How to develop a request for proposal document. RFP How to develop a request for proposal document.

Request for Proposal A process for having vendors do some of the design work for a project. Objective: open, fair competition with understood evaluation criteria. Qualified vendors should be offered an opportunity to bid.

Intelligence In-house Vendors Consultants Literature Similar installations Review services (Auerbach, DataPro)

RFP Process First Pass: Eliminate unacceptable alternatives Reduce the choices to 2-4 alternatives Second Pass: Select the final product.

Need to publish: Written requirements Formal presentation expectations Don't let vendors run the selection Evaluation standards

Typical RFP Contents Introduction Instructions System Requirements Objectives Contacts Timetable System Requirements Mandatory Requirements Desirable Features Evaluation Method

Evaluation Criteria Features Table Delivery Date Hard Dollar Evaluations Soft Dollar Evaluations Delivery Date Acceptance Criteria & Penalties Mandatory Features Desirable features

Desirable Features Modularity Compatibility Reliability Maintainability Vendor Support

Acquisition Strategies Rent: Short term, complete vendor support, high cost Lease: Intermediate term, local support, user specified equipment Purchase: Cheaper, total user responsibility Contract: Full vendor responsibility, contract sensitive

Validation Test the proposed system to assure that it does what you want: Modeling Simulation Benchmarking Work sample analysis