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Securing our Technical Future - Specialist project services

Published

Value

6,500,000 GBP

Description

Summary of the work Securing our Technical Future is responsible for exiting three data centres by June 2022. We are seeking a supplier to provide a Delivery management service of quality Programme and Project managers as well as an excellent Architecture service to help drive our success. Expected Contract Length 1 year with option of 6 months extension. Latest start date Monday 6 September 2021 Budget Range Expected budget will be up to £6.5m (including VAT) for the 12 months, plus a pro rata value for any extension up to 6 months. Why the Work is Being Done Support the delivery of the Securing our Technical Future Programme (SoTF) goals by providing an integrated planning and assurance service across delivery and technical workstreams. Providing an 'Architecture-as-a-Service' capability to support architectural decision making, impact assessment and architectural guidance to the SoTF programme and each workstream within it. Problem to Be Solved In order to exit Services currently hosted within three Fujitsu owned Data centres before the end of the current contract I need a robust Architecture and Delivery management Service. This Service will be responsible for the management of integrated plans, risk, issues and dependencies across migration delivery partners, stakeholder groups and HMRC teams. I require the ability to engage with the right architectural expertise to facilitate an architectural decision-making process to deliver secure and integrated architecture across the entire programme. Who Are the Users As the Programme Director for the Securing our Technical Future Programme I need to exit Services currently hosted within three Fujitsu owned Data centres before the end of the current contract for which there is no opportunity to extend beyond June 2022. The options available are : AWS/Azure cloud or Crown Hosting.  This needs to be completed in the most cost effective and timely manner with minimal impact on Business Services. Work Already Done At the start of the Programme 557 Services were confirmed as in scope, 48% of these have already been migrated to Cloud or decommissioned/converged into other platforms. The majority of discovery has been completed and most projects are either in design or delivery phases. Existing Team HMRC and other suppliers. Current Phase Not applicable Skills & Experience • Proven experience of delivering large scale IT projects. • Understanding of Programme/Project governance processes to support large programme deliveries. • Highly experienced in using MSP to ensure the Management and maintenance of end-to-end L2 workstream plans and integrated L3 project plans, including tracking of progress, management of dependencies. • Ability to provide technical Project Managers to manage the delivery of Technical Projects, where required. • Ability to create central architecture capability to provide overall programme architectural guidance, assurance and governance and also creation of Migration Documents, High Level Designs, Solution Design Documents and Low-Level Designs. • Experience of aligning solutions with Enterprise architecture. • Ability to provide architects to work within work streams to support driving decision making, assuring. • Ability to provide a Workstream level integrator capability, bringing together an end-to-end plan and critical path. • Understanding of Programme/Project governance processes to support the client Workstream Lead in undertaking management activities and day-to-day co-ordination of the workstream. • Ability to ensure Integration and roll-up of Delivery Partners plans and activities into the L2/L3 plans. • Excellent technical IT knowledge to ensure good engagement and interface into Delivery Partners project managers. • Ability to manage workstream RAID and integrate with programme level RAID. • Ability to seamlessly integrate with Planning & Control for escalation of programme risks, elevations of cross programme dependencies. • Manage a central SoTF Design Register, tracking the status, progress and assurance of architecture artefacts produced by the client and Delivery Partners. • Manage and maintain a central Architecture Decision Log including intake of requested decisions, tracking of progress/actions and capture of outcomes/rationale. • Engage and align with other client architecture teams to align on architectural direction, decision making and standards. • Ability to embed architects within work streams to support decision making. • Provide a flexible architectural capability that can be adjusted with the correct mix of specialist skills and disciplines to meet the changing needs of the client. Nice to Haves • Evidence of working within large mixed supplier environments to deliver challenging IT change. • Evidence of how you have brought in timelines and delivered Value for money. Work Location Plaza 1/2, Ironmasters way, Telford, Shropshire, TF3 4NT Working Arrangments Initially the services will be provided remotely due to current Covid-19 restrictions. The services will then be provided onsite with no expenses permitted. Security Clearance Must have BPSS before employment commences and resources come on site. Must be SC eligible. SC process can start after employment commences. Clearance costs to be met by supplier. Additional T&Cs HMRC Mandatory Terms will be added. No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 5 Proposal Criteria • Proposals will be scored using a selection of the Essential skills criteria and expected ways of working and associated criteria outlined below to be provided with a Proposal Scenario. • Ways of working/Accountability: demonstrate how you have been fully accountable for delivery of a project or outcome and successfully delivered to specification, time and with value for money. • Ways of working/Accountability: demonstrate how you have been fully accountable for operating/running a