Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)

UK SBS IT17194 BEIS Primary Authority Register Beta

9 Incomplete applications

6 SME, 3 large

13 Completed applications

10 SME, 3 large

Published: Monday 24 April 2017
Deadline for asking questions: Monday 1 May 2017 at 11:59pm GMT
Closing date for applications: Monday 8 May 2017 at 11:59pm GMT

Overview

Summary of the work: Regulatory Delivery (part of BEIS) requires a team to work with the internal Service Manager and Product Owner to deliver the Beta phase of the Primary Authority Register.
Latest start date: 9th June 2017
Expected contract length: 4.5 months with the option to extend for up to an additional 2 months
Location: London
Organisation the work is for: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)
Budget range: £950,000 - £1,030,000

About the work

Why the work is being done: Primary Authority (PA) offers businesses the opportunity to form a legally recognised partnership with one local authority, which then provides robust and reliable regulatory advice for other councils to take into account when carrying out inspections or dealing with non-compliance. The PA Register is the biggest point of contact for stakeholders, and regulators are required to use the Register for many of their transactions concerning businesses participating in PA. PA will be expanded and simplified through the Enterprise Act (due to come into force on 1/10/2017). The Register must support any new processes associated with the legislative changes to PA.
Problem to be solved: The existing digital service is not compliant with the GDS Digital Service Standard and cannot support the upcoming legislative changes to Primary Authority. A replacement, user-centred service is required which complies with the legislative changes.
Who the users are and what they need to do: Enforcement officers need to be able to quickly and easily find out if a business has a PA arrangement. Primary Authority Officers, businesses and trade associations need to be able to register with ease. Users need to be able to view assured advice given to businesses. Users need to be able to navigate the site to find advice and guidance.
Early market engagement
Any work that’s already been done: 5 week Discovery phase completed to produce a series of user stories and a prioritised list of user journeys for the MVP. 12 week Alpha carried out to develop prototypes in Axure/Drupal based on user journeys and user testing/research. Prioritised backlog produced for Beta. Legacy system assessed to determine data migration strategy.
Existing team: The existing team consists of a Service Manager, Product Owner, helpdesk support, and internal staff with expertise in subject areas and knowledge of user communities.
Current phase: Beta

Work setup

Address where the work will take place: 1 Victoria Street, London, SW1H 0ET
Working arrangements: Co-located at 1 Victoria Street, London. Adhering to BEIS normal working hours (09:00 - 17:00). Suppliers must comply with BEIS travel and subsistence policy. There is a possibility of travel for user research purposes, which could be anywhere in the United Kingdom. (BEIS will meet any additional travel costs incurred away from the London office for the purposes of user research or attendance at other BEIS sites). Travel to Birmingham should be expected.
Security clearance: Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) clearance required.

Additional information

Additional terms and conditions

Skills and experience

Buyers will use the essential and nice-to-have skills and experience to help them evaluate suppliers’ technical competence.

Essential skills and experience: Demonstrate how you will apply your skills and expertise to...

deliver digital services that meet the GDS Digital Service Standard criteria and pass GDS service assessments and how this will ensure the successful delivery of this project

assess legacy systems, develop migration strategies and migrate data to new digital services and how this will ensure the successful delivery of this project

develop prototypes (wire frames/coded prototypes/etc.) iteratively via user testing/research and how this will ensure the successful delivery of this project

develop digital services using agile methodologies and how this will ensure the successful delivery of this project

develop production ready code for private/public Beta releases from Discovery and Alpha outputs (e.g. low-fi/hi-fi prototypes) and how this will ensure the successful delivery of this project

prioritise key content and features using metrics, analytics, and user feedback and how this will ensure the successful delivery of this project

prioritise product and programme delivery using effective estimation and sizing techniques and how this will ensure the successful delivery of this project

design and build services which meet user needs, follow GDS design patterns, and meet accessibility standards and how this will ensure the successful delivery of this project

use automated (testing) environments and implement continuous integration, delivery & deployment and how this will ensure the successful delivery of this project

implement 3rd party APIs and how this will ensure the successful delivery of this project
Nice-to-have skills and experience: Demonstrate how you will apply your skills and expertise to...

