Report to: General Committee                                               Report Date: September 14, 2009

 

 

SUBJECT:                          Joint Portal Project - Phase 1 Implementation, RFP # 145-R-09

PREPARED BY:               Nasir Kenea, ext. 4733

                                            Alex Moore, ext. 4711

 

RECOMMENDATION:

 

THAT the report entitled “Joint Portal Project - Phase 1 Implementation, RFP #145-R-09” be received;

 

AND THAT The contract for Professional Services for Phase 1 implementation be awarded to the highest ranked and lowest priced bidder – Perficient Canada Corp. in the amount of $1,477,700.00 exclusive of GST;

 

AND THAT Cost for Professional Services (Phase 1), and Hardware and Infrastructure Setup be shared between the Town of Markham and the Region of York on a 50%-50% cost sharing basis;

 

AND THAT Markham’s contributions for the above listed components in the amount $738,850.00 be funded from 2008 approved capital budget “Portal Implementation” - account # 49-5350-8659-005;

 

AND THAT This report be taken to September 15th, 2009 Council meeting;

 

AND THAT Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.

 

 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

 

The IT Strategic Plan endorsed by council in 2006 identifies Portal Implementation as one of the six recommendations.  In accordance with council direction, staff have been working in partnership with the Region of York over the past few years on this initiative on a 50%-50% cost sharing basis.  In 2008 council approved the award of three components, namely Hardware, Software and support services, to IBM Canada following a competitive process (RFP 007-R-07) for the Joint Portal project.  Markham’s contribution to this award was $792,307.  The fourth component, Professional Services was not awarded at the time primarily to find ways to manage risks of cost overruns common with single and big implementations, better manage internal capacity required for the success of the initiative, and look for alternatives to minimize the overall cost.  In addition, the complex nature of the project demanded the need to redefine the scope in smaller and manageable packages that can be undertaken at our own pace.

 

In early 2009 staff engaged IBM Canada (Phase 0) in order to provide the following three deliverables: an overall road map of the Joint Portal Program, a detailed requirement (specification) for Phase 1 Professional Services, and a technical architecture requirement for initial and subsequent implementations phases.  The road map identified up to 4 phases for each of the constituent facing and employee portals for Markham with progressively complex functional capabilities that span the next three years (2013).  The detailed documents provided as the outcome of the IBM Phase 0 engagement are the basis on which the scope for Professional Services -Phase 1 (this award for RFP 145-R-09) has been established.

Professional Services – Phase 1 (RFP 145-R-09) is intended to retain a service provider to undertake the work of laying the foundation for the Joint Portal project including software installation, configuration and code development.  During this phase, the Town of Markham will be focusing entirely on the constituent facing portal while the priority for the Region of York will be on the employee portal.

 

During this phase, the Markham web site and 7 other  micro sites (Markham Public Library, Art Gallery, Markham Museum, Markham Theatre, Economic Development, Small Business Development Office, Markham Centre), will be revamped through a new information architecture, navigation and user interface design.  These sites will also adhere to World Wide Web Level 3 accessibility standard, provide enhanced online service request processing functionality and new council document repository that is integrated with the portal and enhanced search results for citizens.  Event calendars for multiple areas in the Town and blogging functionality will also be available to users at the end of this phase. A capability that will allow building work flows to efficiently and dynamically manage web content that is relevant to users, among others, is also in scope. 

 

This report seeks council approval to award the Professional Services – Phase 1 contract to Perficient Canada Corp. who is the highest ranked and lowest priced bidder for RFP 145-R-09 in the amount of $1,477,700.00 exclusive of GST.  Town of Markham’s contribution to this award is $738,850.00, and will be paid from 2008 approved capital budget “Portal Implementation” - account # 49-5350-8659-005.

 

 

PURPOSE:

 

The purpose of this report is to seek Council’s approval to award a contract for Professional Services – Phase 1 for the Joint Portal Project to the highest ranked and lowest priced bidder.

 

 

BACKGROUND:

 

The Information Technology Services Department completed a strategic planning process through IBM, which was endorsed by Town of Markham Council in 2006. Implementation of a Portal technology is among the six recommendations made in this plan.  The following activities have been taking place over the past few years as a follow-up to this endorsement:

 

March 2006 – Following a Business Value Assessment conducted for portal implementation in 2005, Town of Markham Council directed staff to develop a Joint Portal Business Plan in collaboration with the Region of York. Similar resolution was passed by York Region Council in April 2006.

 

Fall 2006 - A Joint Portal Business Plan for the Town of Markham and Region of York by Connected Insight Inc was initiated.  The final report identified numerous qualitative benefits including improved citizen service and business efficiencies, and 30%-60% cost savings through a joint initiative as compared to separate municipal implementations.

