2025-0177 SMIROnLine Software Development Support (NS) - TUE 17 Jun

Deadline Date: Tuesday 17 June 2025

Requirement: SMIROnLine Software Development Support

Location: Offsite, with regular online meetings over Microsoft Teams and occasional in-person  attendance at NATO facilities in Brussels and Mons, Belgium

Note: Please refer to your Subcontract Agreement, article 6.4.1.a, which states “Off-Site Discount: 5% (this discount is applicable to all requirements, and applies when the assigned personnel are permitted to work Off-Site, such as at- home)". Please be sure to price this discount in your overall price proposal when submitting bids against off-site RFQs

Period of Performance: 2025 BASE: As soon as possible but not later than 21 July 2025 until 31 December 2025 with the possibility to exercise following options:

• 2026 Options: 01 January 2026 until 31 December 2026

• 2027 Options: 01 January 2027 until 31 December 2027

• 2028 Options: 01 January 2027 until 31 December 2028

Required Security Clearance: NATO SECRET

1 INTRODUCTION

The NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA) located in Brussels, Belgium, is currently involved in the development of new capabilities for NATO as well as in the support of existing capabilities. In light of these, the NATO Integrated Mobile Services Centre Business Area is looking for software development support. The Contractor shall provide a team of 2 individuals consisting of an experienced senior and a junior software developer, with testing experience to provide the services described in this Statement of Work.

Spectrum Management Information Repository On-Line (SMIROnLine) is a web application primarily hosted on secure and unsecure networks and standalone devices. The tool is used by the nations, NATO Allied Command Operations (ACO), NATO Joint Commands and NATO Headquarters Digital Staff (NDS) to record and maintain spectrum management information, such as frequency allotments and assignments, together with geographical and technical data referenced to these assignments. Some nations install SMIROnLine on national servers and/or on single laptops as a standalone application for use as a national spectrum management tool.

The Contractor’s Personnel will provide services by reinforcing the existing software development team, and their development and testing efforts will be carried out on SMIROnLine version 2 (SOL2) and its companion applications. The scope of work will encompass developing and testing new features to enhance its functionality, and resolving software bugs reported by the user community.

2 OBJECTIVES

The main objective of this statement of work is to scope the activities the Contractor’s Personnel will carry out on the development, testing and maintenance of SOL2 software modules, plug-ins and companion applications.

3 SCOPE OF WORK

3.1 Under the direction/guidance of NCIA or delegated staff, the Contractor’s Personnel will develop, test and update SOL2 software functionality, integrated and in coordination with the existing Scrum team that encompasses other software developers and eventual participating Nations’ representatives. This work will include the following activities:

• Develop/update C#, JavaScript, .Net, Bootstrap and JQuery software modules;

• Develop/conduct unit and automated testing of software components;

• Attend virtual and in-person meetings.

3.2 The Contractor’s Personnel will be reinforcing the existing team and will work using an Agile and iterative software development approach during multiple sprints.

3.3 The Contractor’s Personnel will be coordinated by the Scrum Master and shall participate in periodic status update meetings, sprint planning, sprint review and other meetings via electronic means using Microsoft Teams. On rare occasions, there may be a requirement to attend in-person meetings at NATO offices in Brussels, Brain-L’Alleud and Mons, Belgium, as requested by the Project Manager.

3.4 Each sprint is planned for a duration of 4 weeks. The content and scope of each sprint, i.e. the deliverables, will be agreed during the sprint-planning meeting, in coordination with the NCIA, the ACO representative and the contractor. Upon completion and validation of each sprint, the completed sprint can be submitted for payment. More detail on the sprints is provided in section 4.

4 COORDINATION AND REPORTING

Due to the agile approach of this project, there is a need to define a set of specific arrangements between the NCIA and the contractor that specifically defines the deliverables to be provided for each sprint as well as their associated acceptance criteria. This includes sprint planning, execution and review processes, which are detailed below:

4.1 Sprint Planning:

4.1.1 Objective: Plan the objectives and deliverables for the upcoming sprint;

4.1.2 At the start of each sprint, a sprint planning meeting will be conducted with the contractor to discuss and plan the objectives and deliverables of the upcoming sprint;

4.1.3 Define clear, achievable objectives for the sprint and associated acceptance criteria, including specific delivery targets and quality standards for each task, to be recorded in the sprint planning meeting minutes.

4.1.4 Agree on the required level of effort for the various sprint tasks.

4.1.5 Backlog Review: Review and prioritize the backlog of tasks, issues, and improvements from previous sprints.

4.1.6 Assess and validate the status of completion of the previous sprint and sign off sprints to be submitted for payment as covered in Section 4.5.

4.2 Sprint Execution

4.2.1 Objective: Contractor to execute the agreed “sprint plans” with continuous monitoring and adjustments.

4.2.2 Regular meetings: The contractor shall participate in status update meetings to review sprint progress, to address issues, and to make necessary adjustments to the processes or objectives. Those sprint meetings will be via electronic means using Conference Call capabilities. On rare occasions, there may be a requirement to attend a physical meeting in the office, or in person, as requested by the project manager.

