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Networked Services Project
Request for Tender for NLA Networked Services

Chapter 6 - Implementation

6.1 Introduction
6.2 Timetable
6.3 Location
6.4 Project Management
6.5 Tenderer's Services
6.6 Outsourcing

6.1 Introduction

This Chapter outlines the services sought by the Library relating to installation, implementation, data migration, testing, acceptance, operation and maintenance of systems. The Contract with the successful Tenderer will include detailed provisions for these services.

Services should relate to each of the Configurations proposed in Chapter 3 of this RFT. Tenderers should include all costs associated with the services in order that the Library can assess the impact on both the initial implementation and any on-going support costs.

Tenderers should also note that the cost of all systems will be extended to at least five (5) years for input to the evaluation process. Tenderers must therefore indicate those costs that are essential and those that are optional for a successful implementation.

This Chapter contains requests for information from Tenderers which is necessary for the evaluation of tenders.

6.2 Timetable

The Library is seeking to commence establishing Stage 1 of its new Networked Services before the end of the 1997 calendar year. Tenderers should indicate, for all configurations tendered, a realistic implementation timetable including the cost effect of, and risks associated with, different options.

6.3 Location

For outsourced arrangements the Library would prefer arrangements in which data relating to Australia and Australians, data created by Australian organisations, and data relating to the locations of documents in Australian libraries, is not owned and/or held outside Australia.

6.4 Project Management

The Library will require an indication that the Tenderer has significant proven management skills in the implementation of systems with the size and complexity covered by the capabilities described in this RFT. Tenderers should propose a structure for project management of the implementation of their products and services, both for the Library and for their Contractor responsibilities. Contractors will be expected to agree the proposed personnel with the Library and to have key staff bound to the project for a minimum specified period in order to reduce the risk to the Library. Tenderers should propose the period that their staff, in particular the account manager, would be held on the Project.

6.5 Tenderer's Services

The Library requires support services for systems tendered. Details of these services will be included in any Contract between a successful Tenderer and the Library.

6.5.1 Tenderer's Implementation Services

The Library expects support services to include:

a) The designation of a specific Tenderer's employee to serve as the Tenderer's Implementation Manager for systems being installed, the provision of charge-free telephone calls by the Library to this manager and the provision by the Tenderer of as many on-site visits to the Library and days of service on-site by this manager and other Tender's personnel as necessary for successful implementation
b) Review and analysis of the Library's plans for automated systems and services
c) Site preparation at the host site, including installation of equipment, cabling, and connection to communications equipment
d) Installation of all equipment to be acquired by the Library or to be provided by a Facilities Management Organisation or Outsourced Service
e) Migration planning, conversion and loading of the Library's data into the Tendered systems
f) Implementation planning and assistance with the cut-over from existing systems including assistance to Customer Libraries where necessary.

The Library will expect Contractors to provide comprehensive written implementation plans and schedules which will indicate:

a) All product and service deliverables
b) Any phased delivery of products and services
c) Dependencies and contingencies in the implementation plan
d) Time allowed for acceptance by the Library of each deliverable
e) The time frame and resource requirements for migration of data
f) The time frame and resource requirements included in the Tender for the tailoring of any product to the Library's requirements
g) Dates by which the Library will be expected to deliver items such as data files and specifications
h) Dates of all key acceptance points.

6.5.2 Hardware and System Software Services

Hardware and system software services are required for all equipment, operating systems software and systems management software offered in any part of the Tender response.

The Tenderer must provide all installation services and testing of the systems environment which are sufficient to satisfy the Library of the correctness and completeness of the installation of all tendered products selected by the Library.

The Tenderer must propose computer equipment maintenance, systems software support services and applications software support services for each Configuration tendered. The location and staff capabilities of the service organisation must be stated for all equipment and software offered in response to this RFT.

Computer equipment maintenance costs covering all labour and materials must be provided for all equipment proposed and should provide options for both:

a) Eleven hours from 7.00 AM to 6.00 PM five days per week (11/5 maintenance)
b) Twenty-four hours per day seven days per week (24/7 maintenance).

The cost of system software support services must be stated and should indicate the cost for both support during normal working hours and support on a 24-hour day basis in order to cover periods when systems maintenance is likely to occur.

6.5.3 Applications Software Services

The successful Tenderer should agree to license the application software for continued use for a fixed fee without additional royalties or service fees, except for fees for ongoing software maintenance. Software enhancements or upgrades for those sub-systems purchased by the Library should be provided at no extra charge beyond the annual application software maintenance fee for as long as the Library wishes to use the software covered by a Contract with the Tenderer. The Library may require the successful Tenderer to take full responsibility for software maintenance including upgrading, improvements, additions, enhancements, and changes.

