Request for Information Integrated Portfolio, Project & Management Information System Technical Assistance Unit RFI: TAU/01

Transcription

1 Integrated Portfolio, Project & Management Information System Technical Assistance Unit RFI: TAU/01

2 TABLE OF CONTENT 1 Disclaimer Purpose Background Specific Objectives of this Document Who Should Respond How to Respond Response Format Submissions Use of Information Requesting Information Expected Benefits Management Enabling Functionality Project Management Enabling Functionality Features Sizing and Volumes Pre-Qualification Criteria Implementation Activities Compliance Criteria Technical Requirements RFI TAU /01 DD JULY 2013 RESTRICTED Page 2 of 12

3 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Response Format... 6 Table 2: Sizing and Volume... 8 Table 3: Compliance Criteria Table 4: Technical Requirements RFI TAU /01 DD JULY 2013 RESTRICTED Page 3 of 12

4 1 Disclaimer The Technical Assistance Unit (TAU) has prepared this information document to provide information to interested parties for providing an Integrated Portfolio Project and Management Information System, and to allow the TAU to gather information to support the development and implementation of an integrated system. While the TAU has taken due care in the preparation of information contained herein, neither the TAU, its staff, or its advisors gives any warranty or makes any representations, express or implied, as to the completeness for purpose or accuracy of the information contained in this document or any information which may be provided in connection therewith. The TAU reserves the right not to proceed with the initiative as well as the right not to discuss the initiative further with any Respondent. No reimbursement of costs or expenses of any type whatsoever will be paid to Respondents or any other persons, or entities expressing interest in the initiative for purposes of submitting an RFI response and to this end, no Respondent shall have a claim against the TAU, its staff or its advisors, arising out of any matter relating to this RFI document, of any nature whatsoever whether or not any circumstances arising as a result of, such claim is based on any act or omission by the TAU whatsoever and/or the content of this RFI. 2 Purpose The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to invite potential suppliers to submit proposals for the items/products/solutions as detailed below. 3 Background The Technical Assistance Unit (TAU) within the National Treasury, provides management consulting services to the Public Sector and contributes to build government s capability to deliver services, hence ensuring the quality of spend. The TAU follows a developmental consulting approach, which is embedded within a project management methodology and fundamentally built on the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBoK). Business information management within the TAU plays a vital role from the governance, management, monitoring and reporting perspectives. A Business Management Information System (BMIS) was developed during 2008 and serves as the organisational management information system. RFI TAU /01 DD JULY 2013 RESTRICTED Page 4 of 12

5 The TAU identified the need to improve its current information management system to allow for a more integrated and systemic approach that will support governance in general, portfolio management, project management, project finance, management information and knowledge management. A strong emphasis is to be placed on project finance, project and resource management and information integration. 4 Specific Objectives of this Document The specific objectives of this RFI are to: Assess market interest; Solicit information from interested parties; Gather information to support the intent of the TAU to implement an Integrated Portfolio, Project and Management Information System. A decision on the detail and timing of the RFI will depend to a great extent on the information provided in response to this RFI. In light of the amount of time required for respondents to provide such information and for the TAU to evaluate it, a decision as to the exact date to proceed with all the identified procurement options would not be expected prior to November Who Should Respond The TAU would welcome responses to the RFI from potential service providers who have implemented project management information systems within the private and public sector, with a strong emphasis on project management and the consulting environment. 6 How to Respond In response to the RFI, service providers are requested to provide sufficient information only if it is salient and directly pertinent to the RFI. The language for submission of the proposals shall be in English. All costs incurred by Respondents in connection with the RFI shall be borne by the respective Respondents themselves. 7 Response Format Schedule 1 Schedule 2 Schedule 3 Schedule 4 Schedule 5 Schedule 6 Introduction to company Covering Letter Compliance to Requirement Implementation Approach and Timeline Profile of the Service Provider Functionality of the Proposed Solution Brochures RFI TAU /01 DD JULY 2013 RESTRICTED Page 5 of 12

