Internet Website Redesign Assessment Project

Transcription

1 REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL Internet Website Redesign Assessment Project February 17, 2016 This Request for Proposal (RFP) is being sent to consulting firms to act as the Consultant in the completion of an assessment to put the District in a better position to redesign the organization s external facing website, This is the first phase of a potential multi-phased project. Upon completion of the Assessment Phase, the District may choose to enter into a negotiation and subsequent contract, for the Implementation Phase of this project, with the selected and awarded Consultant of the Assessment, based on performance and specifications being met. A detailed schedule for the RFP evaluation and selection process is as follows: Issue Internet Redesign Assessment RFP 02/17/2016 Questions Deadline 02/24/ PM Submittal of Proposals by Consultants 03/2/ PM Consultant Evaluation, Selection, and Notification of Short List 03/11/2016 Short List Consultant Presentations and Interviews 03/18/2016 Consultant Contract Award Notice to Proceed 03/25/2016 Begin Project (estimate commence date) 04/04/2016 Proposals will be received until the close of business (5:00 P.M. EST) on Wednesday, March 2, Delivery instructions can be found in Section VIII of this RFP. Late submittals will not be considered. Questions regarding this RFP shall be directed to Adam Bruncak at webrfp@neorsd.org. District responses to questions received will be posted to the District Internet site. It is the respondent s responsibility to review the District s website for all updates and information. Internet Website Redesign Assessment Request for Proposal FEBRUARY 17,

2 The RFP is organized as follows: SECTION I. SECTION II. SECTION III. SECTION IV. SECTION V. SECTION VI. SECTION VII. SECTION VIII. INTRODUCTION SCOPE OF WORK SCHEDULE PROPOSAL FORMAT AND REQUIRED INFORMATION EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS SELECTION PROCESS OTHER INFORMATION SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS Internet Website Redesign Assessment Request for Proposal FEBRUARY 17,

3 Internet Website Redesign Assessment RFP - Attachments The following attachments are included in this RFP: Attachment A Attachment B Task/Hour/Cost Summary Professional Services Agreement Internet Website Redesign Assessment Request for Proposal FEBRUARY 17,

4 SECTION I - INTRODUCTION Project Overview The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District ( District ) wishes to redesign their Internet, in order to improve usability and functionality of the site. The District s Internet site was launched in August of The contents of this site represent important resources for communication and collaboration with internal and external users of the District. The District s Internet site is designed for four primary audiences customers (both residential and industrial), the general public, the region s business community and job seekers. The residential customers utilize the website for bill-payment, rate resources and general customer service information; while the industrial customers reference resources, such as our Code of Regulations. The general public, Northeast Ohio residents outside of our service area, are included in the Internet audience due to educational resources extending further than the District s service area boundaries. The business community uses the site to register and become registered and certified vendors with the District in order to do business by bidding for proposals and seeking procurement opportunities. Additionally, job seekers use the site to search for available employment opportunities, apply online and check the status of their application. The District s Communications & Community Relations (CCR) department manages the Internet content and quality assurance. The Information Technology department manages the site infrastructure, security, access to applications and database resources. Finally, internal stakeholder feedback is one key component in the future design consideration of the District s website. But an equally critical success factor for this assessment is to incorporate the external stakeholders (customers) into the future design consideration of the District s external facing website. The Consultant will propose a methodology to capture and incorporate the District s external customer feedback into future design considerations. The Consultant will also be responsible for overseeing the process and results during the assessment. Proposed methods for achieving this goal will be part of the evaluation and scoring process. While the Internet branding and navigation structure was refreshed around 2012, the infrastructure remains largely unchanged since its inception. Current challenges facing the Internet site (but are not limited to): Lack of to-the-point layout on homepages and content-library No consistency with the utilization of the District s standard page templates