Where a software licence is granted on the basis of the number of users, the Tenderer must explain the definition of terms such as user, concurrent user, logged-on user, licensed user etc in a way that is unambiguous in all circumstances, including use over a communications network such as the Internet and access by Internet World Wide Web browser software.

The cost of applications software support services must be stated and should indicate the cost for both support during normal working hours and support on a 24-hour day basis in order to cover periods when maintenance is likely to occur. The location and staff capabilities of the service organisation must be stated for all applications software offered in response to this RFT.

The Library will require Contractors to install and test all applications software at an installation to be nominated by the Library.

Tenderers should also provide the costs associated with additional work needed for a successful implementation of software systems. Tenderers should also provide a list of charges for a range of applications software specialists available from the Tenderer to undertake work associated with any additional arrangements subsequently specified by the Library.

6.5.4 Communications Infrastructure

The Contractor will be required to specify all necessary communications facilities required for each Configuration tendered. Communications proposals must relate to the access requirements described for the Configurations.

In relation to the communications requirements, the Tenderer must indicate the number of End Users that can be supported and must state the parameters from which the numbers have been derived. In particular, all terms such as concurrent user must be fully and unambiguously explained and calculations leading the bandwidth recommendations must be shown in full.

Within its building in Canberra, the Library has installed a local area network (LAN - see Appendix B.2) based on unshielded twisted pair cabling (UTP). Cabling installed in 1991 and 1992 was category 4 and since that time Category 5 has been used. The LAN currently operates using TCP/IP protocols at 10 Mbps. Any tendered products and services that require different capabilities in the LAN infrastructure must include costs of all products required to support the systems offered.

The Library will continue to support its own internal communications infrastructure but any augmentation of the LAN that is necessary to support tendered products and services must be fully specified and priced by the Tenderer. The Library will also continue to provide for its own communications bandwidth for access to the Internet which falls outside the needs of the products and services tendered.

All systems offered must be capable of access over the Internet infrastructure and if special products are required to support this requirement they must be included and costed in the Tendered products and services.

6.5.5 Data Migration and Loading

Tenderers must include in the tendered solution, plans for migrating all the Library's current data to the new systems.

The Library requires Tenderers to provide full details of the form in which data will be accepted from current systems and the transformations that will be required to current data held by the Library.

Tenderers should be aware that the Library considers data migration to be a demanding and unusual aspect of this project. The Library has invested 6 person years in analysing the many categories of data to be migrated, and in writing and testing programs to prepare the data for loading into a new system. The Library owns these data migration programs.

The output of the Library's existing data migration programs is available to be used by the Contractor. If the Contractor wishes to use the output of the existing data migration programs, the Library will negotiate any modifications required by the Contractor to the present data migration formats.

Where the Tenderer is proposing an ILMS as a response to Configuration #6, the proposal must include the conversion of the data currently held in the Library's Dynix system. The current system has been customised to meet the specific needs of the Library and during negotiations with a potential supplier, the Tenderer will be required to provide additional information regarding the migration of the customised parts of the current system.

The following categories of data are indicative of the data migration that will be required. Sample records for selected categories are in Appendix C.

6.5.5.1 To be migrated to the National Bibliographic Utility

Bibliographic data from ABN: more than 12 million records in USMARC with extensions.
Holdings data from ABN: more than 24 million holdings statements, included as 984 fields within the bibliographic records.
Authority records from ABN: more than 1 million records in USMARC authorities format with extensions.
Code lists of USMARC place and language (unless supplied by the Contractor).
Library of Congress Name Authorities in the format supplied by the Library of Congress.
Library of Congress Subject Headings in the format supplied by the Library of Congress.

6.5.5.2 To be migrated to the Cataloguing Client

Code lists of USMARC place and language (unless supplied by the Contractor).

6.5.5.3 To be migrated to the HTTP/Z39.50 Gateway

No data yet identified.

6.5.5.4 To be migrated to the Interlibrary Loans and Document Delivery System

In-process transactions from the ABN Interlibrary Loans Subsystem. (The need to migrate this data is to be negotiated.)
ILL profile data from the ABN Interlibrary Loans Subsystem. (The need to migrate this data is to be negotiated.)
Directory data from the Interlibrary Resource Sharing Directory.

6.5.5.5 To be migrated to the Administrative Support System, or any other system performing user registration and billing.