4.2.3 Continuous improvement: The contractor will establish a continuous feedback loop to gather input from all stakeholders for ongoing improvements and their subsequent implementation depending on NCIA approval.

4.2.4 Progress Tracking: Contractor to track and share the status of the sprint deliveries and any risks / issues.

4.2.5 Quality Assurance / Quality Check: The contractor shall ensure that the quality standards agreed for the sprint deliverables are maintained throughout the sprint.

4.2.6 Quality Control: NCIA will perform the quality control of the agreed deliverables and provide feedback on any issues.

4.3 Sprint Review

4.3.1 Objective: Review the sprint performance and identify areas for improvement.

4.3.2 At the end of each sprint, there will be a meeting to review the deliverables and outcomes against the acceptance criteria.

4.3.3 Define specific actions to address issues and enhance the next sprint.

4.4 Sprint Payment

4.4.1 Progress on the above deliverables will be checked and approved on a per sprint basis.

4.4.2 For each sprint to be considered as complete and payable, the contractor must report the outcome of their work during the sprint, first verbally during the sprint review meeting and then in writing within three days after the sprint’s end date. The format of this report shall be an email to the NCIA Point of Contact mentioning briefly the work performed and the development achievements during the sprint against the agreed tasking list set for the sprint.

4.4.3 The payment of each sprint will be depending upon the achievement of agreed acceptance criteria for each task, defined at the sprint planning stage.

4.4.4 If the contractor fails to meet the agreed acceptance criteria for any task, the NCIA reserves the right to withhold (partial) payment for that sprint.

4.4.5 Invoices shall be accompanied by a Delivery Acceptance Sheet (DAS), signed by the contractor and the project manager, and shall follow the payment milestones.

5 PAYMENT SCHEDULE AND DELIVERABLES

The following deliverables are expected from the work on this Statement of Work:

1) Complete the activities/tasks agreed in each sprint meeting as per sections 3 and 4 above.

2) Produce sprint completion reports (format: e-mail update), which include details of activities performed and the list of the deliverables of the week.

3) 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.

4) Payment schedule will be according to the payment milestones upon completion of the respective sprint. Upon completion and validation of each sprint and at the end of the monthly milestone, following the acceptance of the sprint report.

5) The Purchaser (NCIA) reserves the right to exercise a number of options of one or more sprints based on the same deliverables, at a later time, depending on the project priorities and requirements, at the following cost: for base year (2025) at the same cost, for following years (2026-2028) the Price Adjustment Formula will be applied in accordance with paragraph 6.5 of the Framework Contract Special Provisions.

6) The payment shall be dependent upon successful acceptance of the sprint report and the Delivery Acceptance Sheet (DAS) – (annex B).

7) Invoices shall be accompanied with a Delivery Acceptance Sheet (annex B) signed by the contractor and the NCIA POC.

2025 BASE: 21 July 2025 – 31 December 2025:

Deliverable: 7 sprints (Number of sprints is estimated considering a starting date 21 July 2025. This will be adjusted depending on the actual start date.)

Payment Milestones: At the end of each sprint. Completion of each payment milestone shall be accompanied by a DAS signed for acceptance by the Purchaser’s authorized point of contact.

2026 OPTION: 01 January 2026 to 31 December 2026

Deliverable: Up to 12 sprints

Cost Ceiling: Price will be determined by applying the price adjustment formula as outlined in CO‐115786‐ AAS+ Special Provisions article 6.5.

Payment Milestones: At the end of each sprint. Completion of each payment milestone shall be accompanied by a DAS signed for acceptance by the Purchaser’s authorized point of contact.

2027 OPTION: 01 January 2027 to 31 December 2027

Deliverable: Up to 12 sprints

Cost Ceiling: Price will be determined by applying the price adjustment formula as outlined in CO‐115786‐ AAS+ Special Provisions article 6.5.

Payment Milestones: At the end of each sprint. Completion of each payment milestone shall be accompanied by a DAS signed for acceptance by the Purchaser’s authorized point of contact.

2028 OPTION: 01 January 2028 to 31 December 2028

Deliverable: Up to 12 sprints

Cost Ceiling: Price will be determined by applying the price adjustment formula as outlined in CO‐115786‐ AAS+ Special Provisions article 6.5.

Payment Milestones: At the end of each sprint. Completion of each payment milestone shall be accompanied by a DAS signed for acceptance by the Purchaser’s authorized point of contact.

6 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

It is expected the service starts as soon as possible but no later than 21 July 2025 and ending no later than 31 December 2025.

If the 2026 option is exercised, the period of performance is 01 January 2026 to 31 December 2026.

If the 2027 option is exercised, the period of performance is 01 January 2027 to 31 December 2027.

If the 2028 option is exercised, the period of performance is 01 January 2028 to 31 December 2028.

7 CONSTRAINTS

All deliverables provided under this statement of work will be based on NCIA templates or otherwise, as agreed with the project’s Technical Lead.