5 Non-existent event calendar Page editor is outdated Not adaptive to mobile access or view Remote access for Administrators As our services and opportunities evolve, a full design assessment with the District s stakeholders would be necessary to fully understand their web needs and expectations. Based on some initial feedback from the stakeholders, updating the Internet s design, accessibility, navigation, content and document management, social networking, dashboards, and mobile adaptability will be an initial requirement to facilitate the District s ability to better serve its employees and customers. Business Overview The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District is a political subdivision of the State of Ohio created and operating under Chapter 6119 of the Ohio Revised Code. Originally named Cleveland Regional Sewer District, it was created in 1972 to assume ownership, operation and management of wastewater collection, treatment and disposal facilities serving the member communities in the Cleveland metropolitan area. The District Administration is located at 3900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio This location also includes the Engineering & Construction, Operations & Maintenance Administration, Employee Resources, Finance, Law and Information Technology Departments. In addition to the District Administration Building, the District owns and operates an Environmental and Maintenance Services Center (EMSC) at East 49th Street, Cuyahoga Heights, OH and the following three wastewater treatment facilities: Westerly Wastewater Treatment Plant, located at 5800 West Memorial Shoreway, Cleveland, (near Edgewater State Park) Southerly Wastewater Treatment Center, located at 6000 Canal Road, Cuyahoga Heights, (near the Interstate 77/Interstate 480 intersection) Easterly Wastewater Treatment Plant, located at Lakeshore Boulevard, Cleveland, (near the Cleveland/Bratenahl border) The Environmental and Maintenance Services Center (EMSC), located at 4747 East 49th Street, Cuyahoga Heights (north of the Southerly Wastewater Treatment Center) houses the Sewer Maintenance & Control Department, the Water Quality & Industrial Surveillance Department, Analytical Services, and Fleet Services.

6 Strategic Plan Our vision is to lead the region as the premier environmental organization protecting our waterways. To help us achieve this vision, the Strategic Plan consists of five areas on which we will focus our efforts: Operational Excellence, Fiscal Responsibility, Customer Service, Community Partnerships, and Organization and Employee Effectiveness. This Strategic Plan integrates Continuous Improvement methods and tools to ensure that the District will be positioned to meet any future challenges, stay true to the Mission and Vision, and provide customers with an environmental leader that is committed and able to enhance the quality of life in the region and protect their water resources. Operation Excellence: Operate and maintain the wastewater system to achieve regulatory compliance. Adapt business processes to evolving changes in the industry, the environment and regulations. Increase the functionality of regional stormwater assets to resolve and/or reduce the critical consequence of flooding, erosion, and catastrophic failure. Identify and strengthen key organizational competencies to run daily business and implement the strategic plan. Fiscal Responsibility: Exercise responsible financial management. Utilize funding alternatives to minimize customer financial burden. Customer Service: Provide timely and effective responses to customer concerns and inquiries. Connect, respond and incorporate feedback from our customers. Establish a commitment to customer service among all District employees. Community Partnerships: Leverage partner resources to broaden benefits. Develop new mutually beneficial strategic partnerships. Position the District as an effective environmental leader. Organization and Employee Effectiveness: Align, build upon, and sustain key human resources. Create an inclusive culture that fosters diversity at all levels of the organization. Develop an innovative, flexible and adaptive organizational culture. Technology Standards The District utilizes Novell OES11 for network services such as authorization, file, print, and desktop management. Windows 2003/2008/2012 servers are used for Active Directory and web/application servers. SuSE SLES11 and Oracle Enterprise Linux

