Technical Architecture Capability

Description

Summary of the work DfE CXDT are looking for a supplier who can provide Technical Architecture capabilities as part of agile, multi-disciplinary teams, working alongside our in-house and other supplier delivery teams, designing and building services that make a genuine difference to people’s lives as part of the department's digital transformation. Expected Contract Length 2 years Latest start date Wednesday 9 November 2022 Budget Range A pipeline of activity is foreseen over the next 24 months, with an indicative budget against the requirements for this capability being £3m. Budget approval is subject to Cabinet Office spending controls, service assessments and DfE governance. DfE does not commit to any minimum or maximum spend at this point. Why the Work is Being Done DfE’s Customer Experience, Digital and Technology (CXDT) directorate are looking for a supplier who can provide Technical Architecture capabilities. Working with us to deliver digital outcomes which are part of building and delivering user centred services (in line with the government service standard) that make a genuine difference to people’s lives as part of the department's digital transformation. Specifically focusing on leading, managing and developing teams, products and communications, suppliers will need to be capable of ensuring a project’s overall technical design meets user needs, standards and acceptance criteria, whilst conforming to time and budget constraints. Using agile methods and working collaboratively with multi-disciplinary teams to improve government services, delivering services for: • Teachers • Parents / families • Students • Education advisors • School administrators • Social workers • People that deliver children’s services • DfE staff Problem to Be Solved Supporting a range of user-centred, digital projects across DfE main offices, from inception through to live. CXDT are looking for a supplier to provide the capabilities that will deliver the outcomes required - to design technical services and/or plan system integration, challenging entrenched practices and influence decision makers for larger opportunities for digital transformation, selecting necessary platforms and technologies to meet project requirements and user needs, and working with multiple projects or teams on problems that require broad architectural thinking. Transforming DfE into a more agile organisation by helping to embed modern development practices, design and development of services and products of various sizes, how they interact with their surroundings and how they evolve over time, looking for opportunities to collaborate and reuse components, communicating with both technical and non-technical stakeholders and working with technical teams to deliver user-centred services in an agile environment. We anticipate a maximum of 5-8 concurrent engagements at any one time. Who Are the Users Teachers Parents / families Students Education advisors School administrators Social workers People that deliver children’s services DfE staff For example, As a school leader, I need to know more about funding opportunities so that my school can apply for relevant grants As a parent, I need to understand how to apply for financial support for my child As a student, I need to know how to apply for financial support for my myself As a social worker, I want to spend more time directly supporting children and families so that I can offer an improved service As a Senior Responsible Officer for a project, I need agile technical capability to deliver services quickly, remove blockers to progress and monitor teams As a technical lead in DfE, I need agile coaching to establish and embed an agile environment required for optimal delivery Early Market Engagement N/A Work Already Done Technical Architects have worked across the department and have supported delivery of: • Find an apprenticeship is Live – Find an apprenticeship - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) • Apply for teacher training is in Beta – Create an account or sign in - Apply for teacher training - GOV.UK (apply-for-teacher-training.service.gov.uk) • Teacher Vacancies is in Public Beta – https://teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk Existing Team Internal DfE staff are from a range of disciplines – architects, developers and non-developers, security, policy, user research, service design, finance and commercial. Multi-disciplinary teams may also comprise skills provided by other suppliers. The successful supplier will be expected to collaborate with other suppliers who are providing capabilities as part of delivery, including any transition from any incumbent supplier. Current Phase Not applicable Skills & Experience • Have experience working with cloud-first architectures and how to build applications that take advantage of the opportunities this infrastructure offers. • Have experience working in technical teams and delivering user-centred services in an agile environment. • Have experience of practices such as Test-Driven Development (TDD), continuous integration, automated deployment pipelines, version control with Git and DevOps. • Have experience of software development in either Ruby, .Net (or similar), open-source principles and technologies • Provide evidence of the ability to work with technical and non-technical stakeholders to achieve agreement on technical plans • Provide evidence of the ability to look beyond immediate technical problems and identify the wider implications • Provide evidence of practical knowledge at many levels of the web stack, from front-end code, down to infrastructure and networking Nice to Haves • Demonstrate experience using automated tests to continuously validate your work. • Demonstrate experience of applying the UK Government Service Standard and service assessment. • Demonstrate