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Nomensa Ltd

Alpha GDS (Government Digital Service) Service

Nomensa are experts in delivering Alpha in accordance with the Service Standard and Service Manual. We’ll iteratively prototype, test and refine hypotheses based on user needs to define the service vision, ensuring smooth transition to Beta. We can be parachuted into struggling Alpha teams at risk of failing assessments.

Features

  • Agile sprints: iterative prototyping and user research of Discovery hypothesis
  • Further user research and documentation of user needs
  • Service design based on user, business and technical needs.
  • Defined functional and non-functional requirements
  • Defined minimal viable product (MVP) and roadmap for Beta
  • GDS gateway assessment support
  • Create technical proof of concept to validate against user needs
  • Identification of development and service risk and cost implications
  • Collaborative and transparent ways of working
  • Identification of issues with accessibility and usability early

Benefits

  • Clearly defined user needs through evidence-based research
  • Prototyping and testing of riskiest hypotheses
  • Roadmap/plan for Beta, including minimal viable product, if required
  • Alignment with Government Service Standard and Technology Code of Practice
  • Enables cultural and digital transformational change
  • Strong project governance and experience in Agile methodologies
  • One-team approach enabling upskilling of internal teams
  • Clear understanding of technology required for Beta including effort estimates
  • Problem solving early, providing cost savings within Beta
  • Accessibility and usability testing (and other research)

Pricing

£500 to £1,500 a unit

Service documents

Request an accessible format
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need versions of these documents in a more accessible format, email the supplier at gcloud@nomensa.com. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.

Framework

G-Cloud 14

Service ID

9 3 3 4 3 2 6 9 1 4 8 0 7 3 6

Contact

Nomensa Ltd Stuart Pollock
Telephone: 0117 9297333
Email: gcloud@nomensa.com

Planning

Planning service
Yes
How the planning service works
We start each project or programme of work by understanding priorities and goals. This helps guide us and sense check work throughout the programme. You will have a dedicated project manager who ensures successful delivery. You'll also have access to delivery managers and business analysts if necessary to strengthen this work.

In Discovery and Alpha, we support planning by identifying user needs and technical requirements. This lays a foundation that supports meeting user needs. This makes sure the right things are prioritised, designed and built, which in turn minimises risks and offers value for money.

We look towards the future in the early stages to make sure what we deliver is scalable and sustainable.

In Beta, we focus on how to release the service or work with minimal risk and continuing to test and iterate. To do this, we consider:

* team size and the capacity to gain meaningful insights
* how the project will work with other services and across channels
* rolling out the work
* impact on other teams

We also set up success metrics and gather performance data.

We plan a smooth transition into Live by prioritising and resourcing continuous improvement activity.
Planning service works with specific services
No

Training

Training service provided
Yes
How the training service works
We work collaboratively with clients to adopt a one-team culture and create an open and transparent partnership. This approach creates opportunities for knowledge transfer and training which upskill internal teams. This might include:
* learning from working together
* lunch and learns
* A culture where questions are encouraged

We also offer more formal, bespoke training sessions. We adapt the content and format to suit different learning styles, group sizes and locations (for example, in-person or remote).

We tailor our training and resources to suit different audiences including product owners, policymakers, delivery managers, user researchers, service designers, interaction designers and developers. We provide user guides and documentation so you can train the trainer and be self-sufficient.
Training is tied to specific services
No

Setup and migration

Setup or migration service available
Yes
How the setup or migration service works
We’re well-versed in supporting public sector clients in migrating services, both between cloud-based solutions or from existing legacy systems.

We use the information gathered from user research and technical research to identify the best solution for the new or existing service. We then work with you to create a clear roadmap for migrating your service to the cloud.

We are technology agnostic so provide objective recommendations that best suit your requirements and organisational needs. We strive to support you in selecting a sustainable solution and work with you to define requirements for how your service will be managed, supported and incrementally improved as it evolves.
Setup or migration service is for specific cloud services
No

Quality assurance and performance testing

Quality assurance and performance testing service
Yes
How the quality assurance and performance testing works
As an ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 accredited agency, we have a robust set of processes and frameworks for quality assurance. 

We conduct all our research within the Market Research Society standards and are General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliant.

We adopt an Agile methodology and align with the Technology Code of Practice. Our approach incorporates elements of best practice in project management and delivery, including:
* continuous integration - code builds and tests
* continuous delivery - code release and deployment
* monitoring - performance and end-user experience

As part of our day-to-day process, we:
* run stand-ups to track our work
* peer review our code to ensure that it is robust and meets best practice standards
* manage our development progress using JIRA issue and project tracking software

During the UAT process, you will be able to be actively involved in the prioritisation of changes or bugs.

To allow for fast and effective deployment of our work, we use continuous integration and deployment. This allows us to automatically test our code to minimise risk and ensure quality, so your site is robust and stable.