service to agreed service levels and standards. • Ways of working/Accountability: demonstrate how you have taken remedial action where outcomes have not been to agreed standards. • Ways of working/Agility - delivering iteratively and incrementally within a context of evolving requirements following SCRUM and Kanban approaches. • Knowledge embedding - making knowledge capture and sharing part of day to day activities. • Knowledge embedding - ensuring successful handover at any required stage of a project or a service. • Outcome focus/Delivering business value - making sure business requirements are understood, validated via positive challenge and delivered against while understanding the value being generated (i.e. business intent). • Outcome focus/Innovative thinking - think outside the set of existing organisational constraints to arrive the most appropriate and efficient route to deliver desired outcomes. • Outcome focus/MVPs – effective definition and delivery of true MVPs that shorten time to delivering business value. • Technical solution/Reusability by design – ensuring solutions are formulated from reusable capabilities as well as ensuring new capabilities are reusable. • Ability to execute/Responsive mobilisation – ability to resource work and start delivering in 4-5 weeks. • Ability to execute/Enough capacity to ensure supplier can cope with SoTF’s demand, in the specified locations. • Ability to execute/Enough depth and breadth of capability across the supplier resource pool, in the specified locations. • Tools - Supplier teams are expected to use HMRC's collaboration software like Jira, Confluence and Teams. Cultural Fit Criteria • Build inhouse skills - How would you support HMRC to build inhouse capability for our permanent staff? • Build inhouse skills – What skills, time and expertise would you make available and where? • Engagement - How would you aim to engage and communicate with SoTF and its Senior Leadership Team? • Engagement - How would you aim to engage and communicate with SoTF and its Extended Leadership Team who will be running the projects? • Engagement - How would you aim to engage and communicate with SoTF and other supplier colleagues who may be part of the same project/programme of works? • Engagement – How would you aim to engage and communicate with SoTF and its Business Ops team who run support functions including Resourcing & financials including billing? • Engagement - How would you aim to engage and communicate with SoTF and its many internal and external stakeholders in promoting and communicating the work and successes of SoTF? • Collaboration – In a multi-supplier environment, how would you ensure delivery of a productive work approach with all involved parties? • Collaboration – In a multi-supplier environment, how would you demonstrate employing a “badge at the door” mindset? • Collaboration – In a multi-supplier environment, how would you ensure HMRC’s interest is reflected in the approach to work and outputs delivered? • Collaboration – In a multi-supplier environment, how would you demonstrate openness and transparency in engagement? • Values and Behaviours - Demonstrate how you have successfully adhered to a client’s code of practice or adopted their organisational behaviours ensuring cultural fit especially HMRC's "Respect at Work" campaign. • Values and Behaviours - Demonstrate how you will ensure inclusivity and collaboration. • Describe how you will create employment, re-training and other return to work opportunities for those left unemployed by COVID-19, this could include workplace schemes and opportunities for Digital apprenticeships etc. • Describe how your organisation will create employment opportunities particularly for those who face barriers to employment and/or who are located in deprived areas. • Describe how your organisation will create opportunities for entrepreneurship and help new, small organisations to grow, supporting economic growth and business creation. • Describe how you have improved workplace conditions that support the COVID-19 recovery effort including effective social distancing, remote working, and sustainable travel solutions Payment Approach Fixed price Assessment Method • Case study • Work history • Reference • Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 60% Cultural fit 20% Price 20% Questions from Suppliers 1. Is there an incumbent supplier for this service? SoTF work with a range of suppliers and partners, however there is no incumbent supplier providing this specific service. 2. Will HMRC sponsor SC Clearance or does the supplier need to be List X? HMRC will sponsor SC Clearance but any associated costs need to be met by the supplier. List X status not necessary. 3. Is this an initial evaluation of our 100 word responses to the list of ‘Essential skills and experience’ and ‘Nice-to-have skills and experience’ only at this stage to help you select 5 suppliers to take to a subsequent phase of evaluation where a written proposal will be required that covers aspects of Technical Competence’, ‘Cultural Fit’ and ‘Price’? Suppliers are expected to provide details against the Essential skills and experience and Nice-to-have skills and experience at this first stage of applications and within the word limit allocated. Shortlisted suppliers will then be invited to provide a written proposal which will cover technical competence building on the evidence provided for essential skills and experience plus Cultural Fit and Price. 4. Please can you confirm if you asking us to provide experience of managing design registers or are you asking specifically for SoTF design register experience? We are looking for experience of managing design registers across complex IT programmes not working practices that are specific to SoTF. 5. Is the Authority seeking Programme, Project and Architects on resource augmentation assignments or an outcome-based service? As a part programme we have a number of outcome based Service contracts. The intention is to move away from supplier resource augmentation but keep a core contingent labour workforce. 