2.10 The Department issued the final version of the Statement of Business Requirement to the two remaining bidders in September 1997. The bidders provided detailed proposals showing how they intended to meet each of the requirements, their plans, development approach, team organisation, numbers and technical solution. In parallel with this process, the Department negotiated a draft contract with the bidders.
2.11 EDS proposed a new development of the core application with a short design-and-build timescale and a two-year roll-out plan. ICL proposed a longer development timescale and three-year roll-out plan starting with an evaluation of the MASS software and documentation (paragraph 2.3 above) immediately after contract award. ICL's plan assumed a positive outcome to the MASS evaluation. The Department regarded ICL's approach as low risk since it largely comprised enhancement, integration and testing of existing MASS software. There were also differences between the bidders' infrastructure proposals. The Department assessed both proposals as disappointing and required the bidders to clarify their proposals during the contract specification and negotiation stage. This process extended the procurement by four months.