 

April 2007 - Report on Portal Business Plan was received by Markham Council and Staff was directed to issue an RFP for the procurement of a joint portal solution for the Region of York and the Town of Markham.  A similar resolution was approved by York Region Council in Oct. 2007, including the invitation to other local York Region municipalities to participate.

 

January 2008 - an RFP 077-R-07 was issued in accordance with Purchasing By-Law 2004-341 to acquire a Joint Portal solution for the Region of York and Town of Markham.  The Request for Proposal was fairly complex and was looking for broad-based information, including:

  1. response to an extensive list of mandatory (and optional) requirements and deliverables along with a project plan
  2. cost breakdown on the four components of the proposal, namely: Hardware, Software, Support Services and Professional Services components
  3. client-hosted and vendor-hosted options, as applicable, and pricing
  4. high-level cost estimate for including other local York Region municipalities as part of the Joint Portal initiative

 

October 2008 – with Council approval, the highest scoring proponent, IBM Canada, was awarded the contract for the three components included in the RFP 077-R-07, namely: Hardware, Software, and Support Services.  This award was for a value of $1,584,614 (excluding GST) with Markham contributing $792,307.  The fourth component, Professional Services, was not awarded at the time mainly for the following reasons:

1.      Based on the complexity of the requirements and deliverables, and the wide price range provided by the proponents, it was decided that the Professional Services component could not be adequately compared among the proposals. 

2.      The vendors proposed to complete each stage of the work sequentially for all the identified requirements (i.e. planning and scoping, applications and portal development, testing and finally portal implementation).  Using this approach significantly increases the risk for cost overruns to accommodate any change in the priority or implementation requirements.

3.      The internal capacity requirement to implement the entire project as planned would be difficult to achieve, and a phase-based approach was believed to require manageable resources, provide flexibility and greater overall project success.

In addition, staff engaged a consultant, Bob Tapscott, to provide a professional review of the proposals and make recommendations. His report recommended a multi-phase approach that follows the agile or iterative methodology.

 

January - April 2009 - Understanding that more scope refinement and detailed specifications around requirements for professional services was necessary, staff engaged IBM Canada to provide the following deliverables (Phase 0):

1.      Detailed specification for Phase 1 implementation – The output from this deliverable was used for Phase 1, RFP # 145-R-09 (this award).

2.      Joint Portal Project Road Map – This deliverable provides high-level road map of the Joint Portal Program that spans multiple years and phases.

3.      Technical Architecture – Understanding the Road Map and the Phase 1 requirements, this deliverable provides detailed technical architecture required for the initial phase as well as the whole program.

 

June 2009 – Staff purchased from IBM the software products identified for the Joint Portal project as per RFP 077-R-07 award by Council in 2008.

 

June 2009 – RFP #145-R-09 (this award) was issued with the objective to retain a proponent that will provide Professional Services for Phase 1 implementation.

 

 

BID EVALUATION

 

The Evaluation Team comprised of staff from three commissions (Development Services, Community & Fire, and Corporate Services) including the following business units: Building/Planning, Markham Public Library, Information Technology Services, and Finance Department from the Town of Markham.  The Region of York additionally had team members from Information Technology Services, Business Operations and Quality Assurance, GIS Project Management, Business Information Systems Development for a combined total of 10 team members with the Town’s Purchasing staff acting as the facilitator.

 

The proposals were evaluated based on pre-established evaluation criteria as listed in the Request for Proposal:  55% Qualification Assessment of the Firm and the Team; 15% Presentation and or Demonstration Assessment and 30% price totaling 100%. 

 

 

BID INFORMATION:

 

Advertised

ETN

Bids closed on

August 4, 2009

Number picking up bid documents

50

Number of companies responding to bid

4*

 

* Only proponents who met a minimum score of 75% (Qualification Assessment of the Firm and the Team) were considered further.  The three highest ranked proponents who met the minimum score of 75% were asked to prepare for an interview and presentation/demo session which took place on August 31st and September 1st, 2009.

 

 

SCORING INFORMATION:

 

Company

Total Score

(Out of 100)

Rank

Perficient Canada Corp.

85

1

IBM Canada Ltd.

75

2

Kryos Systems

66

3

The cost submissions for this RFP range from 1,477,700.00 to $2,998,494.00.

 

 

OPTIONS/ DISCUSSION:

 

As stated above, the Phase 0 engagement with IBM Canada Ltd. provided Markham and York Region with three deliverables: detail specification for Phase 1 implementation RFP (this award), the overall road map of the Joint Portal Program that spans over four years, and the technical architecture for phase 1 and subsequent phases.

