DATE: September 12, 2018
SUBJECT:
Title
RESOLUTION SELECTING AND AUTHORIZING AN AGREEMENT WITH AGREEYA SOLUTIONS, INC. FOR INTERNAL INTRANET REDESIGN, DEVELOPMENT, IMPLEMENTATION, AND MAINTENANCE SERVICES FOR TWO YEARS IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $394,000. FY2019 EXPENDITURES ARE BUDGETED. FUNDS REQUIRED FOR FUTURE FISCAL YEARS WILL BE BUDGETED IN THE APPROPRIATE FISCAL YEAR, SUBJECT TO BOARD APPROVAL UPON ADOPTION OF EACH FISCAL YEAR’S BUDGET
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Improving internal communication, knowledge sharing and awareness of internal, District-wide professional events and opportunities is critical to establishing and maintaining a strong culture at the District and to supporting staff performance. To accomplish these objectives, and based on feedback from staff, the District’s internal intranet site should be redesigned and reorganized to deliver information that is most useful in completing daily tasks. The District’s current intranet is difficult to update and maintain, relies on an outdated platform, and has an ineffective and outdated design and layout resulting in a poor user experience.
The District issued a Request for Proposals Number 18-14KC (RFP) in May 2018 to identify and select a service provider capable of delivering an updated, redesigned internal intranet which meets or exceeds the District’s identified requirements. Microsoft SharePoint will be the technical platform on which the new intranet will be designed and deployed, consistent with the District’s approach of leveraging our strategic partnership with Microsoft in general and utilizing SharePoint specifically as the new collaboration space for daily, intra-department and cross-functional communication and work. For the reasons discussed below, staff recommends the Board adopt a resolutions selecting AgreeYa Solutions, Inc. (“AgreeYa) as the successful respondent to the RFP.
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Adopt a resolution selecting and authorizing an agreement with AgreeYa Solutions, Inc. for intranet redesign, development, implementation, and maintenance services for two years and a maximum expenditure of $394,000.
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FISCAL IMPACT:
Funds for the first year of this expenditure of $250,000.00 are included in the approved FY 2019 budget within the Technology Management Program’s Capital Projects budget.
Funds required for future fiscal years will be budgeted for in the appropriate year subject to Board approval upon adoption of each fiscal year’s budget.
Compass Strategic Goals:
A newly designed internal intranet will promote the District’s brand, purpose, competencies, and internal services, allowing District staff easier access to the information they need to effectively and efficiently complete their daily responsibilities and tasks. This agenda item supports the following Strategic Goal(s):
• A thriving and modern maritime seaport.
• A Port with an innovative and motivated workforce.
DISCUSSION:
The District currently maintains an internal intranet supporting various aspects of internally-focused District processes, administration, and communication. The site has dashboards and self-service areas, which are simple links to other internal District systems, and an area where dynamic content can be posted on a recurring basis. Individual departments, internal committees, and other areas of business focus have their own unique subpages. The internal intranet platform is several years old, and the look and feel is extremely outdated. There is also a considerable amount of content (approximately 1,370 pages) on the intranet, much of which is out-of-date and no longer relevant to site visitors or District business.
Improving internal communication, knowledge sharing and awareness of internal, District-wide professional events and opportunities is critical to a successful workforce with a strong culture. To accomplish these objectives, and based on feedback from staff, staff intends to design, develop, implement, deliver, and maintain a new internal intranet. The entire intranet ecosystem will be aligned to and promote the District’s brand, purpose, competencies, and internal services to all site visitors, and will also have the following:
• An intuitive framework offering streamlined interaction
• Consistent branding that is aligned with District guidelines
• Optimized viewing sizes for PC’s, tablets, and smart phones
• Modern technological features like interactive forms and workflow
Given the number of requirements gathered, the District anticipates this to be a long-term development project encompassing multiple phases. Each phase will focus on a specific set of prioritized requirements. Microsoft SharePoint will be the technical platform for the intranet’s structure and organization, consistent with the District’s approach of leveraging our strategic partnership with Microsoft in general and utilizing SharePoint specifically as the new collaboration space for daily, intra-department and cross-functional communication and work.