6 To be provided in hardcopy as well as electronically on a CD Table 1: Response Format 8 Submissions The complete RFI must be returned in hard copy including an electronic version on a CD to the following address: Technical Assistance Unit National Treasury 240 Madiba Street Pretoria 0001 For Attention: Ms Amanda Smit (Director: Knowledge Management - TAU) RFI TAU/01 The last date for submission of the completed RFI is 12h00 26 July 2013 at the above-mentioned address. 9 Use of Information The TAU reserves the right to use the information received from respondents for further development of the process. The mere fact of responding to the RFI however, shall not confer any rights on a respondent to preferential treatment at any subsequent bid/development stage of the initiative. 10 Requesting Information 10.1 High Level Scope The scope will be to implement an integrated solution that will allow the Technical Assistance Unit to manage its entire collection of projects as one or more interrelated portfolios. The solution must provide an overall view of all TAU project activity across the unit, from a central source. The high level framework adopted by the TAU is based on the PMBOK methodology and is overlaid by a Governance Process. The approved Project Management Framework and Methodology makes provision for: Concept and Initiation, Definition, Planning, Implementation, Close-out. RFI TAU /01 DD JULY 2013 RESTRICTED Page 6 of 12

7 11 Expected Benefits The integrated portfolio, project and management information system is expected to provide the following benefits: Ensure project ownership and accountability, Reduce Risks, Access from anywhere, anytime, Enhanced ability to monitor benefits realised throughout the project lifecycle, Better and more effective management, Standardisation, Improve TAU s success, Establish and maintain project knowledge management, Improved management and reporting. 12 Management Enabling Functionality It is envisaged that the integrated system will cater for the following management functionalities: Portfolio and Project Management, Contract Management, Financial Management, Knowledge Management, Project and Resource Performance Management, Customer Relations Management CRM) / Stakeholder Management, Reporting. 13 Project Management Enabling Functionality The system is required to provide the following project management enabling functionalities: Portfolio Dashboards, Project Dashboard, Project Scheduling, Resource Management, Timesheet Management, Risk Management, Issue Tracking, RFI TAU /01 DD JULY 2013 RESTRICTED Page 7 of 12

8 Project Finance Management, Document Repository. 14 Features The features of the system should provide for the following: Collaborative Software, Issue tracking, Scheduling, Project Portfolio Management, Resource Management, Document Management, Workflow System, Reporting and Analysis, Time Tracking. Financial Management and Management Accounting o o o o Project Level, Portfolio Level, Cost Centre level, Enterprise Level. The system should enable creation of multiple enterprises, cost centres and / or portfolios 15 Sizing and Volumes Sizing and volume should allow for scalability going forward Number of Users 300 Number of Active Projects 100 Number of Projects (historic data) 800 Table 2: Sizing and Volume 16 Pre-Qualification Criteria Must be provided as Software as a Service SaaS, Must be web-based, Integration to Project Management toolsets, Integration to current financial management and accounting systems. RFI TAU /01 DD JULY 2013 RESTRICTED Page 8 of 12

9 17 Implementation Activities The following are the minimum implementation activities to be part of the planning and overall product delivery plan: Installation, Solicit Requirements, Administrative Training, Configuration and Customisation, User Training, Data Take-on, Acceptance, Management Training, Operational Support. ** Above included documentation and user manuals. 18 Compliance Criteria Requirements The software architecture should allow users to access the system through a Standard web browser, without requiring any additional propriety software to be installed on their computers, which makes it easier for the system administrator to maintain. The solution should be able to accommodate templates for processes with workflow ability. The solution should have an enhanced search capability. The solution is supported in South Africa by a local service provider. The solution should be an enterprise capable application that addresses the requirements of a Project and Portfolio Management system at a fraction of the cost of competing products. The pricing model should be flexible and thus attractive for a growing organisation. The application must be web-based that allows for secure accessibility from anywhere and anytime. The solution must provide a layered security approach for the protection and safeguarding of information. The solution should be developed to be neutrally aligned to any specific methodology and lifecycle. This allows each client to embed any methodology (existing or not) into the solution. A customised project methodology and lifecycle can also be developed for clients and embedded into the solution. The software should be user-friendly and should have the on-line context sensitive help file which would reduce the amount of training required. It should address the requirements of a Project and Portfolio Management system Compliant Proof of Evidence RFI TAU /01 DD JULY 2013 RESTRICTED Page 9 of 12

