2024-0296 Data Warehousing and Dashboard Expertise Support (NS) - THU 30 Jan

Full Time On-Site: Yes

Period of Performance: BASE period: 10 March 2025 – 31st December 2025 with the possibility to exercise following option:

1. Bidding Instructions
2. 1. Technical Proposal

Bidders shall submit a proposal (all three parts in one (1) document) clearly providing the following information:

1. Cover page with the following information:

1. Submission of a document containing the proposed approach to analyze stakeholder requirements and derive a technical solution for implementation as described in section address section 2.1 (ie: a proposed work plan for the activities).
2. An evidence of successfully delivering one to three project of similar scope to the statement of work within the last five years. Each evidence should demonstrate proof of performance and be comparable in size and scope to the requirements of this role. Additionally, ensure to include a detailed case study that highlight the Purpose, Objective, Output and Outcome (PO3) mentioned in the table (Annex B). Evidence should display the ability to manage and deliver Data Warehousing and Dashboard Expertise by following customer requirements.
3. CVs of the proposed resource(s) for the project.

1. INTRODUCTION
2. 1 The NATO Information and Communication Agency (NCI Agency) located in The Hague, The Netherlands, is the Interoperability Assurance Authority for NATO. In the light of this responsibility, the Assurance Solutions Branch of the Chief Quality Office is looking for a service contract, which can provide us with Extraction, Loading and Transformation (ELT), Data Warehousing and Dashboard development expertise.
3. OBJECTIVES
4. 1 The needs identified are to define, design and implement the necessary ELT logic, data warehouse components and implement the given designs for interoperability dashboards. These must be implemented in our existing NET based Interoperability (IO) Dashboard application.
5. 2 In addition our bespoke NET based solution needs to be replaced with open source or commercial data warehouse and dash boarding tools. A product analysis will be part of the contract.
6. 3 More specifically, the work will be to implement:

1. SCOPE OF WORK
2. 1 The contractor will be part of a team and will work using an Agile and iterative approach using multiple sprints. Each sprint is planned for an approximate duration of 4 weeks with an average 38 hours per week. The content and scope of each sprint will be agreed with the service delivery manager during the sprint-planning meeting, in writing.
3. 2 The contractor will be part of a team (technical lead, Service Delivery manager, interoperability engineers and software engineers) and will work using monthly cycles. Each cycle is planned and reviewed monthly. The content and scope of each cycle will be agreed with the Services Delivery Manager and the technical lead during the planning meetings, in writing.
4. 3 The work shall be carried out in sprints whereby each sprint is independent. The contractor will be required to respond, document, categorize and solve all the assigned tickets according to the internal processes and procedures. The work will be executed mainly onsite, but some sprints might require offsite at other NATO locations. Generally, remote work cannot be performed offsite since the nature and classification of the work requires the incumbent to be present in the office with access to classified networks.
5. 4 The 1st SPRINT will be used for the contractor to understand the business requirements, global problem domain, existing dashboards and KPI’s, review of the existing solution and based on these develop a lightweight solution architecture design including a product comparison to deliver the solution architecture;
6. 5 Subsequent SPRINTS will be used to enhance existing dashboards and design and implement new dashboards and ELT and data warehouse changes.
7. 6 Under the direction of the Head of Assurance Solutions Branch, the Service Delivery Manager and Technical Lead, the service provider will provide services related to the following main sprint activities as listed below:

Expected Deliverables:

Lightweight architecture design for a future data warehouse and dash boarding solution;

Activity: Analyze, model and implement all the required ELT logic, develop necessary data ware house logic (i.e. databases, queries, multi-dimensional databases), implement required dashboards and integrate objective testing data, to support the alignment to business requirements and comprehensive insights of relevant KPIs;

Expected Deliverables: ELT logic, data warehouse and multi-dimensional data models, Dashboard Designs, Implementation of Dashboards, Data Transformations and Testing Data integration.

Expected Deliverables: Working dashboard software

Deliverable compatibility.

The current solution is based on the following, and the contractor is expected to be able to understand and support these:

A web-based application written in C#, .NET Core, Blazor and using DevExpress BI Dashboard components;

Any solution must be able to be run on premise and has minimal licensing cost.

4 PAYMENT MILESTONES AND DELIVERABLES

The following deliverables are expected from this statement of work:

1. Produce sprint completion reports (format: e-mail update), which include details of activities performed. Specifically, tasks requested for internal activities (traceable), up to date centralised digital repository with categorised folders for each project overview, quarterly APSS financial reports, monthly all project overview and status reports, real-time project tracking and visualisation via dashboard, calendar overview on upcoming events and team updates with dates, agendas and materials, overview on workshop materials and SOPs update.
2. The Contractor will participate in the daily reporting and planning activities (daily stand- ups) as well as the required participation in workshops, events and conferences related to the supported services, as requested by the Service Delivery Manager or deputy. Payment Schedule will be at the end of each sprint of four working weeks, following the acceptance of the sprint report.

The NCIA team reserves the possibility to exercise a number of options, based on the same scrum deliverable timeframe, at a later time, depending on the project priorities and requirements.

