Background & Objectives
PROCOMER, Costa Rica’s specialized pillar for trade promotion, operates a fully digital procurement process through the SICOP portal to ensure transparency and integrity. The 2025 Procurement Regulations and Law No. 9986 establish that the “Pliego de Condiciones” is a binding legal contract once a bid is submitted.
The VUCE 3.0 Stage II project aims to build a new version of the Single Window for Foreign Trade (VUCE) platform, incorporating advanced technological improvements and functional updates. Specific objectives include:
- Technological Modernization: Building a new VUCE platform with advanced technologies to optimize foreign trade services
- Functional Expansion: Implementing 116 new functionalities, including modules for trade procedures, origin certification, reports, statistics, and risk management
- Process Automation: Ensuring a fluid user experience through a hybrid Agile-DevOps methodology
Key Activities
- Plan and execute incremental sprints (2–4 weeks) using hybrid Agile-DevOps methodology, including sprint planning, daily scrums, reviews, and retrospectives
- Develop 116 new functionalities through requirement analysis, detailed design, coding, and comprehensive testing (unit, integration, performance, security)
- Implement data migration, production deployment, post-implementation monitoring, and 60-day pilot support
- Develop risk management models using machine learning for border control, plus evolutionary maintenance via pay-per-demand
- Conduct DevOps integration (Azure DevOps), knowledge transfer, and hybrid on-site/remote coordination with PROCOMER
Key Results & Controls
- Delivery of 12 work package outputs, including project plans, risk management framework, 89 trade procedures, 24 origin modules, source code, training manuals, and final End-of-Consultancy Report
- Multi-layered quality assurance: contractor-led tests (unit, integration, security, load), PROCOMER QA, and mandatory 60-day pilot support
- Continuous supervision through project coordinator oversight, periodic review meetings, and on-site coordination
- Financial compliance enforced via delay fines (0.5% per day for fixed scope, 1% per day for on-demand services) up to 25% of contract value, backed by a performance bond