While this data is listed under the Administrative Support System, Tenderers should be aware that where another system provides user registration and billing, the Library's current data will require migration to that system. The feasibility of migrating this data is not clear at this stage, but given the volumes of data and the likelihood of error if the data is manually entered into the new systems, the Library would prefer some form of automated migration.
Stakeholder data is held in individual files listed below:
a) User profile and access authorisation data from the ABN signon table
b) Mailing lists of ABN users currently held in a number of Microsoft Word files.

6.5.5.6 To be migrated to the Integrated Library Management System

Bibliographic records: 2.2 million in USMARC format - two linked files of approximately 2 Gbytes each.
Holdings records: 2.3 million in Dynix proprietary format
Authority records in USMARC format.
Serial check-in records: approximately 25,000 serial copy records (may be more than one per serial title) and 200,000 serial issue records in Dynix proprietary format.
Acquisitions records: approximately 130,000 order records in Dynix proprietary format and additional acquisition files.
Invoice records: approximately 12,000 records in Dynix proprietary format.
Vendor records in Dynix proprietary format.
Patron records: approximately 2000 records in Dynix proprietary format.
Circulation records in Dynix proprietary format.

6.5.5.7 Gap loads

Following data extraction from current systems and during data migration and loading, the Library's current systems will continue to operate resulting in both new and updated records. Because data extraction, data loading and testing may take some time, a process of initial load followed by a subsequent gap load is envisaged for the following data categories:
a) NBD bibliographic, holdings and authority data
b) ILL in-process requests (The need to migrate this data is to be negotiated.)
Before the NBD data gap load can be performed, the duplicate detection, matching and merging functions of the proposed system will need to have been tested and accepted by the Library.

6.5.6 Migration of Customer Libraries

The Library has about 1400 Customer Libraries registered for use of its current systems. The customer information will need to be migrated to the new environment and Tenderers are requested to provide for this migration in their offers and to cost those services where they are not otherwise included in the price of the products and services.

It is also anticipated that some Customer Libraries will need some assistance in migrating to the new environment. In particular, they will need to be assured that interfaces with local ILMS and other library systems will continue to be supported. Tenderers are requested to provide information regarding interfaces to other library systems that are supported by the tendered solution and to what extent the Tenderer will assist Customer Libraries in the migration to the new systems.

6.5.7 Customisation

It is the Library's intention, in releasing this RFT, to acquire standard products from the marketplace wherever possible and to minimise Customisation of those products.

The Tender should state the Tenderer's terms and conditions for the performance of specialised Customisation and enhancement of the tendered products. This may be required to interface other systems, such as the Library's financial management system, with the tendered solutions.

Where the Tenderer has included product Customisation in order to satisfy the capabilities sought in this RFT, full details of every proposed change to standard products must be included in the response and clearly annotated as Customisation.

All Customisation will be performed only as a direct result of a specification issued by the Library together with an Official Order for the work. This RFT does not imply that such Customisation will be required unless a Contract so indicates.

6.5.8 Testing and Acceptance

Following the execution of a Contract with a successful Tenderer, the Library will issue one or more Official Orders for products and services.

All products selected and ordered for use by the Library will be subject to extensive testing before they will be accepted. This testing will include full functional tests of each individual product, followed by tests together with all products with which it must interface in order to produce a satisfactory production system.

The integration of products and services within the overall Networked Services Project will be crucial to the success of the project. In particular, the integration of products and services from different suppliers which are selected from the responses to this RFT will be tested extensively.

Tenderers must state, in their response to this RFT, their attitude to working with other suppliers of products and services to achieve the Library's objectives. In particular, if there are any products or suppliers of products and services with which the Tenderer will have difficulty forming a good working relationship, the fact that such products or suppliers exist must be stated in the response. The Library may wish to follow up this information on a confidential basis at a later stage of the evaluation.

Following all necessary testing, the Library will issue an Acceptance Certificate to the supplier which will be evidence that must be submitted with claims for payment by the Contractor.

6.5.9 Training

The Tenderer must, at the request of the Library, provide training of a type and to the extent required for the successful use of the products and services tendered.

Tenderers must identify all elements of training available for the Configuration tendered. Information for each training element should include:

a) Target categories of staff and/or users and numbers to be trained
b) The precise type of training offered and any prerequisites required
c) Duration and location of training sessions offered
d) Availability and location of standard training sessions offered by the Tenderer.

Tenderers must identify separately, all elements of training offered as part of the Configuration and included in the price of the proposed products and services.

