1. Introduction to Writing RFPs.
Introduction. What is Presented in this RFP Book? Different Types of RFPs. Request for Information (RFI). Request for Proposal (RFP). Why Write an RFP? RFP Development and Preparation. RFP Project Development. Evaluation Criteria. Reviewing the RFP. Anatomy of an RFP. Project Overview and Administrative Information. Technical Requirements. Management Requirements. Supplier Qualifications and References. Suppliers' Section. Pricing Section. Contracts and License Agreements Section. Appendices. RFP Activities. PreRFP Activities. Identifying Suppliers. Qualifying Suppliers. RFP Activities. PostRFP Activities. The Importance of the RFP from a Contract Perspective. Conclusion.
2. RFP Planning and Preparation.
Introduction. PreRFP Planning Considerations. Project Organization. Project Organization. Project Schedule. Technology and Supplier Education. Budget Development. The Project Acquisition Budget. Post-RFP Planning Considerations. Project Development and Implementation. Additional Post-RFP Activities. Conclusion.
3. RFP Administration Requirements Section Introduction.
How to use this Chapter. Anatomy of an Administration Section. RFP Overview. Supplier and Supplier Reference Information. Company Confidential Information. Intent to Bid. Proprietary Information Notice. Supplier Confidential Information. Subcontracting. RFP Contacts. RFP Questions and Answers. Responding to Supplier Questions. RFP Reference Library. RFP Schedule. PreProposal Conference. Proposal Format Requirements. The Cover Letter or Transmittal Letter. The Executive Summary Required in Proposals. Pricing Section (Cost Section). Best and Final Offers. Alternate Proposals. Compliance Matrix. Informational Paragraphs in the Administrative Section. Definition of Requirements. Production Environment for Hardware and Software Products. Errors or Omissions in Proposals. Proposal Evaluation Criteria. Proposal Costs and Expenses. Product Demonstrations. Notifying Winning and Losing Suppliers. Proposal Debriefing. What Should Not Appear in the Administrative Section. Conclusion.
4. RFP Technical Requirements Section.
Introduction. Writing Requirements for the Technical Section. Definition of a Requirement. Who Writes Requirements? How Do Suppliers Recognize Requirements in Your RFP? What Is the Difference between Specifications and Requirements? Requirements can Be Written as Questions, Statements, or Narrative Description. Qualities of Well Written Requirements. Requirements Must Reflect Real Products or Solutions. Requirements Must Be Unambiguous. Requirements Must Not Use Subjective Terms. Requirements Must Be Measurable. Requirements Must Be Meaningful. Requirements Must Be Complete. Requirements Must Not Include the Solution. Requirements Must Not Include Unnecessary Characteristics. Developing Technical Requirements. Illustrating Requirements. Anatomy of a Technical Section. Current Business Environment. Current Technical Environment. Proposed Technical Environment. A Note on Hardware Requirements. A Note on System Software Requirements. Application Requirements. Conclusion. Suggested Readings.
5. Management Requirements Section.
Introduction. Writing Requirements for the Management Section. Examples of Poorly Written Requirements. Anatomy of a Management Section. Project Plan. Project Schedule. Site Preparation Plan and Personnel Responsibilities. Project Staffing Requirements. Roles and Responsibilities. Design, Development, and Implementation. Project Change Control. Delivery and Installation. Testing. System Maintenance and Support. Training. Documentation. Standards. Project Cutover. Supplier Issues and Concerns. Conclusion.
6. Pricing.
Introduction. Anatomy of a Pricing Section. Introduction. Hardware. System Software. Application Software. Custom Software Development. Consumables. Project Implementation and Management Services. Maintenance and Support. Training. Documentation. Other Costs Not Specifically Requested. Organizing the Price Section. Validating Prices. Other Pricing Notes. Contracts and License Agreements Section. Fixed Price Contract. Time and Materials (T&M). Associated Contract Considerations. Evaluation of Price Proposals. Conclusion.
