2025-0028 BMD User Research and Process Validation REMOTE - 21 Feb

Deadline Date:  Friday 21 February 2025
 
Requirement:   BMD User Research and Process Validation
 
Location:  OFF-SITE
 
Not to Exceed:  NTE: 375,300 EUR
 
Required Start Date:  1 April 2025
 
Required Security Clearance:  Various 
 
Bidding Instructions:

• Bidders shall submit a proposal containing a technical design and proposed service provider team composition.
• Technical Design: The proposed approach shall be summarized in maximum 10 pages (A4 size), and it shall address the required scope of work and the defined deliverables with sufficient details to allow assessment for feasibility of the proposal.
• In addition to the Technical Design, the Bidder shall submit the Proposed Team and Curriculum Vitae (CV) of each proposed contractor.
  • Each CV shall have enough details and evidences of individual’s previous work to show suitability for the job.
  • Size of the Team and Schedule: It is up to the bidder to propose the size of the team that executes the work and produces the deliverables in the time lines allocated.
  • Task Lead: The proposal shall clearly identify a task lead from assigned resources. The task lead will be the point of contact for task related matters for the Agency team.
  • NCIA shall reserve the right to interview the proposed candidates.

• To strengthen the Alliance through connecting its forces, NATO Communication and Information Agency (NCIA) delivers secure, coherent, cost effective and interoperable communications and information systems in support of consultation, command and control and enabling intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, for NATO, where and when required. It includes IT support to the Alliances’ business processes (to include provision of IT shared services) to the NATO HQ, the Command Structure and NATO Agencies.
• The Ballistic Missile Defence Programme Office (BMD PO), as part of the NCIA, ensures the harmonised planning, implementation, deployment, evolution and support of the BMD capability, in a way that satisfies the operational requirements and minimizes the military risk, taking into account the NATO political, economic and schedule requirements and using the most suitable industrial and technological solutions. The Programme Office is the procurement and implementation body of NCIA, charged with the effective planning, execution, delivery into service, evolution and through-life logistic support of NATO’s and assigned national and BMD systems.
• BMD PO is performing the BMD user research campaign phase 2 on visualisation and analysis of IAMD/BMC3I systems with a focus on real-time functionalities. For this task, BMD PO needs a team of expert contractors in operational user experience (OUX) domain to execute services and to create products. In depth operational knowledge and prior experience of BMD as well as the NATO BMD map-centric mission applications (Battle Management Command, Control, Communication and Intelligence, BMC3I systems) is required to work on assigned tasks.
• The team of contractors will be providing support services as part of NCIA project team that executes the Allied Command for Transformation (ACT) Programme of Work (PoW) 2025 for BMD.

• The team of contractors will apply OUX principles together with NCIA project team and will regularly engage with operational user community.
• The team of contactors will hold 3 (three) skill sets:
• Principal Operational User Experience (OUX) Technologist (POUX-T),
• Senior Operational User Experience/User Interface Designer and Developer (SOUX-D),
• Senior Operational User Experience/Geographic Information System (GIS) Designer and Developer (SOUX-GIS).
• The size of the team will be determined by the Bidder. Each contractor in the team shall possess only one skill set and it is not possible to combine more than one skill sets within one contractor.
• The team of contractors will provide support services and deliverables as follows:
• Leading human-centered design process implementation and facilitation for BMD map- centric mission applications in the scope.
• Planning and performing operational user research (OUR) for mission applications. Findings are compiled in a “User research report” that describes users' needs, attitudes, pain points, and behaviours in form of persona, journey map, and other representations. OUR results will be stored progressively in an easy-to-use repository.
• Designing and describing functional specifications of mission applications.
• Developing user interface prototypes for mission applications.
• Planning and performing operational user testing (OUT) for mission application prototypes.
• Preparing and providing subject matter (BMD OUX) briefings and expert reports related with the project work.
• Performing expert OUX reviews on BMD related BMC3I systems and documenting findings in an expert review report.
• Planning and performing subject matter (BMD OUX) training sessions to the project team members and a wider NCIA community.
• The deliverables will be required by various dates, as identified in Section 5, throughout the contract execution.
• All deliverables are to be peer reviewed within its delivery cycle. Input and guidance will be provided by NCIA in written form and during the targeted review meetings.
• During the period of performance a Delivery Acceptance Sheet shall be provided to the Purchaser for each scheduled delivery, as identified in Section 5. The Template is provided in the Annex C. The Purchaser will confirm the acceptance by signing the Delivery Acceptance Sheet.
• The expected classification level of the deliverables is NATO Unclassified or NATO Restricted.
• The execution of duties may require contractors to access information as per 2.4 up to NATO Restricted therefore some contractors will be asked to fill a Certificate of Security Obligation (CSO) form for accessing NATO Restricted information throughout the contract execution.
• Contractors possessing Principal Operational User Experience (OUX) Technologist (POUX-T) skill set require to hold a valid NATO Secret security clearance due to its involvement in User Research activities at operational headquarters.
• The contract will have annual optional scope extension work-packages to be executed in 2026 and in 2027 should NCIA choose to exercise them.
• The Agency Point of Contact for the daily execution of the contract is the NCIA PM.