7 servers host Oracle database servers. VMware ESXi 5.x servers host virtual machines for production, test, and disaster recovery. The majority of physical servers are HP DL380 G7/Gen8. The District's desktop configuration is typically 4GB RAM with a processor speed of 3 GHz running Windows 7 SP1 32-bit and 64-bit. Standard applications include the Novell Client, MS Office 2010 (including Outlook), Symantec Endpoint Protection and Adobe Reader. The District uses Novell ZCM11 for user and workstation policy management, desktop imaging, desktop management, and application deployment. Generally, the District s five main locations are connected via gigabit Ethernet links in a ring topology through the use of AT&T s Gigaman (See Figure 1 NEORSD Logical Network Topology). GJM and EMSC are one hop from each other on the ring, and are used as disaster recovery sites for each other. The District s information system infrastructure consists of two physically separated networks: the business network and the process control network. The process control network support plant automation and control processes at the District s wastewater treatment plants and collection system. The District business network environment is the platform for the District s business information systems supporting many District departments, including Finance, Human Resources, Operations & Maintenance (including the treatment plants), Engineering & Construction, Safety & Security, Purchasing, Regulatory Compliance, Analytical Services, and Customer Service. Key enterprise applications at the District are as follows: Oracle ebusiness - Human Resources, Organizational and Employee Development (OED), Finance, and Purchasing Oracle Work & Asset Management Operations & Maintenance Kronos Finance, HR and all other departments GIS (Geographical Information System) Watersheds and various departments, LABLynx (Laboratory Information System) Analytical Services ODMS (Operational Data Management System) Operation & Maintenance SharePoint Engineering & Construction, Purchasing, Regulatory Compliance, Safety & Security, Operations and Maintenance, and IT Payroll services are provided by ADP; the District runs an interface with ADP to provide employee timekeeping and salary data. The District maintains maintenance and support agreements with our application vendors to have access to application patches and upgrades. Customer billing is currently performed by four billing agents, the largest being Cleveland Department of Public Utilities using the Oracle Customer Care & Billing System (CC&B). The District bills a small subset of customers directly leveraging the basic functionality of Oracle EBS.

8 Additional information about the District, its history and operations is available at the District s Internet site at Project Goals and Objectives The overall project will consist of two (2) phases. The assessment is Phase I and the redesign and implementation, to include process improvements, will be considered for Phase II. The Scope of Work section within this RFP outlines the tasks and deliverables for Phase I. Through this RFP, the District is seeking proposals to complete the Phase I Assessment only. The Assessment should be inclusive of a Roadmap, to guide a refresh and redesign of the current Internet site that promotes a sophisticated, user friendly and professional feel, and provide an easy and effective way to share District information. The District is also looking for business processes and best practices of quality content management. Through a preliminary internal review, District stakeholders were asked to provide their initial feedback and needed updates of the current internet design. The responses received are as follows: Provide a new look and feel that reflects the current technology and the District s image Implement a Content Management System that streamlines the processes and standardizes managing, updating, and maintaining of the site and reporting on traffic analytics Ability to add new sub sites, standardized templates and web pages to maintain the content with a consistent look and feel across all pages Improve information architecture to provide easier navigation and search capability Provide ability to upload content to enable the public to view video, listen to audio, and/or view photo galleries Ability to embed 3 rd party software such as Survey Monkey etc. to enhance interaction from users Ability to bring blogging capabilities in-house instead of using a 3 rd party tool Engineering & Construction can publish documents such as 5 year plan on Capital Improvement Projects and information on Project Clean Lake and provide link to the SharePoint site Provide a portal link to active District construction projects throughout the area Navigation needs to be intuitive enough to provide department specific information and capture user attention Provide multi-language support on certain customer-centric pages such as Customer Service, Business Opportunity Program and the Programs pages; Cost-Saving Program, Public Education and Collection Programs

9 Require connectivity to mainstream social media sites: Google, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Example of relevant websites include: and Upon selection of a Consultant, the District will then negotiate the Scope of Work for Phase I. Additional details regarding the Scope of Work are outlined in Section II of this RFP.

