advantageous. Typically we would raise Statements of Work (SOW) under the contract to deliver outcomes related to the planning, execution and management of testing for specific releases and digital outcomes. We would anticipate the supplier being able to provide a wide range of expertise and experience across all activities within a testing lifecycle, including: Deliver Test Plan, Co-ordinate, Manage and participate in Test Execution, Test Management, Defect management, Script writing, Test Analysis and Test Exit Reporting We would expect the supplier to provide a range of expertise depending on the requirements and complexity of the task; typical roles we would expect to see would be: Tester, Senior Tester, Test Lead/Architect First user type: Delivery Lead Enter more details about this user type: As a delivery lead I need to be able to carry out automation / performance / security / manual / exploratory testing on new and amended digital solutions created within the DDaT team so that we can assure the quality and match with non-functional requirements. Questions and Clarifications 1. In regard to one of your responses to a query, "1. This is something you will need to check with CCS as we are unable to answer this" Can you help us with a CCS contact? Contact details can be found on the CCS website, copied below. Email: info@crowncommercial.gov.uk Telephone: 0345 410 2222 CCS customer services team is available Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Last Updated: 26 July 2023, 11:20 2. CQ Reference / Theme Clarification Question Bid Pack Attachment 3: Responses to Essential and Nice-to-have skills and experience Please can you clarify on the character count limit – 1) Does the character count include spaces? 2) Is the character count per question or per section? General - Please can you clarify if the domain knowledge is critical to undertake Specialist Test Services? 1. This is something you will need to check with CCS as we are unable to answer this. 2. This is something you will need to check with CCS as we are unable to answer this. General. No Last Updated: 24 July 2023, 14:09 3. 1. Character length of answers to include or exclude spaces? 2. Penetration testing needs to be done independent of the main supplier. Can you confirm the use of specialist partners will be acceptable? 3. Offshore testing is commonly used across NHS. Can you confirm that some or all the testing can be performed offshore? 1. This is something you will need to check with CCS as we are unable to answer this. 2. Yes 3. Yes Last Updated: 24 July 2023, 14:07 4. 1. What exactly is meant by ‘rainbow teams’? 2. What test repository is being used? 3. Will load-testing in APIs be needed? 4. What is the process for identifying candidates in the 10 days , will interviews be needed? 5. How many suppliers will be awarded to? 1. This is a term used to describe blended teams where the supplier would work as part of and alongside existing team members 2. We use Testrail from Gurock for test case management. We also use Azure DevOps 3. Yes, potentially 4. The purpose of this requirement was to set an expectation around timelines between requesting resources/services and the supplier meeting those needs. In general we would not expect to interview candidates from a supplier but would like to review CVs of potential candidates to ensure requirements are being met. However, the special term "Suppliers will provide a minimum of two relevant candidates for each role requested by NHSBT within 10 working days. The expectation is that each role requested should be available to start work within 1 month of the initial request." Should be disregarded from the requirements. 5. One Last Updated: 24 July 2023, 12:29 5. Please can I raise the following clarifications: 1. Can the partnership's different aspects be subcontracted or included as part of a consortium bid, or do they have to be handled solely by a single supplier? 2. Are you able to share who your current or recent test services partner? 3. Can supplementary diagrams such as team structure and hierarchy be attached to a question? And will these be included in character count? 4. Could you indicate expected team size based on the previous test partner? 5. Expected contract length states "2 years, 0 months, 0 days" and "1 years, 0 months, 0 days", could you confirm which it is or provide additional information please? 6. How many product centres/teams are there? Do all resources have to be UK based or could there be blended location? 7. Does having experience in testing other ESB, CRM, and BPM platforms hold any additional relevance for this tender, beyond the platforms already mentioned? 8. Does the buyer have any preference in coding languages used for test automation i.e Java vs C# vs JavaScript vs other? 1. Our preference would be for a single supplier, but consortium bid is acceptable provided we work through a single entity in terms of billing, account management, etc. 2. Edge (now known as Resillion) 3. Yes, No. 4. This ranged from 1-4 people per product centre depending on project/delivery 5. 2 years with option to extend for a further one year period. 6. 6, Teams could be blended. 7. We use these platforms which underpin a number of our solutions, so any experience with these specific platforms would be advantageous. 8. The majority of our automation is in c# Last Updated: 24 July 2023, 09:54 6. In Attachment 1, Question 9 in "Technical Criteria" section asks: "Detail approach for transitioning from the incumbent vendor covering knowledge transfer and onboarding of resources. Describe any additional costs for this effort along with risks" In the "Summary of the Work" section above, it states that "We currently have a testing services partner, but this contract expires in August 2023." However, the contract award is not scheduled to happen until September 2023 - so we are unclear how the process and timeline for a transition from the incumbent can happen - please clarify. We are in the process of securing an extension to the current contract to ensure the contract and the incumbent supplier are still active during any potential transition period. Last Updated: 24 July 2023, 09:49 7. In Attachment one - Expected Contract Length section it says: "2 years, 0 months, 0 days 1 years, 0 months, 0 days" Does this mean the contract will be 2 years with the potential for a one year extension, or what? Can you clarify please? The contract period is 2 years with option to extend by a further year period. Last Updated: 24 July 2023, 09:47 8. Please can you respond to the following questions: 1. Who is the incumbent? 2. Is the buyer particularly tied to any specific testing frameworks? 3. Do NHSBT need SC from the pen testers? 4. Do NHSBT require the pen testers to have CHECK accreditations? 1) Edge Testing (now known as Resillion) 2) No we are not 3) Yes we would need SC for any pen testing resources 4) Yes we would need this accreditation; but note that security testing is not a mandatory requirement for this tender Last Updated: 24 July 2023, 09:46 9. Can you confirm if this opportunity on DOS6 is related to the procurement for BTM Test partner which was previously released on Lot 2 of the Digital Specialists and Programmes (RM6263) framework, or is this a separate tender? This is a separate tender to the BTM requirement. Last Updated: 24 July 2023, 09:44 10. We want to draw your attention to your special term: "Suppliers will provide a minimum of two relevant candidates for each role requested by NHSBT within 10 working days. The expectation is that each role requested should be available to start work within 1 month of the initial request." This is in conflict with your status "Contracted out service: the off-payroll rules do not apply." Please confirm if you require an outcome-based service or are looking for the supply of resource. Please disregard this special term, this requirement is in accordance with the 'Contracted out service: the off-payroll rules do not apply'. Last Updated: 24 July 2023, 09:43