 

According to the Road Map – which was established with input from staff across various departments - the Joint Portal Program consists of multiple phases of implementation. Each phase has its major characteristics/features built on preceding implementations for both the constituent facing and employee facing portals.  It is understood that there may be changes to the components included in the different phases as we continue to evaluate the priority areas before the start of each implementation.  This approach is in line with the recommendations provided by consultant Bob Tapscott (2008) as well as our assessment of the internal capacity and resource requirements for this initiative.

 

Professional Services - Phase 1 (this award)

This phase will provide Markham constituents with a new experience that stems from an architected information flow, proper interface design with user input, easy navigation, enhanced look and feel, as well as content and added services.  In addition, it provides staff with the ability to manage web content through a more robust tool that permits staff to review, publish and remove content automatically, making it relevant to our users’ needs.  Adherence to higher accessibility standards will also provide the required level of access to information, and services through the Town’s website than what currently exists.  Online payment options will be available for several services offered by the Town.  This phase not only lays the foundation infrastructure on which the subsequent phases will be built, but also provides enhance services and user experiences that are fundamental for website usability, acceptance and revisits. The enhancements and services include:

•         A site designed to meet World Wide Web Level 3 accessibility standards with a new look & feel, & better architecture

•         Revised content from 7 micro sites (Markham Public Library, Art Gallery, Markham Museum, Markham Theatre, Economic Development, Small Business Development Office, Markham Centre) migrated into a new and robust content management tool

•         Existing online PDF forms and links to applications re-written as Portlets

•         Provide online service request application that directly integrates to the Town’s Service Request system (Eg., overnight parking exemption request).

•         Ability to search and view Council documents stored in the Council Document Repository

•         A better search capability that will display PDF, site & other document contents

•         Event Calendars for multiple areas (Council, Art Gallery, Markham Museum, Markham Theatre, Markham Public Library, Community Groups)

•         The ability to view Blogs and comment on them

•         A new content management tool to manage the portal content

•         Query for permit or license information without logging directly into Amanda

Professional Services - Future Phases (Constituent Portal)

Future phases of the portal project will have other service enhancements that include self-service, personalization, and access to the portal through mobile devices.  During these phases, more business systems integration will take place, which in turn will allow residents to access personal information through authorization, request and check service request status, and personalized access to information.  Below are some of the capabilities identified for future phases:

Self Serve

•         It will allow constituents to self register a profile for themselves

•         Subscription service that provides information and content. Eg. Markham news feeds

•         Enable constituents to pay for an expanded set of online services through integration with a standardized cashiering application where they will be able to pay for taxes, parking tickets & for a set of licenses/permits (i.e. Cat & Dog License, Business Permit)

•         Provide constituents the ability to request a limited amount of permits electronically with single-sign-on capability to the Amanda application

•         Enable single-sign-on from the portal to Class to enable registration for additional services over and above the Parks and Recreation programs

•         Provide many more online forms through online submission format

Personalization

•         Enable constituents to personalize their experience by setting a view of their MyMarkham page

•         Extend the user profile to enable single-sign-on to the service request application and access to status of requests

•         Sign-up to become members of available communities of interest

•         A new web-based GIS interface to surface maps in a more user friendly fashion on the portal

•         Constituents’ ability to view Tax roll and other personalized information

“On the Road”

•         Constituents will interact with the markham.ca site from their mobile browsers for selected features to be determined

•         Establishing an Emergency Management Collaboration area & tools to support emergency response

•         More self serve features are enabled on backend applications where constituents will be provided with additional forms to be able to complete transactions online

 

Professional Services - Future Phases (Employee Portal)

After completing the Phase 1 implementation of the constituent facing portal, in addition to continuing with implementation of the subsequent phases, Markham will be initiating the work on the employee portal project.  This project will focus on capabilities that provide efficiencies and will also have multiple phases.  The followings are the major breakdowns of the portal capabilities that will be undertaken as part of future professional services:

New Employee Experience    

•         A new information architecture, look & feel, accessibility standard, enhanced directory search

•         Ability of single-sign-on to the portal, as well as desktop and  other Markham applications accessed from the portal

•         Personalized employees experience and Corporate and Departmental pages

•         Access to Corporate and Departmental applications via links, access to existing form functionality as portal functions 

•         Search capabilities of Portal content and PDF files

Employee Collaboration

•         Departmental team rooms that will provide wiki, blogs, forums and a document repository

•         Ability to add single-sign-on from the portal to web-enabled applications used on a regular basis

