Proposal Management: Best Industry Practices
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Purpose: Apply industry best practices gained from ISO 9001, CMMI, and ITIL to improve your proposal management processes. ITIL = Information Technology Infrastructure Library ISO = International Organization for Standardization CMMI = Capability Maturity Model Integrated
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Proposal Management: Best Industry Practices
- 1. Using CMMI, ITIL, and PMBoK to Improve Proposal Operations Presenter: Brenda Crist Lohfeld Consulting Group
- 3. Do These Processes Meet All Your Job Needs?
- 5. What Can We Learn from Industry to Improve Our Management of These Tasks?
- 7. What Can We Learn from PMBoK?
- 8. PMBoK Highlights Offers a framework for project management backed by project management best practices
- 11. Examples Create a Pipeline Create a Work Breakdown Schedule ID# Agency Name Description Capture Status RFP Date Value 110 DOE ELMS Program BPR Smith Pre-RFP 5/1/09 $25M 210 DOC IPS Program Help Desk Jones RFP 6/1/09 $50M 330 Navy TACS Program Call Center Turner Future 9/1/09 $40M
- 15. Incremental Quality Controls Build time in for quality reviews throughout the proposal life cycle
- 20. What Can We Learn from ITIL?
- 21. Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) Framework If your job requires more than just proposal management, ITIL offers a framework for the delivery of services
- 30. ITIL Configuration Management Tips Keeping knowledge under configuration control increases proposal preparation efficiency
- 32. What Can We Learn from CMMI?
- 33. Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) Process in unpredictable, poorly controlled, and reactive Process is characterized but is often reactive Process is defined, repeatable, and proactive Process is measured and controlled Focus on process improvement CMMI is a process improvement approach Level 1 “ Initial ” Level 2 “ Managed ” Level 3 “ Defined ” Level 4 “ Quantitatively Managed ” Level 5 “ Optimizing ”
- 37. Consider Using Software Development Techniques to Facilitate Proposal Management
- 41. What Can We Learn from ISO 9001:2000?
- 44. Sample SOP SOP Element SOP for a Proposal Kick-Off Meeting Agenda Instruction Develop an Agenda for the Proposal Kick-Off Meeting. The Agenda should contain a welcome from executives, a bid review, proposal schedule, writing assignments, and meeting schedule Owner Proposal Manager Metric Distributed at Kick-Off Meeting Monitoring Method Capture Manager works with the Proposal Manager to ensure it is being created Evaluation Method Executive Management and the Capture Manager review the agenda prior to the meeting and Proposal Manager makes corrections Reporting Method Agenda distributed at the Kick-Off Meeting and stored in the Proposal Library Audit Method Quarterly review of Proposal Library to determine if the Agenda is present
- 46. To determine if industry best practices can help, make a list of your job functions
- 49. Link Functions to Best Practices Link your job functions to best practices and create SOPs to enhance your performance Function Best Practice Area Risk Management PMBoK Risk Management Cost Management PMBoK Cost Management Knowledge Management ITIL Service Transition for Knowledge Management Continual Improvement CMMI Continuous Process Improvement and ITIL Continual Service Improvement Quality Management ISO 9001:2000 and CMMI Process and Product Quality Assurance Process Area Communications Management PMBoK Communications Management Configuration Management ITIL Service Transition for Configuration Management and CMMI Configuration Management Process Area
- 51. Thank You Brenda Crist APMP NCA Vice President Professional Day Committee Chairperson 2009 Principal, Lohfeld Consulting Group www.lohfeldconsulting.com [email_address] 301-466-9566
Editor's Notes
- Best practices from the APMP Body of Knowledge, the Shipley Proposal Guide, and industry literature is tried and true. Most proposal professionals understand these processes and use them to manage the proposal process.
- Proposal Managers do much more than just manage proposals. Often times they perform multiple functions. They may manage several proposals at the same time, manage the pipeline, train company personnel in proposal practices, direct production, or control a knowledgebase.