The Library envisages that staff in Customer Libraries will be trained by Library staff or by Designated Training Agents (DTAs) contracted on behalf of the Library. Tenderers should indicate whether they are interested in offering training to Customer Libraries and if so, details should be provided as part of the tender response.

6.5.10 Documentation

Tenderers must provide detailed information about the documentation and operational manuals that will be provided for the products and services offered in the Configuration.

All documentation must be in the English language and be acceptable to the Library in terms of presentation, currency, accuracy and scope.

The Tenderer must guarantee a continued supply of documentation, and all subsequent revisions, for the products and services offered.

If the on-going cost of documentation is not included in the standard price for products and services, a clear statement must be made to this effect and the associated price of each required item of documentation must be included in the Tender response.

6.6 Outsourcing

It is current Australian Government policy to test all new information technology based systems as candidates for Outsourcing.

Tenderers are encouraged to provide cost details for both Facilities Management Services and Outsourced Services where Configurations are provided for those options. Definitions of these alternatives are provided in Chapter 3. Tenderers will need to fully explain the extent of any Facilities Management or Outsourced Service offered, in particular, the responsibility for product ownership, leases, licences, royalties etc that is accepted by the Tenderer or held directly by the Library.

A purpose built data centre exists at the Library and that facility would be capable of housing computer and communication equipment for all services covered by this RFT.

The Library will consider both owning and leasing computer equipment in a Facilities Managed data centre. Such a data centre could be either at the Library or at another site in Australia. Under a Facilities Managed arrangement, the Library may independently negotiate licences for the software and applications software to provide for the necessary capabilities of the system.

Where an Outsourced solution is tendered, the Library would expect all equipment to be owned by the Contractor and that the Contractor would be the holder of the licences for all system support software. The situation with respect to applications software licences and the support of that software would be the subject of negotiations with all parties involved. The Library has a preference under an Outsourced Service Contract for pricing to be based on service units which must be defined by the Tenderer.

6.6.1 Workload Indicators

The Library has provided statistical information in Appendix B to this RFT.

6.6.2 Installation at the Library

The Library requires that Tenderers give full physical and environmental information about all equipment and software to be installed.

The Tenderer must provide details of the numbers and qualifications of staff required to support the proposed in-house installation. The Library will apply its own current staff costs to the cost model used to assess the response and will project those costs over a five year period.

In responding to the previous paragraph, Tenderers should describe the type of duties that need to be performed in order that the Library can effectively merge the requirements of different systems for costing purposes.

6.6.3 Facilities Management

Facilities Management refers to provision by the Tenderer of staff and expertise to manage, operate and maintain a computer system owned or leased by the Library which delivers the Library's Networked Services using the products and services selected by the Library from responses to this RFT, under a Service Level Agreement.

In providing a Facilities Management proposal, full details are required of all the proposed services to be included in the offer. The description of all staff to be used and the tasks that they would perform is essential. In order to fully assess the potential benefits of this type of service to the Library, the basis of pricing the services should be disclosed in the tender response.

6.6.4 Outsourced Services

The Library's ability to assess an offer to outsource its Networked Services will depend on the provision of all necessary information by the Tenderer. In particular, the Tenderer must include a full price details for each service to be provided through the outsourced installation in the Configuration Cost Schedules in Chapter 3.

The basis of any Contract for Outsourced Services will be a Service Level arrangement with the Library. Outsource providers should include an indication of the type of agreement that is offered and the performance guarantees that can be expected

Where equipment and services are to be shared with other clients of the Outsourcing organisation, the capacities assigned to the Library's systems must be disclosed.

6.6.5 Performance

In negotiating for Facilities Management Services or for Outsourced Services, the Library will require a selected Tenderer to indicate the type of performance information that will be made available to the Library in order that it can adequately monitor the Contractor's performance. Tenderers are requested to indicate the type of information that they will provide that will assist the Library in this regard. Minimum information should include statistical and outcome performance information and details of performance against service level agreements.

Performance reports will be required by the Library at least monthly. On-line access to reports containing monitored performance data would be preferred so that the Library can observe, and possibly modify immediately, critical aspects of performance that have an impact on End User acceptance of the services provided.

6.6.6 Service Contract Duration

If considered cost effective, the Library would seek to establish any Contract for Facilities management or Outsourced services for a minimum period of three years from full implementation. Longer periods and/or an option to extend the initial Contract would also be considered. Tenderers should indicate the effect on the cost to the Library of the different Contract periods.


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