More Proposal Development Notes

Ask for an extension
Justify that extension in part with lots of hard hitting questions
Develop these questions by reading through the RFP in detail, looking for issues in the requirements (or lack thereof) that give rise to ambiguities in the technical solution.

Develop geographical depiction of the work to be done to establish physical scope of the project. Take it down to the lowest level of physical location detail.

Establish models/templates for each level/location in the geophysical scope of the project.

Tailor those templates to each location based on needs and establish basic pricing inputs. The most accurate pricing is done at the labor hour & equipment purchase level. Anything higher is just an estimate.

Review the Cost Volume requirements. Certain pieces of work may not be asked for in the cost volume. If they can't be priced, they can't be performed. But if they must be performed to achieve the technical solution, then they must be rolled up under some other function that can be priced. I.e. reorganize the WBS to fit into the pricing model as necessary, let the pricing model drive the top level layout of the WBS. But feel free to do a preliminary laydown of the WBS based on functional pathways before reorganizing it along cost volume guidelines. This will help establish clarity of execution early on and reduce confusion.

Get your SME's and senior engineers involved early. Parse the WBS out to them so that they can begin building solutions to sub-system components. Make sure they are fully aware of the geophysical scope picture and how that impacts their solution.

RFP Pursuit Methodology/Experience

Receive RFP
Read RFP,
highlight our capabilities
pencil in solutions
id solution providers
build team, determine lead
id risks
Make go/no-go decision
If no-go step out of the way for others to pursue
If go, make a marketing system entry and get a B&P number

Look for guidance on Proposal development, submission date
Check out vehicle releasing the RFP, google search and company portal
What's the vehicle, who's our contract rep
If we're prime...
Plan Proposal Kickoff
Parse the prop for writing assignments
Ensure each section written complies with proposal guidelines
drft a requirements driven outline
build a writer's template for major sections/tasks

If we're sub, contact the prime and offer to support
collect & prepare candidate resumes
qualify resumes against the vehicle's labor categories
examine labor categories
find a pc and have them run profitability figures

Read the methodologies on the company portal proposal page