7. Evaluation Guidelines.
Introduction. The Evaluation Team. Evaluation Considerations. Evaluation Criteria in the RFP. Getting Started Evaluating Proposals. Requests for Clarification. Other Considerations for the Evaluation Team. Anatomy of an Evaluation Section. Technical Evaluation. Management Evaluation. Price Evaluation. Oral Presentations and Demonstrations. The Evaluation Process. Introduction. Preliminary Evaluation. Second Round of Evaluations. Detailed Evaluations. The Shortlist. Developing the Scoring Methodology. Evaluation Report. Conclusion.
Appendix A. Administrative Information.
Appendix B. Supplier Information.
Appendix C. Proposal Preparation Instructions.
Appendix D. Budget Planning and Investment Analysis.
Appendix E. Nondisclosure Agreement.
Appendix F. Proprietary Notice.
Appendix G. Notice of Intent to Bid.
Appendix H. Questions and Answers.
Appendix I. Compliance Matrix.
Appendix J. Preliminary Evaluation Checklist.
Appendix K. RFP Reverse Planning Calendar. 0201775751T12102001
Forewords & IntroductionsFor many years, I wrote sales proposals in response to a request for proposals (RFP). As a vendor, I responded to both wellwritten and poorlywritten RFPs and found that there was no consistency in the structure, or the quality of information, among them. Several times I was stumped as to what the subject of the RFP was, and after several rounds of questions and answers, I determined that the company issuing the RFP was also stumped—they had neglected to do their homework properly and could not properly define their requirements. After becoming a consultant, I began writing RFPs as part of my client activities. As I wrote them, I tried not to make the same mistakes I had seen as a vendor and I began to develop a structure and organization methodology for writing RFPs. I began to write and speak about writing RFPs to customers and at industry conferences about what makes a good RFP. Time after time I was approached by people in the audience who asked if I had more material in addition to the articles and the presentations I have written and made. A frequent request was to recommend a book that would provide them with some guidance. But, the literature is very slim on the topic of RFPs and there was no "general" guide to writing RFPs that I know about. This book provides that information and brings order and stability to the RFP process for those who are new to writing RFPs, and reaffirms effective practices for veterans. I have included ideas from the best RFPs and share what I have learned from poorly written RFPs. There are three major themes that run through this book
- Quality of information isparamount to getting good proposal responses. If your requirements are well formed and complete, suppliers will have enough information to write a quality proposal.
- Presentation, structure, and organization are needed if suppliers are to understand how to read your RFP and to respond back in a productive manner. Without a structured and organized RFP, writing proposals will be difficult for vendors, and evaluating proposals will be difficult for you.
- An RFP is much more than a request to buy a product; it is an offer to form a team, between you and the supplier, and to jointly solve a problem. As a team, both sides stand to benefit from the relationship, but the project itself is the real winner.
An RFP is not the end of the project, but the start of a new phase in the project. While the general requirements for a project have been defined, quite often the real requirements are not understood until well after the RFP is released, a contract is awarded, and the project development begins. Sometimes it takes two or three iterations of the requirements development process before both companies fully understand the problem they are trying to solve or the products they hope will solve these problems
- We can only shape the path as we are cutting
its course through the forest.
- Many requirements of a system become known only as the system develops. This is especially true for a system that makes use of multiple commercial products, since their interactions will have a substantial influence on the system¿s eventual design.¹
While this book is directed toward the computer system project, the disciplines of gathering requirements, organizing and writing an RFP, and interacting with the suppliers during and after the RFP has been issued remain the same. I think the material in this book can be used for writing RFPs for many industries, given that some adjustments need to be made. However, this book does not cover every type of application for every project and therefore some parts of this book may not apply to your specific needs.
