Request for Proposal (RFP) DSF01-0## APPENDIX E – DISCOVERY FINDINGS APRIL 2014

Key findings and insights Procurement is like an ecosystem with different players and systems – contracts finder is just one part of the big picture Buyers want all the information about a single procurement in one place, and want to enter the data once and for it to appear wherever it needs to be. The current search interface for Contracts Finder needs substantial improvement The larger buyers have their own supply chain management systems A market exists for data aggregation services that pull together information from TED, Contracts Finder and others – Linked Data Suppliers find government procurement difficult to understand, and do not always know where to find help Changing procurement to better include SMEs and pre-procurement activity is more a matter of process and communication than technology People want an agreed specification on data so that can be shared between systems

User Stories

User Stories cont....

At the core of the service is an open data model agreed with government and private sector providers and software vendors that defines a common standard for information about procurement. A web-service API will allow trusted parties to submit records and export records for use in their own systems and services. There will be a web-interface for people who do not have their own procurement software - delivered through the Gov.uk website. Built using modular services providing a flexible and future proofed system.

Minimum Viable Product

Alpha overview The Alpha phase will establish the data standards and interfaces and prove that they work. It will develop a Minimum Viable Product: agreed data schema the data store the web services the new web interface. Buyers and suppliers will be able to use the web-interface to create records and to use the search and retrieval tools. Buyers who use third party supply chain systems will be able to send records to Contracts Finder to see how the data is consumed and presented. Suppliers will be given access to the alpha site to see how the new service is developing and try out search tools. Data-aggregators and software vendors will be able to use the web- services to export data from the alpha to test this feature. We do not recommend that any party places commercial reliance on the information in the alpha version. Web GUI Data store Web service interface