deliver digital services from Discovery to Live, involving retirement of legacy services and how this will ensure the successful delivery of this project

upskill client staff and how this will ensure the successful delivery of this project

How suppliers will be evaluated

How many suppliers to evaluate

Proposal criteria

Approach and methodology
Technical solution
How the approach or solution meets user needs
Estimated timeframes to complete the work
Team structure (with roles and responsibilities)
How risks and dependencies are identified and approaches to manage them
Approach to maintaining control, transparency and quality

Cultural fit criteria

Demonstrate how you will work as a team with BEIS and other suppliers throughout this project
Demonstrate how you will work transparently and collaboratively with the BEIS Regulatory Delivery team when making decisions throughout this project

Payment approach

Fixed price

Assessment methods

Written proposal
Presentation

Evaluation weighting

Technical competence

65%

Cultural fit

15%

Price

20%

Questions asked by suppliers

1. Was a 3rd party organisation used to support the Discovery and Beta phases?: Yes, Transform was the 3rd party organisation used to support the Discovery and Alpha phases. The successful supplier from this procurement will be required to deliver the Beta phase of the project.
2. Hello, please can I ask 1. who did the initial Alpha stage, and are they bidding? 2. is it possible to share the outputs from the Alpha ie prototypes/user stories etc?: 1. Transform was the 3rd party organisation used to support the Discovery and Alpha phases. We are unable to determine whether they are bidding

2. The Alpha outputs will be shared with the short listed suppliers at the second stage of this procurement.
3. Can you confirm the expected IR35 status of this engagement?: We are unable to determine this at this time. It is possible for contractors who are both in and out of scope of the off payroll working rules to be engaged through DOS. The successful supplier / contracting authority will need to check the status in accordance with the HMRC online tool prior to contract commencement. A link to this tool can be found here: https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/check-employment-status-for-tax/setup
4. Do you have a preferred tech stack or would you like the supplier to suggest one?: The tech stack that has been used for discovery and alpha is Drupal 8.2, PHP 7.1, Apache 2.4, MySQL 5.7, GOV.UK templates and toolkit and Github. We are exploring the use of elasticsearch, which may affect the database choice.
We are open to suggestions from the successful supplier on alternative solutions for BETA.
5. Hi - Given that you are requesting a fixed price for Beta, would you consider holding a supplier briefing to share more information on the work that has already been done. It would be very useful to have information on the - prototypes in Axure/Drupal - user journeys - user testing/research - prioritised backlog produced for Beta - data migration strategy: Due to the short time scale between the clarification stage and the bid submission deadline, a supplier briefing is not feasible.

Additional information will be shared with short listed suppliers to assist with pricing.
6. Have you made a choice about what technology you'll be using for the Register?: The tech stack that has been used for discovery and alpha is Drupal 8.2, PHP 7.1, Apache 2.4, MySQL 5.7, GOV.UK templates and toolkit and Github. We are exploring the use of elasticsearch, which may affect the database choice
We are open to suggestions from the successful supplier on alternative solutions for BETA.
7. Has the service gone through an alpha assessment?: Yes, the service has passed the Alpha assessment.
8. Can you confirm if you are looking for the development of a new, preferably open source, solution?: Yes, we are working towards a new, open source solution.
9. For this length of phase, would BEIS consider staff being partially on/off site, or some staff on site and others off-site? Please can we ask which organisations undertook the Discovery and Alpha work? Will this organisation(s) be bidding for the Beta phase? Please can BEIS provide potential bidders with a summary of the prioritised backlog.: There would be some flexibility in staff based on/off site depending on the requirements of the team.