- What are the characteristics of a good schedule? Accurate mapping of inputs and outputs Correct sequencing of events Accurate estimation of activity duration and resources needed to perform those activities Proactive identification of project risks, constraints, and dependencies What can we learn from PMBoK to improve our scheduling techniques? Proposal Manager have a difficult job planning a schedule with so many changing variables (changing requirements, due dates, and resources)? Advance Planning - Try to stay ahead of the curve, start your first line of defense by creating a pipeline. Create schedule templates for common proposal turnarounds like 10, 15, 30, and 45 day proposal schedules. Establish agreements with vendors in advance to provide supplies, proposal personnel, production services, etc. Develop and revise your schedule using these techniques: Define your “critical path” – what must be done to reach the end goal (proposal delivery on schedule). Define two paths to reaching the end goal; Plan A and Plan B. Activities on the critical path can not be delayed. Examples include questions for the Contracting Officer, past performance questionnaires for the contracting officer, internal decision gate, and the proposal delivery date. Try “crashing” - add more resources to activities on the critical path like additional resume writers. Try “fast tracking” – tasks normally done in sequence are done in parallel or iteratively. In the early stages this could be capture and pre-proposal development activities and in the later stages technical and management solution development activities. I normally don’t use float and leveling might not be as relevant. We usually don’t have a lot of float or excess in our schedule and people are already giving 110%. If available use Microsoft Project resources to facilitate program scheduling. Manage to your schedule; proactively monitor activities. Report status daily Record planned vs. actual
- These are very brief examples of a pipeline and work breakdown structure (WBS). I typically use MS Project to create a WBS and generate a list of activities and milestones for each project function. You can create a pipeline using a variety of tools including Word, Excel, Outlook or more sophisticated CRM (customer relationship management) tools. At a minimum consider using these fields to manage your pipeline: Opportunity Name Opportunity ID Number Client Name Client Address Client Phone Client Email Contact Name Contact Address Contact Phone Contact Email RFP Due Date Opportunity Description Opportunity Status Opportunity Value Win Probability Role (Prime or Sub) BD Name Capture Manager Name Proposal Manager Name Industry Day Date RFI Date Draft RFP Date RFP Date Questions Due Date Questionnaire Due Date Kick-Off Date Storyboard Date Color Review Dates Delivery Date Oral Presentation Date Final Revision Proposal (BAFO) Protest Dates
- Use PMBoK techniques to estimate costs accurately, an average 30-day proposal can easily cost $175-200K ( a capture manger, proposal manager, graphics, 3 SMEs, reviewers) Cost Estimating Techniques Use Analogous Estimates – use your historical data to predict cost of the proposal. Create baseline budgets for producing proposals on 5, 10, 30 and 45 day schedules based on historic evidence. Use Bottom-Up Estimating – define each WBS activity and add up the costs of those activities 2. Typical Items Covered in a Budget include: Labor (In-house, contractor) Materials - Binders/Tabs/Pens Travel Production Leave at least 10% cushion for a well-planned proposal, and twice – four times as much for a proposal that is not well planned
- ISO 9001:2000, PMBoK, CMMI and ITIL all provide frameworks for improving quality. Always budget time for quality reviews. At a minimum make time for compliance, editorial, and book check reviews. Implement Quality Standards - as per PMBoK consider adding these elements into your quality program. Plan-Do-Check-Act (Plan quality objectives, do / implement the quality processes, check objectives vs. actuals, and act on your results. Prevention – how good was your process at preventing mistakes. You can start this process by conducting a peer review on your compliance matrix. Conduct editorial reviews on your document and SME reviews on the solution. Customer satisfaction – the product/your proposal must not only satisfy the client, you must also satisfy your internal customers – how well did you proposal meet the needs of your internal and external customers. Consider creating a customer satisfaction survey for internal customers.