10 SECTION II SCOPE OF WORK This project will be implemented in phases due to the visibility and impact on the organization, however, the Consultant s recommendations will be considered. The Internet Website Redesign Project Phase I shall include the following tasks: Task A Gather, analyze, and report requirement data obtained from key District stakeholders; Task B Provide a Readiness Assessment and Roadmap to implement the recommended solution Task C Provide Project Management Administration At this time, the District is requesting proposals for a HIGH LEVEL ASSESSMENT AND PLANNING PHASE only. This phase will assess the District s readiness to move with the proposed redesign solution. The Consultant shall provide details as to the method of accomplishing the Scope of Work for these tasks. The Consultant s proposals shall address all of the objectives for each task as outlined in the Scope of Work. The Consultant is encouraged to recommend alternatives and additional goals to the defined Scope of Work (e.g. task additions) in their proposals. Task A Gather, analyze and report requirement data obtained from key District stakeholders The selected Consultant will work collaboratively in facilitating a strategy session with key District stakeholders The assessment should include, but is not limited to: The Consultant shall meet with internal and external stakeholders to gather and elicit requirements that will assist in the redesign recommendations of the Internet site; Obtain feedback from the stakeholders to clarify any conflicting requirements, risks, assumptions and constraints

11 Task A Deliverables: Comprehensive documentation of the business requirements gathered from key District stakeholders to also include any recommendations from the Consultant Task B Provide a Readiness Assessment and Roadmap to implement the recommended solution The assessment should include, but is not limited to: The Consultant shall assess the current Internet architectural design and recommend solutions on the design based on the stakeholder s analysis and experiences Provide recommendations on the multimedia communication tools and features to be utilized within the Internet Assess tools for news publishing (communication channels), social networks (enterprise social), creating and editing documents (document collaboration) Provide recommendations on utilizing innovative new tools that are mobile friendly Provide a Readiness Assessment and Roadmap to implement the recommended solution Task B Deliverables: Document the recommendations based upon: The multimedia communication tools and features Infrastructure needs Enhanced Mobility Roadmap o Includes high-level Project Plan and Budgetary Estimate Task C Provide Project Management Administration The assessment should include, but is not limited to: Perform project management functions using PMI standards throughout the life cycle of the project (a detailed project plan that articulates how the project will be managed and delivered will be developed, with the selected vendor, in collaboration with the District prior to the start of the project. The District will appoint a Project Manager to manage District resources and to oversee the delivery of this project).

12 Task C Deliverables: Project Management Documentation, such as: Project Plan Status Updates Milestone Based Payment Schedule Acceptance Criteria Change Order Process SECTION III PROJECT SCHEDULE Project Schedule Internet Website Redesign Assessment Phase I The Internet Website Redesign Assessment Project Phase I is envisioned as 8-10 week effort. A detailed schedule for the RFP evaluation and selection process is as follows: Issue Internet Redesign Assessment RFP 02/17/2016 Questions Deadline 02/24/ PM Submittal of Proposals by Consultants 03/2/ PM Consultant Evaluation, Selection, and Notification of Short List 03/11/2016 Short List Consultant Presentations and Interviews 03/18/2016 Consultant Contract Award Notice to Proceed 03/25/2016 Begin Project (estimate commence date) 04/04/2016 Consultants are to include a detailed preliminary project schedule in their technical proposal. The project schedule shall include anticipated completion dates for key task items. SECTION IV - PROPOSAL FORMAT AND REQUIRED INFORMATION A digital copy of the technical proposal can be ed to webrfp@neorsd.org or a CD / USB drive can be delivered to the address listed in Section VIII of this RFP. The proposal must be formatted as follows:

13 Executive Summary Section 1 - Company History Section 2 Anticipated Approach to the Project Discuss the anticipated approach to the project, including an outline of the key activities to complete the project and the proposed deliverable to meet the District requirements as outlined in Section II - Scope of Work. This part of the proposal will be used to evaluate the extent to which the Consultant understands the project, its magnitude and its complexity. Section 3 Consultant Qualifications A statement of the Consultant s qualifications, including a list of four (4) of the most recent projects in providing website assessments and roadmaps for implementation. The following information shall be included for each project: Start and end dates of the project Consultant s role in the project Consultant Personnel Original project cost Final project cost Additionally, contact information (name, address, phone number) of individual responsible for the project at the contracting agency Section 4 A statement confirming the following: A statement confirming that Attachment B - NEORSD Standard Clauses for Professional Services Agreement was reviewed and any potential items for discussion are noted in the proposal. Section 5 Task/Hour/Cost Summary The Task/Hour/Cost Summary Form (Attachment A) shall be completed and outline each activity necessary to fulfill the terms of this RFP. An electronic file spreadsheet in Excel format accompanies the RFP for the Consultant to use in their proposal. The Consultant shall break the project down by the tasks identified in the Scope of Work (i.e., Subtask A-1, A-2, etc.). The total of the hours for all tasks shall accurately reflect the total effort needed to perform the entire project as outlined in the RFP. Hours in all tasks shall be identified by labor category for each activity.

14 The District will use this form to assist in evaluation of the proposals. The District reserves the right to request additional task / hour / cost information. A prompt response of one (1) working day shall be adhered to in these requests. SECTION V - EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS Proposals submitted to the District for the project shall be evaluated by the Consultant Selection Committee utilizing the following criteria. Pass/Fail Screening Criteria Proposals not in compliance with the following pass/fail criteria may not receive additional consideration: 1. Avoidance of personal and organizational conflicts of interest as prohibited by State and local law. 2. Proposal conforms to the RFP. Emphasis will be on whether the proposal demonstrates an understanding of the project scope and the District s needs and requirements as specified in the RFP. 3. Must be received on or before the deadline date. Proposals that comply with the above will be scored based upon the criteria presented below. Scoring Criterion I 35% of total score Method of accomplishing the Scope of Work Scoring will be based on consideration of the following: 1. Proposed organization of the work effort. 2. Innovative approaches to the Scope of Work as presented in the proposal. 3. Unique capabilities with likely high-impact applicability to the project. 4. Understanding of the appropriate levels of effort (hours) for various task areas. 5. Appropriate project management controls to include schedule, budget and quality management. Scoring Criterion II 35% of total score Experience of key project personnel and the firm on similar projects This score will be based on: 1. The Consultant s experience in conducting projects of similar nature and complexity. 2. The ability of the Consultant to draw upon this experience to benefit the project.

15 3. The Consultant s history of innovations in applicable project areas. 4. The degree to which the project personnel and team bring experience in the full range of skills needed to accomplish the Scope of Work. Scoring Criterion III 5% of total score Written quality of the proposal Proposals are expected to be organized, concise and well written. Scoring Criterion IV 5% of total score Cost Scoring will be based on consideration of the following: 1. Overall cost 2. Hourly rates 3. Approach to maintaining costs within or under budget Scoring Criterion V 15% of total score Method of Incorporating External Customer Feedback into Future Design Considerations The Consultant will propose a methodology to capture and incorporate the District s external customer feedback into future website design considerations in an effort to capture and deliver the needs of the District s external customers, users and overall audience. At a minimum, consideration should be given to the following: 1. Multigenerational Audiences o Jargon and Imagery o Navigation 2. Simplified Navigation Based on Customer Needs o Industrial Customers o Residential Customers o Job Seekers o Business Opportunity Seekers 3. Technology Trends Scoring Criterion VI 5% of total score Quality of Proposal Presentation The District may allot up to 90 - minutes for the presentation and interview, including a 30-minute question and answer period. Key project personnel will be expected to take the lead in presenting and answering questions regarding the technical proposal. Upon