Transform was the 3rd party organisation used to support the Discovery and Alpha phases. We are unable to determine whether they are bidding

A summary of the prioritised backlog will be shared with the shortlisted suppliers at the second stage of this procurement.
10. You suggest that the Beta releases may be built from the Alpha prototypes. Please can you advise whether you consider most of the outputs built, to be suitable to deliver public beta and the live service.: The outputs are not deployment ready, but they are suitable as a basis for development for public beta and live.
11. Please can you tell us who delivered the Alpha? 2.)Do you expect to utilise the technology developed during Alpha or discard the work and develop clean in Alpha.: 1. Transform was the 3rd party organisation used to support the Discovery and Alpha phases.

2. We do not expect to discard the work and technology developed in Alpha. We expect to develop from this.
12. Please advise on the tech stack, beyond Axure / Drupal, to clarify if this is mostly a digital content need or includes some development.: The tech stack that has been used for discovery and alpha is Drupal 8.2, PHP 7.1, Apache 2.4, MySQL 5.7, GOV.UK templates and toolkit and Github. We are exploring the use of elasticsearch, which may affect the database choice
We are open to suggestions from the successful supplier on alternative solutions for BETA.
13. The information given isn't specific to a solution. Given that you are asking for a fixed price, will more information on the specification required be available at proposal stage?: The outputs of previous phases will be shared with the Short listed suppliers at the second stage of this procurement.
14. The budget seems to work out at about 10.5k per day (950k over say 90 days) which implies a big team over a very short period. Is this what you are expecting?: The minimum viable product needs to be ready by the 1st October 2017 commencement date. We expect suppliers to propose a team structure in alignment with the published budget for this contract of £950,000 - £1,030,000.
15. 4.5 months takes us to mid-October (past the date that the new legislation kicks in) - when is BEIS planning to get the beta assessment scheduled for?: The additional time will allow for further development of the service once it has reached public Beta. We anticipate that the public beta assessment will be mid-September (tbc).
16. Is this budget range based on existing research / previous work?: The budget range is based on previous work and an estimation of the work required to complete development ready for the 1st October 2017 commencement.
17. If so, what team structure(s) is the budget based on?: We expect suppliers to propose a team structure in alignment with the published budget for this contract of £950,000 - £1,030,000.
18. Have all the "new processes associated with the legislative changes to PA" been identified, understood and prioritised for implementation?: Some work has been completed to identify, understand and prioritise the legislative changes, however this task is ongoing and further details will be shared with the successful supplier.
19. Was a GDS Alpha assessment carried out?: A BEIS service assessment has been carried out in accordance with the GDS Service Standards, which was passed. A GDS assessment was not required due to the number of transaction falling below the GDS threshold.
20. The Alpha was originally scheduled for eight weeks – what was the reason for extension and what additional outcomes were achieved in the extra four weeks?: The additional time covers two aspects:
1) The Alpha service assessment
2) Unforeseen development to facilitate the migration of primary authority partnerships to the new legislation
21. Have the risks for Beta been identified and assessed; and are we able to have visibility?: Some risks have been identified for Beta, namely around the availability of user research participants, timeframes, and decisions which need to be made on how primary authority is administered. The risk register will be shared with shortlisted suppliers at the second stage of this procurement.
22. Can we see the Alpha outputs to better understand the scope and shape our response (ie user journeys, Beta backlog)?: Not yet, the outputs of the Alpha phase will be shared with the shortlisted supplier.
23. Have the interfaces with other systems been identified and assessed for technical feasibility?: We are engaging with a range of stakeholder organisations of low/high digital capability to explore the feasibility of interfacing with other systems.
24. Mobile access is a key requirement of the service - what technical and user research has been done to prove the feasibility?: Enforcement officers are required to split their time between desk-based and field-based work (e.g. inspecting businesses), which means a mobile version of the site will be required. There have been several rounds of testing and this has proved feasible, but the responsive and adaptive approaches are still being explored.
25. Has the Alpha significantly changed the originally conceived scope as identified during Discovery? If so, please give details.: The scope has grown slightly, but not changed significantly. The outputs of the Alpha phase will be shared with the shortlisted suppliers at the second stage of this procurement process.
26. An efficient search is fundamental to the success of the service - what search technologies have been tested to prove feasibility? Has a search technology been selected and if so, which one?: The tech stack that has been used for discovery and alpha is Drupal 8.2, PHP 7.1, Apache 2.4, MySQL 5.7, GOV.UK templates and toolkit and Github. We are exploring the use of elasticsearch, which may affect the database choice
We are open to suggestions from the successful supplier on alternative solutions for Beta.
27. One of the expected outputs for Alpha was that the technology options would be explored and recommendations made. Was this achieved, and what tech stack has been selected?: The tech stack that has been used for discovery and alpha is Drupal 8.2, PHP 7.1, Apache 2.4, MySQL 5.7, GOV.UK templates and toolkit and Github. We are exploring the use of elasticsearch, which may affect the database choice
We are open to suggestions from the successful supplier on alternative solutions for Beta.
28. One of the expected outputs for Alpha was to specify the database architecture. Was this achieved, and can we see the result?: We have produced draft logical data models to explore the data needed for Alpha, and the likely model for Beta.
The result will be shared with the short listed suppliers.
29. What technical spikes were carried out during Alpha and what were the lessons learnt?: We looked at the advantages and disadvantages of building the Alpha prototype in Drupal 7 instead of Drupal 8. We learned that while there is arguably better quality documentation, and contributed plugins available for Drupal 7, the platform is nearing end of life, so we decided to continue with Drupal 8 for longevity.
We also looked at productivity gains we might achieve by building Drupal database queries using Drupal’s native ‘Views’ module rather than building database queries manually using traditional SQL. We found the greatest flexibility in a mixed approach where we supplemented Drupal’s Views with custom SQL queries.
30. What progress has been made in addressing the needs of volumetrics and NFRs during Alpha: We will aim to share this information with the short listed suppliers at the second stage of the process.
31. Is a PHP-based front end still being considered as the technology of choice?: No, this will only be considered if time constraints become too much of an issue.
32. What are the Non Functional Requirements of the service?: Accessibility, cross-browser compatibility, and responsive design. We are adhering to GDS guidelines for these.
33. Can you please characterise the data sources relevant to the initial Minimum Viable Product i.e. In reference to volume, velocity and variance – how large are data sources / are these static or real time / what sort of formats are the different raw data sources?: The type of data includes names and addresses of business, trade associations, and local authorities. There is 7 years’ worth of data and we will be working with stakeholders and the supplier to agree an appropriate strategy for data migration including retention policies. This data comes from sources outside BEIS and is reasonably static. Raw data is typically received as a CSV file, or inputted directly.