A Word of Encouragement All of the material in this book, including the example RFP paragraphs, should be considered as a starting point and guideline for your own RFP. This book provides you with a general format and general language, but it is up to you to build upon this base of information and examples. In the commercial world there are not any rulebooks or laws that force you to write an RFP in a certain manner and within the federal government¿s Federal Acquisition Regulations (FARs), there is still room to be creative. So within reason, be creative and include the requirements in your RFP that will make your project successful for both you and the chosen supplier.
A Word of Caution Vendors do not have unlimited time and resources. When your RFP is complete, take a moment to look at it from a vendor¿s point of view and consider whether it is fair or if you are asking for too much. Remember that the vendor will become your partner. Successful business relationships are built on foundations of fairness and mutual respect. To bully or cajole a vendor into reducing pricing or including free services is to impair your relationship from the beginning. As Andrew Carnegie once said about J.P. Morgan, "Mr. Morgan buys his partners; I grow my own."²
Who Should Read This Book? In my experience writing RFPs, I have worked with all kinds of people from all types of companies and departments. I find that many companies do not have RFP writing guidelines, procedures, or support and rely on company history and previously written RFPs as source materials. If there is no previous history in writing RFPs, a company may turn to consultants for help or ask vendors for copies of RFPs that can be used. I have been asked many times if I could send someone a "good" RFP as an example. People who have been assigned to write an RFP, who have not written an RFP before and, perhaps, have little history and support to draw upon will find this book invaluable. There is a suggested outline, a wealth of examples, and good solid advice that will guide from starting the project to signing the contract. People who have written RFPs will find that this book supplements and adds to your existing knowledge of writing RFPs in addition to providing some fresh examples for developing technical and management requirements. This book is written for people in many different commercial industries and for people in the federal, state, and local governments that need guidance, procedures, and direction. People who should read this book include
- Information technology managers asked to write or manage an RFP
- Business unit managers who may not have dedicated IT support and find that they need to write an RFP
- Purchasing managers that provide RFP oversight for their company
- Federal, state, and local government IT and business managers who need to supplement their internal guidelines
- Consultants who are responsible for writing RFPs or helping their clients write RFPs
- University and college professors looking for primary or supplemental course material
After reading this book, the reader will be able to
- Organize the RFP project effort
- Outline each RFP section
- Develop, write, and review requirements ¿technical, management, and pricing
- Prescreen a vendor list selecting only the best vendors for the project
- Set up the evaluation criteria for evaluating vendor proposals
- Select the best solution based on objective evaluation criteria
- Prepare for the postRFP activities such as site visits and reference checks, plan and schedule implementation activities, and put in place project management plans
There is not a prerequisite to reading this book—you do not need to be senior IT manager or a certified purchasing agent. The book provides a standard format for the recommended sections in an RFP, includes examples for each section, as well as examples of how to write the technical and nontechnical requirements for each section. Once proposals have been received, the book provides guidelines for evaluating proposals and selecting a winning vendor. Evaluation guidelines include evaluating technical and management content as well as pricing.
Acknowledgments As with an endeavor this large, there are many people who have provided help, constructive criticism, very positive encouragement, and support. I would like to thank all of the reviewers who took time from their busy workday or extended their workday to review and comment on this book. This book is much better due to their efforts. Ralph Young has been especially helpful with his detailed suggestions and encouragement and for graciously agreeing to write the foreword. Thank you, Ralph. Special thanks goes to AddisonWesley for publishing this book and to my editor, Debbie Lafferty who helped with her professionalism, great suggestions and attitude, and lots of behindthescenes hard work that I will never know about. Finally, my wife, Anne, and daughter, Lizzie, endured many early mornings, late nights, and missed weekends as I toiled away writing and revising the manuscript. Their support helped make this book possible. Bud PorterRoth
Mill Valley, California
bud@rfphandbook.com
1. Carney, David J. Quotations from Chairmain David. Carnegie Mellon University, 1998.
2.The Columbia Dictionary of Quotations is licensed from Columbia University Press. Copyright © 1993, 1995 by Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. © Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
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