Security testing

Security services
Yes
Security services type
  • Security strategy
  • Security risk management
  • Security design
  • Cyber security consultancy
  • Security testing
  • Security incident management
  • Security audit services
Certified security testers
Yes
Security testing certifications
Cyber Scheme

Ongoing support

Ongoing support service
Yes
Types of service supported
Hosting or software provided by a third-party organisation
How the support service works
Types of services supported:
User Experience (UX) and accessible front-end development services
Technical review and development services
Software design and development services in Drupal, Vue, Javascript, .Net, MS Dynamics, CMS, CRM, content support and management
Development
Discovery, Alpha, Beta and Live services,
Cloud and Data Architecture and QA services
Agile Development teams
Cloud infra and support for 24/7 service with first, second and third level support services

Service scope

Service constraints
None

User support

Email or online ticketing support
Yes, at extra cost
Support response times
.
User can manage status and priority of support tickets
Yes
Online ticketing support accessibility
WCAG 2.1 AAA
Phone support
Yes
Phone support availability
24 hours, 7 days a week
Web chat support
Yes, at an extra cost
Web chat support availability
24 hours, 7 days a week
Web chat support accessibility standard
WCAG 2.1 AAA
Web chat accessibility testing
.
Support levels
.

Resellers

Supplier type
Not a reseller

Staff security

Staff security clearance
Conforms to BS7858:2019
Government security clearance
Up to Security Clearance (SC)

Standards and certifications

ISO/IEC 27001 certification
Yes
Who accredited the ISO/IEC 27001
British Assessment Bureau
ISO/IEC 27001 accreditation date
01/11/2023
What the ISO/IEC 27001 doesn’t cover
N/A
ISO 28000:2007 certification
No
CSA STAR certification
No
PCI certification
No
Cyber essentials
Yes
Cyber essentials plus
Yes
Other security certifications
Yes
Any other security certifications
  • ISO 9001
  • Umbraco Partner Programme
  • Microsoft Partner Programme
  • New Relic Partner Programme
  • AWS Partner Network.

Social Value

Social Value

Social Value

  • Tackling economic inequality
  • Equal opportunity

Tackling economic inequality

Nomensa are gold-accredited Investors in People, demonstrating our emphasis on learning and development and ensuring this has impacts beyond our business and into the local community. We continue to work closely with local schools, colleges, universities and other organisations to help build the local digital skills economy for the current and next generation.
Recognising the benefits of a diverse workforce, we’re committed to creating employment opportunities, particularly for those facing barriers to employment. Each year, two interns join us as part of Hargreaves Lansdown’s Strive Internship, which offers paid internships to BAME students.
Organisational growth has enabled us to increase the number of apprenticeship, graduate and internship roles we offer. Since 2013, 52 apprentices, interns and graduates have developed their skills and progressed their careers with us.
We also partner with charity Envision, who work with young people from less advantaged backgrounds to “make change happen whilst building their skills beyond the classroom”. Envision is a UK based charity that empowers young people from less advantaged backgrounds who are underrepresented in the world of work to develop essential skills and confidence through tackling social issues affecting their community.
This year our mentor team won Mentors of the Year across the programme as well as the group of young people winning the overall award for Envision finalists 2023/24.

As part of our commitment to social responsibility and community involvement, we have our Employee Volunteer Day initiative.

Employee Volunteer Day is an opportunity for all employees to take a day off from work to support a charitable cause of their choice. So far, our volunteering hours include:
• Supporting Bristol University outreach to school’s program providing coding and development support to events for school children.
• Volunteering at career days.
• Support on steering groups for Vocscur’s LGBTQ+ partnership.

Equal opportunity

We recognise the importance of a diverse workforce and are committed to providing a working environment that is free from discrimination. We promote the principles of equality and diversity across everything we do and work to ensure that our workforce is not only representative of UK population but treated fairly and equally.
As part of our E&D policy, we encourage applications and provide the support for candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief.
We know our work to meet this ambition is never finished and constantly strive towards identifying improvements to our people, processes, supply chains and environment.
We continue to proactively monitor, evaluate and improve our offering, but we currently have in place the following processes:
• Inclusive recruitment training and use of inclusive practices, including blind CVs, utilising alternative recruitment networks that aim to support underrepresented groups (e.g. Technojobs) and providing specialist support throughout the recruitments process, being recognised as a Disability Confident Committed company.
• Early careers paths established using apprenticeship route (Level 3-Level 6) and exploring opportunities for structuring new and existing roles in line with T-level and higher apprentice frameworks. Attracting typically under-represented groups within the sector, our initiatives have already seen 52 Graduates/Apprentices since 2013.
• Intern schemes, including already participating in Hargreaves Lansdown’s Strive Internship, which aims to offer up to 75 paid internships to minority ethnic students, alongside the Envision mentoring scheme, where we provide mentoring to local schools, recently winning mentors of the year 2024 and the group of young people we mentored from Digitech winning the overall event.
• Employee-led working groups and assigned individuals leads, including a equality diversity and inclusion group, who proactively monitor, plan and implement new initiatives, schemes and processes.

Pricing

Price
£500 to £1,500 a unit
Discount for educational organisations
No

Service documents

Request an accessible format
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need versions of these documents in a more accessible format, email the supplier at gcloud@nomensa.com. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.