The payment shall be dependent upon successful acceptance of the sprint report and the Delivery Acceptance Sheet (DAS) – (Annex A) including the EBA Receipt number. Invoices shall be accompanied with a Delivery Acceptance Sheet (Annex A) signed by the Contractor and the NCIA POC.

1. 1 2025 BASE: 10 March 2025 – 31 December 2025

Payment Milestones: Upon completion of each sprint and at the end of the work.

2026 OPTION: 01 January 2026 to 31 December 2026:

Payment Milestones: Upon completion of each fourth sprint and at the end of the work.

2027 OPTION: 01 January 2027 to 31 December 2027:

1. COORDINATION AND REPORTING
2. 1 The Contractor shall deliver services on-site in NCIA The Hague, occasional remote work needs to be approved by the Head of the Assurance Solutions Branch
3. 2 The contractor shall report to the Head of Assurance Solutions Branch.
4. 3 The contractor must work closely with all other technical experts in charge of developing our tools and existing data warehousing solution.
5. 3 The Contractor shall participate in daily and weekly status update meetings and other meetings, physically in the office, or in person via electronic means using Conference Call capabilities, according to service delivery manager’s instructions.
6. 4 For each sprint to be considered as complete and payable, the contractor must report the outcome of his/her work during the sprint, first verbally during the retrospective meeting and then in writing, within three (3) working days after the sprint’s end date. A report in the format of a short email shall be sent to NCI Agency point of contact briefly mentioning the work held and the development achievements during the sprint.
7. SCHEDULE
8. 1 It is expected the service starts as soon as possible but no later than 10 March 2025 and ending no later than 31st December 2025.
9. 2 If the 2026 option is exercised, the period of performance is 01st January 2026 to 31st December 2026
10. 3 If the 2027 option is exercised, the period of performance is 01st January 2027 to 31st December 2027
11. 4 The work will be conducted during normal office hours following the NCIA The Hague, NLD calendar, as well as outside office hours and on weekends, if necessary.
12. SECURITY
13. 1 Performance of the services described in this SOW require a valid NATO SECRET security clearance prior to the start of the engagement.
14. CONSTRAINTS
15. 1 All the documentation provided under this statement of work will be based on NCI Agency templates or agreed with project point of contact.
16. 2 All scripts, documentation and required code will be stored under configuration management and/or in the provided NCI Agency tools.
17. PRACTICAL ARRANGEMENTS
18. 1 This is a deliverables-based contract.
19. 2 The contractor shall provide services 100% On-site NCIA The Hague, NLD. Exceptional off-site activities to support service delivery can also be arranged with the line manager’s coordination and approval.
20. 3 The contractor will be provided with NCI Agency issued laptop and user account for access to the NATO Software Factory (Azure DevOps). This equipment is the property of NCI Agency and must be return upon termination of the contract. If the equipment is required to be shipped to a location, it will be at the expense of the expeditor. Personal laptops and equipment are not permitted inside NCI Agency. You will be required to use the assigned laptop while in the premises.
21. 4 There may be requirements to travel to other sites within NATO for completing these tasks.
22. 5 Travel costs are out of scope and will be borne by the NCI Agency separately in accordance to the provisions of the AAS+ Framework Contract.
23. 6 The work depicted in this SOW is expected to be carried by a single contractor.
24. 7 Short periods of absence are acceptable as long as deliverables within the established targets are completed. Planned and unplanned absences must be communicated to the service delivery manager.
25. QUALIFICATIONS

[See Requirements]

1. SECURITY

• Performance of the services described in this SOW require a valid NATO SECRET security clearance prior to the start of the engagement.

1. QUALIFICATIONS

The consultancy support for this work requires following qualifications:

• More than three years experience and strong working knowledge of and experience with data warehousing and dash boarding concepts: Semantic Modelling, Ontologies, Taxonomies; Data Modelling; Data Warehouse design; Multi-Dimensional Database Design and Implementation; Visual Dashboards; ETL/ELT processes
• More than three years proven experience with data warehouse modelling, design and implementation
• More than three years experience and strong working knowledge of and proven experience with the use of SQL Server and SQL Server Analysis Services in the context of data warehousing solutions.
• More than three years experience and ability to design and implement multi-dimensional databases using SQL Server Analysis Services
• More than three years experience and strong working knowledge of and proven experience with Transact SQL and MDX queries or a similar dialect
• More than three years experience and strong working knowledge of and proven experience with ETL/ELT Processes and the technical implementation.
• Ability to develop and maintain clear and concise technical documentation, including procedures

• Experience with the iDesign methodology is considered an advantage
• Experience with software development using C# and NET Core as a programming language using design patterns and SOLID
• Experience with Microsoft Blazor
• Experience with DevExpress BI Dashboard for .NET

• Very good communication skills, both spoken and written, in English.
• Ability to think abstractly
• Ability to communicate with clarity, coherence, conciseness and engagement in both oral and written communication.
• Demonstrable ability to work autonomously and proactively and to follow internal processes
• Team player, always willing to help others and to share knowledge.
• Good collaboration skills, with the ability to work in a multinational and diverse team