The District issued Request for Proposals number 18-14KC (RFP) on May 7, 2018, asking firms to propose their recommended approach to design, develop, implement and deliver a contemporary employee intranet that is organized to reflect all the internal services the District provides to its internal users in a clear, easy to understand format, using a human-centered design approach. The District notified 1,102 vendors of the opportunity and 45 of them downloaded the RFP. At the time the opportunity closed on June 5, 2018, the District received five (5) proposals, four (4) of which were deemed responsive.
A cross-departmental team consisting of staff from the Marketing & Communications Department, People Strategies Department, and Information Technology Department reviewed the responsive proposals and invited the team’s top two (2) candidates to interview. In alphabetical order, the top two candidates were:
• AgreeYa Solutions, Inc.
• ShareSquared, Inc.
During the interviews, the firms were allowed to give a short presentation highlighting key elements of their proposal and/or firm. Firms were then all asked the same set of questions designed to help the team determine how well the project approach, firm, and proposed staff assigned to the project - met the District’s expectations. This was followed by a brief open dialog where participants were allowed to ask follow-up questions to clarify proposal elements specific to the firm being interviewed.
At the conclusion of the interviews, the panel conducted a formal decision analysis (facilitated by the District’s Procurement Department) which evaluated the two firms against the following weighted criteria:
1) Experience of Proposed Staff
2) Overall Approach to the Project
3) Capability to Perform
4) Cost and Price
5) Firm’s Relevant Experience
At the completion of the decision analysis, AgreeYa ranked the higher of the two firms interviewed. AgreeYa is a Folsom, CA-based information technology and technical services company, providing systems integration, development and information technology project management services to numerous public and private-sector organizations - including several Fortune 100 companies. AgreeYa currently counts the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, the City of San Diego, the Port of Long Beach and the City of Palo Alto among its more than one dozen public sector clients. Over the course of AgreeYa’s presentation, they demonstrated a clear understanding of the District’s needs and requirements for a redesigned intranet; they provided a clear, logical and realistic plan and timeline for development and implementation of a redesigned intranet - including soliciting District employee feedback in the design and development process; and they clearly articulated their approach for meeting and exceeding the District’s quality control requirements. Further, AgreeYa’s pricing for delivering a redesigned intranet was twenty-five percent (25%) lower than the second candidate.
Based upon this approach, Staff recommends the Board select and authorize an agreement with AgreeYa Inc., who ranked the highest among the two (2) firms. Not only was AgreeYa’s pricing competitive - offering the best overall value to the District - but their approach to the project’s overall delivery differentiated them from the other competitor. Staff is confident and comfortable in AgreeYa’s ability to meet and exceed the requirements of this project.
General Counsel’s Comments:
The Office of the General Counsel has reviewed and approved the proposed agreement as to form and legality.
Environmental Review:
The proposed Board direction or action, including without limitation, authorizing and approving a purchase agreement for intranet services, does not constitute a “project” under the definition set forth in California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15378 because it will not have a potential to result in a direct or indirect physical change in the environment and is, therefore, not subject to CEQA. No further action under CEQA is required.
In addition, the proposed Board action complies with Sections 35 and 81 of the Port Act, which allow the Board to do all acts necessary and convenient for the exercise of its powers and for the use of funds for the necessary expenses of conducting the District. The Port Act was enacted by the California Legislature and is consistent with the Public Trust Doctrine. Consequently, the proposed Board action is consistent with the Public Trust Doctrine.
Finally, the proposed Board direction or action does not allow for “development,” as defined in Section 30106 of the California Coastal Act, or “new development,” pursuant to Section 1.a. of the District’s Coastal Development Permit Regulations. Therefore, issuance of a Coastal Development Permit or exclusion is not required.
Equal Opportunity Program:
Due to limited known sub opportunities, no SBE goal was established for this agreement.
PREPARED BY:
Keith Coffey
Chief Technology Officer, Information Technology
Attachment(s):
Attachment A: Agreement XXX-XXXXKC for Intranet Redesign Services