- Consider applying quality control checks to these milestones.
- Consider creating staffing, training, and retention plans for your group.
- Communications represent a significant part >20-50% of a proposal manager’s day. Create a plan to manage communications.
- Role and Responsibilities: Everyone on the proposal team should understand their roles and responsibilities for proposal communications, and know who, when, where, and how to provide status. Proposal Communications: Typical proposal communications include proposal kick-off meetings, daily stand-up reviews, status and financial reports, questions for the Contracting Officer, discussions with subcontractors and vendors, and interviews with key personnel and subject matter experts. Proposal Information Security Email – Often used because it does not need system admin support. However, it does no provide secure access or control and promotes undisciplined configuration control. It is helpful for communicating meetings times and status. To promote security, consider using use code words to describe your proposal in emails. Collaboration Tools - SharePoint, ShareCenter, VPC, etc. provides role-based access and updates of information) Secure passwords to open documents Physical control of hardcopy documents – do not let hardcopies leave unsecured areas, collect agendas, status meeting notes, review documents, rooms Report Status – daily stand up meetings 10-15 minutes roll call, open action times, status, and close out; briefings to senior executives on status Risk Mitigation – always maintain a risk mitigation log with an approved escalation path. Biggest risks – key personnel, client that decides not to provide an A+ rating, solution not complete , teaming partner walks away, lack of PTW strategy
- There are two types of risks. Risk inherent in the solution of your proposal and those associated with proposal management. The Shipley book focuses nicely on risks to your solution, I also focus on risks to the management of your proposal. As in the case of the Communications Plan, prepare a standard Risk Management plan for your proposal group and a risk log for a particular proposal proposal. The Risk Management Plan should address roles and responsibilities, risk criticality (high, medium, low), likelihood of occurrence (high, medium low), and escalation paths. Identify risks: lack of key personnel, good past performance references, complete technical solution, price to win strategy, single point of failure production resources. For example, you have only 1 color laser printer – 3 years of age. If functions well most of the time, but has been known to cause trouble. Define who is responsible for its continued operation. Define its criticality (high) and likelihood of occurrence (medium). Define your escalation path if the printer fails. Define your mitigation plan (pre-servicing before big job, extra time in the schedule to address issues, agreement with printing vendor, etc.) Use a risk log during daily stand up meetings to identify, discuss, and resolve risks. Risk Response: If after several proposal the same risks appear, bring them up to senior management for resolution or remediation. Also try to transfer negative risk – through pre-planning, agreements with vendors, proposal consultants, etc.
- Consider creating a knowledgebase to house the information you access most frequently, like project management plans, transition plans, and staffing plans.
- Requirement resumes – all corporate resumes update annually, the information can be gathered by HR, but the Proposal Team needs input into the format and a link to the resume database if maintained by HR. Past performance – all corporate past performances updates annually (at least those used frequently in proposals), the format selected by the proposal management group often with lengthy information about accomplishments, tools, systems, etc. This should include a high level summary, detailed summary broken down by activity, and a problem and resolution section at a minimum. Standard plans for management processes - if you are ISO 9001:2000 certified collect those plans. Factoids especially from HR about client relationships, personnel certifications and degrees, facility security clearances, facility factoids, labs, network capability, data center capacity, COOP/DR, etc. These help support win themes. General management plans for project management, task order management, transition, security, configuration, etc. Technical architecture flow charts Awards, kudo letters, etc. Proposal templates for proposal, submission letters, labels, CDs, tabs, etc. Art library with graphics, photos, etc. To facilitate data collection enlist of the help of executives and HR. It might involve a change in policies and procedures for data collection. Update your knowledge base by shredding all your old proposals upon completion and using the information to update your database.
- I spent so much time responding to internal company questions, I felt like a help desk. To reduce my workload, I created folders the proposal team and our executives could use to acquire information about the company.