16 completion of the presentations, the District selection committee will score each firm according to the following criteria: 1. Quality and clarity of presentation. 2. Consultant s ability to communicate project understanding. 3. Identification of project-specific risks and a plan to manage them. 4. Adequacy of response to District questions. Scoring will consider the responsiveness of the proposal to the requests and requirements of the RFP. SECTION VI - SELECTION PROCESS Once all proposals have been received, the following steps will be followed to select the Consultant: 1. Proposals will be reviewed by the Selection Committee. Additionally, a phone survey may be conducted to evaluate the past performance of the participating Consultants on similar projects. This survey will be limited to the contacts provided in the proposal as required in Section 3 of Section IV, Consultant Qualifications. 2. Each member of the selection committee will evaluate the Consultants based upon the predetermined selection criteria outlined in Section V of this RFP. All consultants who meet the minimum qualifications and comply with the pass/fail criteria will be scored up to and including the fifth criteria outlined in Section V. Only the top three proposals, based on score, will be given the opportunity to be evaluated against criteria VI. If you are amongst the top two (2) short-list, you ll be notified by 3 p.m. on March 11, 2016 of your assigned time and the location for the presentations. Consultants not selected for the presentation will be notified. After the presentations, the selection committee will then meet to conduct the final steps of the evaluation process. The selected consultant will be notified. 3. Negotiations will be conducted with the highest ranked firm to agree upon a final Scope of Work and the fees for those services as proposed in the Proposal. The selected Consultant must be prepared to immediately begin contract negotiations upon notification of the selection. If the Consultant is not able to begin contract negotiations, the District will disqualify the selected Consultant and begin

17 negotiations with another Consultant-candidate. The District intends to negotiate a not-to-exceed price for this project. After the final Scope of Work and fees have been negotiated, the maximum not-toexceed price of the contract shall not be increased without written authorization by the District. Upon satisfactory completion of the contract, the District shall retain all remaining unused funds. A final recommendation to enter into a contract, based on the outcome of the selection process, will be made to the District s internal Consultant Review Committee (CRC). The final recommendation to award the contract is subject to CRC approval. All other finalists that were not selected will be notified via after the contract is awarded. SECTION VII - OTHER INFORMATION The District reserves the right to waive any informality in the proposals submitted and other areas of the procurement process. The selected Consultant shall indemnify, keep and save harmless the District and its respective officers, agents and employees against all suits or claims that may be based upon any injury to persons or property that may arise out of any alleged error, omission or negligent act of the Consultant, its employees, agents, or other representative of the Consultant. Also the selected firm shall, at its own expense, satisfy and cause to be discharged such judgments as may be obtained against the District or any of its officers, agents or employees. The District requires public liability insurance and liability insurance for each automobile used on the project with limits in each case not less than $500,000 for injury or death of one person, not less than $1,000,000 per occurrence on account of injury or death of two or more persons, and property damage not less than $200,000. The District reserves the right to request professional liability insurance of $1,000,000 during the performance of this project. Candidates shall include in their proposal a statement of how much professional liability insurance they carry. Project specific liability coverage will be accepted to supplement a smaller amount of existing coverage, but the policy must be effective for a five (5) year period beginning on the date of the design contract, and the policy form must be approved by the District's General Counsel. Project specific insurance, in addition to professional liability insurance, may include all other coverages required by the District, including comprehensive general liability, auto and property in the required amounts, with not less than a five (5) year tail.

18 The District reserves the right to specifically negotiate the price for the Scope of Work for any Consultant or Consultant. The District also reserves the right to require that a Consultant be removed or replaced for reasons including, but not limited to, inability to negotiate price and scope or past unsatisfactory performance. SECTION VIII - SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS A digital copy of the technical proposal can be ed to webrfp@neorsd.org or a CD / USB drive can be delivered to: Chandra Yadati, Director of Information Technology Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District 3900 Euclid Avenue Cleveland, Ohio Attn.: Adam Bruncak Deadline for submission of proposals is 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 2, Late submittals will not be considered. All questions regarding this RFP shall be directed to the Project Manager, Adam Bruncak, via only at webrfp@neorsd.org.

19 END OF RFP ATTACHMENTS TO FOLLOW

20 Attachment A Task/Hour/Cost Summary Form

21 Attachment B NEORSD Standard Clauses for Professional Services Agreement

22 END OF ATTACHMENTS