10 Requirements in a simple and uncomplicated manner. In addition the solution should be a tool that can be used by the entire project team and not just project managers. The system administrator should be able to customise a solution for their specific and diverse environments without being dependent on developers. This includes data fields, screen layouts and lists. User groups and data filters should also be implemented to control what information users are allowed to access and what functions they are allowed to perform. There should be no limits on the number of user groups, roles and data filters that can be implemented. The solution s design and development should include the best approaches and architecture. It should be innovatively designed to integrate various levels of roles and responsibility to manage projects at the portfolio and programme level right down to the tactical Project Management components The solution should be fully customisable by the system administrator through the front-end, allowing it to be implemented in diverse environments. It should allow for effective resource capacity management, long range strategic planning and tactical operational decision-making. The solution should facilitate successful project progress; encourage collaboration while allowing easy access to online information.. The solution should include a document management and access control functionality The solution should include a number of features, tools, dashboards and reports that provides a consistent, summarised, real-time view of specific projects, programmes and the portfolio and the enterprise as a whole. The solution should enable management and communication relating to all aspects of a typical project, which includes: o Task Management, with bi-directional interface to other systems o Assign resources to project tasks and track progress and feedback. o Record risks and issues, provide priorities and scoring information and assign to resource for execution. o Capturing and approval of time spent on tasks and projects. o Recording and online approval of scope changes. o Management of project costs including budgets, actuals and variances o Determine project stakeholders and use for project communication purposes. o Centrally maintained document repository for adding new documents, as well as viewing or downloading existing documents for each project. o A full history is maintained on documents, allowing previous versions to be retrieved if necessary. o Detailed reports and dashboards on the project level, including customer specific reporting. Compliant Proof of Evidence RFI TAU /01 DD JULY 2013 RESTRICTED Page 10 of 12

11 Requirements The solution should be designed to unite the project team towards joint success. To cut down on administrative burdens the features should include: o Customisable automated workflow and escalation in the form of events and the ability to assign health indicators, issues and risks to individuals for action. o On-line comments. o Individual tasks and allocated assignments. o Summarised registers. o Online submission and reviews. o Management approval mechanisms. Any project methodology or lifecycle should be embedded to allow users on-line Access to a consistent Project Portfolio Management Methodology, linking to process descriptions, templates and procedures in a consistent yet simple, userfriendly format. The solution should be highly configurable with certain standard and multiple custom fields per entity, allowing users the freedom to configure the application to meet specific requirements without development involvement or technical knowledge and with minimal training. In addition, the application s data tables, lists, history tables, notifications and user groups should also be fully customisable by the users. The solution should be developed to allow the TAU to achieve project success. This should be done by providing the following benefits: o Easy to deploy and requires minimal hardware. o Flexible to allow all types of projects and industries to use. o Minimal training required to use. o Allows any project lifecycle to be embedded. o o Creates visibility on all project related information. User groups and access to functionality, reports and dashboards can be configured by system administrator. o Provides the ability to assign accountability and tasks per user type. o Can be accessed from anywhere (depending on hosting option) through a standard web browser. o Ensure collaboration and awareness through the notification engine. o Include entities to manage risks, scope, issues, costs and tasks. o Collect and store all project documentation in central place. o Integration to common scheduling applications. o Reduced administrative burden. o Real-time reporting and dashboards. o Consolidation of all project information in single customisable format. o Includes full audit and tracking of all user actions and information. The solution should be available at a fraction of the cost of other functionally competitive products. Licensing should be based on the simple premise that extra benefits are derived Compliant Proof of Evidence RFI TAU /01 DD JULY 2013 RESTRICTED Page 11 of 12

12 Requirements from a more inclusive policy. Compliant Proof of Evidence The solution should thus be priced as a tool not just for project managers but rather for all project resources. We therefore aim to include all resources in an environment for users, thus allowing them to collaborate and communicate on initiatives. The solution should manage a centralised employee s register with employee relevant information helpful for skills planning. Resources can be allocated to project tasks with a full approval mechanism in place. Through various reports and dashboards, management should be able to determine available capacity and overallocation enabling them to level the demand on resources within the constraints of available capacity Table 3: Compliance Criteria 19 Technical Requirements Technical Requirement Solution should be web-based or enhanced to web-based system. The system should be possible to utilise regardless of: o Geographical location o Operating system o Browser o Adaptability to single or mixed IT environments Rich graphical interface Robust project management functionality High degree of configurability Flexible licensing Simple automatic deployment Send and Receive data to-and-from any information system through visible and secured web-services: Data integration and portability with existing and or new financial management and current business management information systems Compliant Proof of Evidence Table 4: Technical Requirements RFI TAU /01 DD JULY 2013 RESTRICTED Page 12 of 12