experience of mentoring and supporting colleagues in multi-disciplinary teams, one-to-one or in groups • Evidence of working with stakeholders to produce effective strategies for technology choices, building and maintaining technical roadmaps, using most appropriate languages, frameworks and tools to meet user and business needs. Work Location Supplier staff will primarily collaborate remotely, with some time expected in DfE offices nationwide. The primary location of work will be specified in each Statement of Work (SoW) and expenses cannot be claimed for travel to that location. Expenses can be claimed for travel to any secondary location of work. The primary location of work is likely to be London, Coventry or Manchester but the contract will cover all DfE offices. Expenses are capped to the value specified in the SoW. Working Arrangments A SoW will be completed for each engagement, identifying primary location, working arrangements, and the expected outcomes and deliverables. Day to day delivery will be governed by standard agile delivery techniques, with appropriate ceremonies undertaken. Scope and prioritisation of work is decided by the product owner with input from the Senior Responsible Owner. IR35 determinations will be made for each SoW. Most requirements will fall inside of scope of IR35. IR35 determination will be assessed on the outcomes and working practises required for each SOW. Security Clearance DfE requires all supplier staff to have baseline personnel security standard clearance (BPSS). There may be a requirement for some of the work to gain higher security clearance checks and / or enhanced DBS checks. The clearance needed will be detailed in the SoW. Additional T&Cs Standard Framework and Call Off Terms and Conditions. Expenses must be pre-agreed and comply with DfE Travel and Subsistence Policy. Suppliers must agree to all DFE security clearance policies and processes. Suppliers must comply with the Regulation (GDPR) Regulation May 2018; the (DPA) Act 2018, the Law Enforcement Directive and any subsequent amendments/changes to date including providing sufficient guarantees to meet the requirements of GDPR in line with Procurement Policy Note (PPN) 02/18 May 2018 which updates PPN 03/17 No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 5 Proposal Criteria • Strong software development, application and integration architecture experience, with good knowledge of open-source technologies, testing and programming languages • Experience, knowledge and understanding of agile environments, continuous delivery techniques and DevOps culture • Demonstrate ability to build user-centred, open source, RESTful web services to serve a variety of citizen needs • Experience and evidence of Implementation of automated testing techniques, continuous integration, automated deployment pipelines and associated infrastructure • Evidence of ability to communicate effectively across organisational, technical and political boundaries, in a fast-moving, customer-centric, environment • Demonstrate understanding and ability to deliver digital products and services to the Government Service Standard and pass service assessments • Demonstrate ability of working with policy teams to understand their work, their operating context and constraints, and identify and implement adaptations/improvements • Demonstrate ability to successfully and quickly mobilise expertise immediately on contract initiation and ability to scale up teams and flex resource, when needed, responding effectively to agile requirements. Cultural Fit Criteria • Demonstrate approach to knowledge and skills transfer including sharing knowledge, tools and techniques with the wider team, architecture community and profession • Have ability to communicate effectively, encouraging communication, across multiple delivery teams to identify strategic requirements and dependencies • Have experience of working with, multidisciplinary, agile service teams which could be multi-vendor across multiple projects • Support educational attainment relevant to the contract, including training schemes that address skills gaps and result in recognised qualifications • Have experience of collaboration with multiple organisational stakeholders with the aim to achieve a single objective Payment Approach Capped time and materials Assessment Method • Case study • Work history • Reference • Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 50% Cultural fit 20% Price 30% Questions from Suppliers 1. Is there an incumbent delivering this capability? Yes, Talent International 2. Is there an incumbent currently providing this service? Yes, Talent International 3. Can we use provide more than 1 evidence? It is at the discretion of the bidder to determine the appropriate information and evidence in response to a requirement. 4. Could Authority confirms that the score for stage 1 will be carried forwarded in the evaluation of stage 2? If yes, then how much percentage (%)? Stage 1 scores will account for 5% of the Technical fit criteria evaluation carried out at stage 2. 5. Can the Authority provide the exhaustive Tech-stack? We can't provide an exhaustive list of all technologies in use, but DfE services are hosted mostly on an Azure tech stack, with some on GOV.UK PaaS. Software development is generally either Ruby or .NET Core, with some other languages also in useThere are more details on-https://technical-guidance.education.gov.uk/guides/default-technology-stack/ 6. Who from your team will be scoring applications for this opportunity and what positions do they hold? The panel will be made up of specialists from the DfE architecture and technical communities.Suppliers who are successful at Stage 1 and invited to deliver presentations for Stage 2 will have the opportunity to meet the individual panel members via Teams, at which point introductions will be made for each member. 