This document summarizes key areas covered in a foundation certification study group session on proposal development, including developing requirements and compliance checklists, executive summaries, storyboards, and outlines. Sample questions are provided at the end to test understanding of proposal development best practices like using a requirements matrix to identify customer needs, allocating outline sections based on importance to the customer, and including a compliance checklist to ensure all requirements are met.

1. Foundation Certification
Study Group Session 4 - Proposal Development

2. Subject Areas
• Executive Summary Development
• Storyboard Development
Proposal Development
• Outline Development
• Requirements Identification
• Compliance Checklist Development
• Sample Questions

3. Requirements Identification
Identify and develop requirements
collaboratively
Analyse customer documentation and
identify anomalies and redundancies
Identify and communicate clarification
questions to the customer and responses
to the team
Build complex requirement matrices
Brief SMEs from requirement matrices
Use listening and questioning techniques
to gain a thorough understanding
Question the customer’s implicit
assumptions and practices
Communicate complex concepts clearly
and simply, verbally and in writing

4. Executive Summary Development
Always include an Executive Summary
Maintain a client-focus throughout
Build on your existing sales process and
strategy
Organise the content to be clear, concise
and persuasive
Collaborate with senior management to
write an early draft of the Executive
summary
Use a high-level review
Use the Executive Summary as a bid/
proposal briefing tool internally and
externally

5. Storyboard Development
Develop storyboards as a framework
for the proposal
Use storyboards to develop and
review proposal content
Drive the process to complete the
storyboards
Communicate the win strategy for the
storyboards
Decide upon the sections of a
proposal that require storyboarding
Assign storyboards to the proposal
team members to develop the content
Make storyboard a key management
tool

6. Compliance Checklist Development
Assess the customer evaluation and
weighting criteria for the bid
Do what the prospect asks when you get
to the proposal stage
Prepare a compliance checklist for all
formal and informally solicited bid requests
Construct a response matrix early to help
plan and track every response
Submit a response matrix with your
proposal to make evaluation easy
Define strategies and plan alternative
courses of action to accommodate non-
compliance
Monitor compliance of the bid throughout

7. Outline Development
Develop a customer focussed proposal outline
following the RFP guidelines
Prepare a top-level, topical outline that follows the
prospect’s organisational priority. Mimic the
numbering system, naming convention, and order
listed in the bid request
Assign or allocate all other response requirements
within the topical outline, identify boilerplate
Use informative headings at section levels below
those specified by the prospect
Allocate pages according to the relative importance
of the topic to the prospect
Develop outlines for unsolicited proposals in
collaboration with the client
Annotate the outline as needed to guide the writers
Extend your outline into a Proposal Responsibility
matrix to help manage the proposal
When you have to deviate from the bid request,
always explain your deviation

8. 1. In a complex technical section which of the following eases the evaluation?!
A. Summary-Introduction-Detail-Summary!
B. Introduction-Detail-Summary!
C. Summary-Detail-Conclusion!
D. Outline of the problem-discussion-Solution!
!
2. When planning an outline of an proposal we must chose the number of pages based on?!
A. Our capability in that area!
B. The amount of boilerplate available!
C. The importance of the subject to the customer!
D. The expertise of the proposal writer!
!
3. Recommended ways to how your proposal is organised include what?!
A. Compliance Matrix!
B. Requirements Matrix!
C. List of tables, figures and graphics!
D. Theme statements!
!
4. Which of these documents is not similar to a Compliance Checklist?!
A. Requirements Matrix!
B. Proposal Responsibility Matrix!
C. Invitation To Tender!
D. Response Matrix
Sample Questions

9. Stay connected with us on
Linkedin Study Group for
details of the next webinar on
Proposal Management.
Thank You.
Abhijit Majumdar CP.APMP!
Associate Vice President!
Zensar Technologies Ltd. Pune. India.