- Expose part of the knowledge base to provide a self-help feature or maybe in even a FAQ. Your internal clients are used to obtaining information from service desks instantly. They may become frustrated if they are unable easily access this type of information or wait for you to send it to them. Work with company executives to determine who can access the self-help feature and under what conditions. If you are particularly security sensitive, it might be a convenient spot to document company factoids already available to the general public but not necessarily listed on the web like company size, revenue, locations, an organization chart, company templates, and palettes. Follow company roles to restrict access and maintain the integrity of the data. You might only want to expose the knowledge base during a proposal with limited access. Develop procedures for adding, updating, or deleting data from the self-help feature or I recommend dynamically associating it with the knowledge base, so when the knowledge base is updated, the self-help feature is updated.
- To avoid losing important information or making unintended changes, keep your proposal assets under configuration control! As proposal manager, setup yourself up a configuration control lead. Identify a easy scheme for identifying items to be placed under configuration control. Like Section Name_Date_Time_Author Setup a single repository to house your documents (file folder, SharePoint Site, GoogleGroup) Work with your system administrator to restrict access to the repository where the information is stored. If you can, get permissions to setup it up yourself to avoid delays. Audit the repository routinely to confirm your assets are in place.
- Which level are you? How did you get there? Dicusccsion
- Consider implementing a program to continually refine your proposal management procedures. Develop baseline proposal management SOPs and metrics Establish metrics – moves to next slide. Monitor your performance and record results. Identify improvements Control improvement One immediate process improvement is to eliminate compliance issues by adding a peer review to your compliance matrix development SOP.
- Win ratio – number of wins vs. to total number of bids submitted. Some also call this the capture ratio the value of bids won vs. the total value of all bids submitted. As proposal manager, whether we won or lost was out of my hands even if we did submit a good proposal. Often times due to internal constraints our price was too high our technical solution was unable to offer all the features and benefits required by the client. In addition, I wanted to measure how well I was doing as a proposal manager. So, I identified metrics to assess my performance. Some are listed on the screen others include: Cost: Demonstrated decreases in cost due to pre-planning Schedule: Met all milestones on critical path Quality: Eliminated compliance, editorial, and production defects Human Resource: low staff turnover and annual staff training (see next ) then go back two slides
- Our traditional proposal development process (pictured on the left) is similar to the SW development waterfall method. I follows a prescribed pattern resulting in a completed proposal or piece of software at the end. Iterative, agile, and spiral methods take a different approach focusing on the rapid and often parallel development of components in no sequential order; often building on from the core out. These software development techniques have several thing in common with proposal development, they have to produce a finished product on schedule and within budget following specific requirements, formats, and instructions provided by the client. They are conducted by multi-disciplinary teams under tight deadlines, often with no clear technical solution at the outset. Techniques we take agile, iterative, or spiral developers include: Communications methods each morning they have a 15 minute scrum to communicate status and risk quickly. I have been trying this technique for the past month if often works. Techniques we take from iterative or agile developers include: producing chunks or parts of code that are workable instead of completing everything from start to finish. For example, if your working on an HR system, you chunk your work into teams creating a hiring, training or retention sub-system. Different teams can be working on different chunks simultaneously. In the case of the proposal team you might also chunk the solution and have different groups work on the telecommunications, production, and reporting systems simultaneously. Instead of reviewing all these chunks all at one time in a storyboard, pink, and then red team reviews, consider smaller SME and management reviews on each chunk as they progress. Progress reporting – use of a burn rate or burn down chart, as shown on following slide. Refer to article Agile Methods for Proposal Managers by Wendy Frieman in the Spring/Summer 2009 edition of the Journal of the Association of Proposal Management Professionals, pages 40-49. As Wendy explains in this article, This article describes how you take best practices from Agile software development methods to improve your proposal development process. create proposals including how to use scrums for facilitate rapid daily status checks, how to chunk assignments, how to prioritize and complete the most important proposal features first, and how to use burndown charts to depict status.