7. Can you please provide an anticipated timeline for this procurement that includes dates for: 1) Shortlisting Notification for Stage 22) Submission Deadline for Stage 23) Presentation4) Evaluation period5) Award Notification 1) 16th September2) 30th September3) 10th-14th October 4) 3rd October - 21st October5) 04th November It should be noted that whist we will will endeavour to maintain this timeline, it is indicative and subject to change. 8. Your statement in the publication outlines a SoW per requirement (we see this as resource). Does this mean that the IR 35 status will be deemed to fall outside given these are set deliverables of work needed? As per our publication;IR35 determinations will be made for each SoW.IR35 determination will be assessed on the outcomes and working practices required for each SOW. However most requirements will fall inside of scope of IR35 9. When reviewing the submissions will the name each organisations be hidden from the assessment panel to ensure there is no bias towards the incumbent? We do not operate a supplier-blind evaluation process, but we have a number of safeguard measures in place to mitigate any biases that would otherwise jeopardise the integrity of the procurement process. Our moderation sessions are chaired by a Commercial professional, who ensures that the process is in line with the “fairness, equal treatment and transparency” principals of public procurement. Our evaluators are trained to assess bids at face value - on the merits of the content of the bid alone. 10. Is there are requirement for the supplier to influence ways of working within DfE at both a tactical and strategic level? There will be opportunities to influence ways of working, as part of the cultural fit criteria - for example, integrating and working with multidisciplinary teams, or collaborating with multiple stakeholders to achieve a single objective 11. Are you expecting the Technical Architects to be embedded within teams and introducing them to the concepts you list e.g. TDD, UCD etc... There may be some team working required in order to achieve the outlined SOW deliverables. There is an expectation that service providers will already have the required capability to deliver the statement of work, so would come with for example TDD experience. The exact working practices will be defined for each SOW as they are developed and commissioned 12. Is this in regards to providing individuals for projects or is this to provide a project team to DofE stakeholder? We expect the supplier to assess how best to meet the deliverables of each statement of work - this could be through the work of an individual or multiple specialists in the provision of services. Typically, we would not expect a project team to be required, only technical architecture or technical lead capability 13. Are you looking for a recruitment agency or consultancy with in-house expertise. Neither - we require managed services to deliver outcomes specified in statements of work 14. What are the required Roles? Predominantly the services required will be expect to be fulfilled through Technical Architect, Senior Technical Architect and Lead Technical Architect capabilities.We would not foresee a need for Associate Technical Architect or Principal Technical Architect capabilities.These are expected to align to the Digital, Data and Technology Profession Capability Framework - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)The exact resource profile will be determined and agreed for each SOW. 15. Is this Technical Architect role aligned to the DDAT description? The services required to fulfil this requirement will align the DDaT Capability Framework. The exact resource profile will be determined for each SOW.https://www.gov.uk/guidance/technical-architect 16. What specifically are you looking for when talking about infrastructure and networking in the following question: Provide evidence of practical knowledge at many levels of the web stack, from front-end code, down to infrastructure and networking As a Technical Architect service , practical knowledge and hands-on experience of a variety of modern, cloud-native technologies, development languages, hosting and network infrastructure, services and products, and their relative strengths and weaknesses, such that different options can be considered and incorporated into technical designs. Ideally, with the capability to implement prototypes or proof-of-concepts of said designs and support other technical specialists in their wider implementation. 17. How quickly from the point of issuing the SoW will the individuals and/or teams typically be required? We would typically expect technical architecture capability services to be available within 1-2 weeks of issuing the SoW. 18. Please can you provide an indication of the scale of the team (i.e. number of architects) required at any given point? Demand for technical architecture services fluctuates. Historically, across similar contracts, we’ve had anywhere between 3 – 8 architects deployed at any one time. Although it’s not possible to provide an accurate indication of likely future demand / scale at this point, it is possible we may see demand increase for managed service delivery. 19. Is it expected that each SoW will be met by different individuals/teams, or would an Architect be expected to work across multiple concurrent engagements? It is expected that the resource utilisation needed to deliver the services will be agreed for each SOW mutually between the authority and the supplier. Dependent on the size / complexity / duration of each SoW, it’s feasible resources could move to support service demands, providing deliverables are sufficiently met within the agreed timescales. We would not typically expect the same resource to be working across multiple commissioned SOWs on the same billed day.