6. How does this tender effect the existing SoTF delivery scope? There will be no impact on the overall SoTF delivery scope resulting from this opportunity. 7. 1. Number of programme managers, project managers and architects required? As this is a fixed price, outcome based service contract the supplier will need to decide on numbers of resources needed based on their own plan to deliver the agreed outcomes. 8. What are the duties\responsibilities of the Architecture team? i.e., Advisory, HLD/LLD Design creation, delivery? Varied duties responsibilities, including but not limited to:Advisory, Governance, Supporting platform partners with HMRC approval processes for platform designs, HLD/LLD Design Creation for migrating Business Services or Enabling Shared Services, interfacing to respective Business Units, supporting delivery of migrations with SMEs. 9. Type of architects required? Enterprise or Technical? A mixture? A mixture, to be flexed resources as required. Generally the Enterprise Architecture function sits outside the Programme, but resources of that level are useful to face-off to the various business areas. In addition Technical and Delivery architects are a must. 10. What technical skills are required? Networking, Storage, cloud, security, Active Directory, Application developers etc. Skillsets include, but not limited to: AIX, Solaris, HPUX, zSeries, x86 (Windows and Linux), Azure, AWS, Azure Vmware Service, Skytap, Storage, Networking (useful but to interface with networking teams), Security (useful, but to interface with existing teams), Application Developers (to identify quick routes for transformation). Active Directory, Variety of Database platforms and Middleware. 11. In reference to question 3 and 4, are you looking for SME or all rounded skilled resource? This depends wholly on how you plan to resource. In some areas SME's will be worthwhile, yet most areas all rounded skillsets are beneficial. 12. As for cloud expertise (Azure and AWS) what are you looking for? Infrastructure skills, security, PaaS expertise, DevOps, Big Data, networking etc In terms of Cloud Expertise, the majority of our workload is looking to be migrated to hosted platforms rather than transformed to cloud. However, demonstrating opportunities for onward transformation through quick wins will be very valuable. 13. Is the chosen partner been brought in to carry out the remaining work or assist HMRC with the remaining work? The chosen partner will be responsible and accountable for delivering/carrying out the outcomes specified and agreed as part of this procurement. 14. Please confirm that the short form security requirements apply. Please provide the security policy. A security questionnaire will be provided to shortlisted suppliers to complete as part of their stage 2 proposals, which will form part of the contract. 15. By enterprise architecture, do you mean the aspect of storage, networks, redundant systems, etc.? By Enterprise Architect, we mean this to include all aspects impacting HMRC, including compute; storage; networks; security; application; strategic roadmap; business logic etc. 16. What kind of IT capabilities (e.g. design, engineering) do they have in-house? Or there is an existing technology partner covering that? SoTF has a very mixed workforce due to the size of the programme, a number of Suppliers, Contingent labour resources plus internals, everyone played their part. This is the same for IT capabilities. 17. Was the discovery phase completed in-house or by a supplier? If it was completed by a supplier, would you be able to name it? SoTF has a very mixed workforce due to the size of the programme, a number of Suppliers, Contingent labour resources plus internals, everyone played their part. 18. Do you have a contingency plan for post June 2022 if the programme cannot be met? The contract duration is a year; how does that align with the timescale? We do have a contingency plan beyond June 22, this is covered by the expected contract length details within the Opportunity - 1 Year plus option of 6 month extension. 19. Do you have a backup Disaster Recovery? Depending upon the Business System, then Disaster Recovery is factored in. 20. Would you be able to clarify what you meant by bringing in timelines in the last criteria under nice-to-have skills? We would expect to see evidence of what actions you took to ensure timelines were either met or even where delivery was made in advance of any deadlines. In order to drive best Value for Money we would welcome evidence of how you have exceeded expectations on similar sized Programmes. 21. What part of HMRC’s existing capability will be retained to ensure no duplication effort? There are a number of permanent HMRC resources in key roles such as Programme Managers/Head of Architecture to ensure key management areas are covered. We will also retain a number of key contingent labour resources to de-risk the transition. 22. Would HMRC share the mentioned artefacts for this response? If not when? We would consider sharing relevant Artefacts to shortlisted suppliers at stage 2 providing a reasonable explanation could be provided as to the benefit and required sign off attained. 23. What part of HMRC’s existing capability will be retained to ensure there are no management gaps and no duplication of effort? There are a number of permanent HMRC resources in key roles such as Programme Managers/Head of Architecture to ensure key management areas are covered. We will also retain a number of key contingent labour resources to de-risk the transition. 24. Do versions already exist of the artefacts mentioned by HMRC? If so, would HMRC share them for this response? If not when? We would consider sharing relevant Artefacts to shortlisted suppliers at stage 2 providing a reasonable explanation could be provided as to the benefit and required sign off attained.

Timeline

Publish date

3 years ago

Close date

3 years ago

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