•         Enable self-management of password changes and updating other aspects of user profile

•         Ability to subscribe to news feeds from external sites, Markham departments, News and Alerts

•         Receive targeted content to specific user groups

Advanced Application Integration

•         Rollout of Instant Messaging available on the portal, and Project Team rooms for collaboration

•         Enable Employees to update their profile to set their communities of interest

•         Provide project dashboards by integrating Eclipse with the portal

•         advance search capabilities to return results from other websites or file system repositories

 

 

 

Diagram 1: Joint Portal Program high level road map overplayed with Phase 1

 

 

 

Joint Portal Program - Markham

Understanding the increasing expectations of online interaction and transactions by citizens and businesses, the Town of Markham will be focusing on the constituent facing portal for the initial phase of the Joint Portal project.   The portal capabilities listed under “Professional Services – Phase 1” above are in scope to be implemented for Markham, and the RFP 145-R-09 is to retain a service provider for this implementation before the summer of 2010.  It is understood that some refinement and scope changes will likely occur once the project plan has been established and the project is in progress.

One of the fundamental benefits of the Joint Portal is that both Region of York and Town of Markham will be sharing a common infrastructure in terms of the underlying hardware and software environment. In addition, software components built for one municipality can be used by the other with no additional cost and effort. As such, Markham will be able to re-use artifacts built for the Region of York as part of their employee portal implementation, and vice versa.

As stated earlier, the phased approach taken for such a complex implementation makes the risk of potential cost overruns significantly minimized as compared to a one time full implementation. In addition, internal resources necessary to contribute to the project by providing subject matter expertise for the different services to be dedicated to the project is manageable.  As demonstrated by the cost for Phase 1 implementation, allowing service providers to go through a competitive process after each phase also provides the Town with the opportunity to obtain the best value for money.

 

Once phase 1 has been completed, the next phase of the Markham constituent portal is expected commence.  At about the same time frame, the initial phase of the Markham employee portal is expected to be started.  The details of the timing for the subsequent phases will be established in due course.

 

Two items, namely, Web content migration and migration of council reports that currently exist in the CCBS system in to the new portal environment, which were included in the RFP 145-R-09 (Phase 1) haven’t been awarded.  Staff will further evaluate the available alternatives, including automated tools, manual effort or combinations, and report to council at a future time with a cost effective solution.

 

As stated above, the Hardware and Software infrastructure necessary for the Joint Portal project was awarded to IBM Canada as per the 077-R-07 RFP award in 2008.  The Hardware and Software requirements have been since refined and validated through the Phase 0 project early this year.  Staff is working with IBM to finalize pricing and will very shortly proceed with the acquisition of this equipment.  In addition, the Phase 1 implementation, as scoped in the RFP #145-R-09 (this award), assumes that the necessary infrastructure will be setup prior to the commencement of the implementation.  Staff will be reporting to council on this and other related activities.

 

Overall, considering the complex nature of this initiative, through the currently adopted phased approach and the continued evaluation of the different alternatives available, the Town is not only able to get the best value for money, but also positioned to ensure success through appropriate resourcing.  Once this technology foundation is in place, further business transformations that will in turn enable the Town to provide increased services to its citizens also becomes achievable.

 

 

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS AND TEMPLATE:

 

The total cost for Professional Services - Phase 1 implementation (this award) is $1,477,700.00.  Markham’s contribution to this effort based on 50%-50% cost share with the Region of York is $738,850.00.  This amount will be funded from 2008 approved capital budget “Portal Implementation” - account number 49-5350-8659-005.

 

 

HUMAN RESOURCES CONSIDERATIONS:

Not Applicable.

 

 

ALIGNMENT WITH STRATEGIC PRIORITIES:

 

Phase 1 implementation is the beginning of a multi-phase project that will provide citizens and employees online access to information and services, including self service, through a portal technology from anywhere using the internet and thereby reduce travel requirement.  In addition to alignment with municipal services priority, higher adoption of the platform will also contribute towards reducing paper-heavy work processes and thereby support the environmental initiative.

 

The portal implementation will be built based on World Wide Web Consortium accessibility standard Priority 3, and will meet other relevant provincial legislative requirements that will enable the Town to provide enhanced services to its diverse community.

 

 

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

 

This project has a corporate wide impact and business unit leaders have been made aware of the project.  Selected business unit leaders are currently members of the Steering Committee, and a number of other staff also participated in workshops, planning sessions etc.

 

 

 

RECOMMENDED

                            BY:    ________________________          ________________________

                                      Nasir Kenea,                                      Andy Taylor,

                                      CIO                                                   Commissioner Corporate Services