We will aim to share additional information regarding the data with the shortlisted suppliers at the second stage of the procurement.
34. Has Alpha outputted a recommended team profile for Beta and can this be shared?: We expect suppliers to propose a team structure in alignment with the published budget for this contract of £950,000 - £1,030,000.
35. Are we correct in assuming Transform have completed both the Discovery and Alpha phases for this project? If so, how will BEIS ensure a level playing field in this procurement?: Transform was the 3rd party organisation used to support the Discovery and Alpha phases.

The outputs of the discovery and alpha stages will be shared with the short listed suppliers at the second stage of this procurement to ensure that all suppliers are treated equally.
36. With respect any prototyping that has been undertaken, to what degree are these considered disposable, or sufficient to be elaborated into production?: They are sufficient to be developed into production.
37. Can we ask if BEIS would consider alternative commercial models to Fixed Price, such as Capped Time and Materials or Time and Materials? If not, could we ask for the rationale behind the choice of Fixed Price?: No, BEIS will not consider an alternative commercial model. The fixed price commercial model was determined by the outputs of the Discovery and Alpha phases and the need for delivery on time.
38. Is there a specific reason Transform cannot continue this project without a re-procurement?: The project and the spend control and procurement that relate have been split into phases to allow for re-evaluation at each stage and to enable us to ensure based value for money based on the findings from previous phases.

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