All code, scripts, documentation, etc. will be stored under configuration management in the provided Integrated Development Environment (IDE), e.g. NATO Software Factory (NSF), and will be classified as NATO UNCLASSIFIED.

Part of the task may involve temporary work based on classified documentation and networks. Therefore, a NATO Secret security clearance will be required as from the contract start date for the Contractor’s Personnel undertaking this project. Different security clearances required for future phases of this project can be obtained during the period of performance of this initial contract.

8 PRACTICAL ARRANGEMENTS

The contractor’s personnel will be required to work offsite. Access to SOL2 code repositories and more generically to NCIA’s IDE will be provided by the project’s Technical Lead or delegated staff.

On rare occasions, for completing their tasks the contractor’s personnel may be required to travel to NATO offices in Brussels, Braine-L’Alleud and Mons – Belgium, or other international NATO sites. In these cases, travel arrangements will be the responsibility of the contractor and related expenses will be reimbursed in accordance with Article 5.5 of AAS Framework Contract and within the limits of the NCIA Travel Directive.

9 QUALIFICATIONS

[See Requirements]

7 CONSTRAINTS

• Part of the task may involve temporary work based on classified documentation and networks. Therefore, a NATO Secret security clearance will be required as from the contract start date for the Contractor’s Personnel undertaking this project.

9 QUALIFICATIONS

The services described under this SoW require two (2) individuals from the same contractor with the following qualifications:

9.1 This work requires service delivery at the level of a senior software developer, possessing the following qualifications:

• Relevant and recent experience in web development using ASP .NET Framework (.NET 8) using Visual Studio as the Integrated Development Environment and C# as the programming language.
• Relevant and recent experience in website GUI development using Bootstrap and the related languages and frameworks (CSS, HTML, JQuery), the Webpack module bundler, and Extensible Markup Language (XML) knowledge.
• Relevant and recent experience working with MS SQL databases, including stored procedures and XML storage and query.
• Relevant and recent experience working with JavaScript and Typescript modules (ES6).
• Relevant and recent experience working in software development teams following a Scrum methodology. A minimum PSD1 Professional Scrum Developer certification is required and experience acting as Scrum Master will be valued.
• Relevant and recent experience in continuous software integration and automated testing, including knowledge of test automation frameworks.
• Relevant and recent experience working with software development tools, including Microsoft Azure DevOps services. Knowledge of Microsoft Azure cloud services will be valued.
• Relevant and recent experience in the design and integration of automatic tests using Microsoft Azure DevOps Build-Test-Release pipelines.
• Able to produce efficient, clear, readable, maintainable and high-quality code, including the use of SonarQube to evaluate and monitor quality compliance.
• Strong track record in software development with strong problem solving skills.
• Ready to quickly integrate with the current Scrum team and take-up duties and software development tasks, including the following: Test development and test integration for the existing and new code, specifically in providing expertise to review the technical design and test cases of the proposed solution and implementation;  Produce and edit software related documentation and technical reports in English; Perform code refactoring and optimisation; Support Product Backlog refinement and make suggestions on prioritisation.
• Able to communicate with external users/customers and translate their requirements into software development tasks for the team.
• Able to speak and write fluent English, as all the work will be conducted in the English language.
• Must have the nationality of one of the NATO member nations.

Desirable skills and experience:

• Experience of working in the Defence industry;
• Experience of developing software for military systems and applications;
• Knowledge and experience of working on applications hosted on NATO networks;
• Knowledge and experience of working on projects, data and/or tools involved in the management and coordination of the Electromagnetic Spectrum;
• Knowledge of Spectrum Management tools and processes.

9.2 This work will also requires service delivery at the level of a junior software developer, possessing the following qualifications:

• Relevant and recent experience in web development using ASP .NET Framework (.NET 8) using Visual Studio as the Integrated Development Environment and C# as the programming language.
• Relevant and recent experience in website GUI development using Bootstrap and the related languages and frameworks (CSS, HTML, JQuery), the Webpack module bundler, and Extensible Markup Language (XML) knowledge.
• Relevant and recent experience working with MS SQL databases, including stored procedures and XML storage and query.
• Relevant and recent experience working with JavaScript and Typescript modules (ES6).
• Relevant and recent experience working in software development teams following a Scrum methodology. A minimum PSD1 Professional Scrum Developer certification is required.
• Relevant and recent experience in continuous software integration and automated testing, including knowledge of test automation frameworks.
• Relevant and recent experience working with software development tools, such as Microsoft Azure DevOps, GitLab and SonarQube.
• Able to produce efficient, clear, readable, maintainable and high-quality code, including the use of SonarQube to evaluate and monitor quality compliance.
• Ready to quickly integrate with the current Scrum team and take-up duties and software development tasks, including the following: Test development and test integration for the existing and new code; Produce and edit software related documentation and technical reports in English; Support Product Backlog refinement.
• Able to speak and write fluent English, as all the work will be conducted in the English language.
• Must have the nationality of one of the NATO member nations.

Desirable skills and experience:

• Experience of working in the Defence industry;
• Experience of developing software for military systems and applications;
• Knowledge and experience of working on applications hosted on NATO networks;