The document provides tips for effective storyboarding when developing proposals. It discusses: - The history and purpose of storyboards in visualizing narratives and pre-visualizing projects. - Common problems with storyboarding like doing it in isolation, over-storyboarding, and not accommodating different personality types. - Tips to improve storyboarding like collaborating as a group, limiting the scope, and allowing breaks/independent work. - The key is using storyboards to foster collaborative thinking and support the overall narrative, not minor details. Proper planning and reviewing materials beforehand also helps transfer content to the proposal.

1. HOW TO IMPLEMENT
EFFECTIVE STORYBOARDING
Presented by Ashley Kayes, CP APMP
Senior Proposal Consultant, AOC Key Solutions, Inc.

2. AGENDA
• History of Storyboards
• WhyWe Storyboard
• Why Storyboarding is
Important
• Key Elements of Storyboarding
• Problems with Storyboarding
• Tips to Increase Storyboarding
Success

3. HISTORY OF STORYBOARDS
• Developed at Walt Disney Productions
during the early 1930s
• Originated as a graphic organizer of
pictures displayed in sequence
• Served to pre-visualize a motion
picture, animation, or interactive media
sequence
• Designed to visualize the storytelling,
focus the story and timing, and define
the technical parameters

4. WHY WE STORYBOARD
• Necessity for visual appeal in
proposals
• Need to present a cohesive
“story” in our proposal
responses
• Became part of our industry
standard best practices

5. WHY STORYBOARDING IS IMPORTANT
• Increases efficiency
• Helps writers:
– understand the task
– analyze the audience
– map, plan, and/or brainstorm
• Helps gain buy-in from
stakeholders
– when formal storyboard
reviews are conducted
Understand theTask Analyze the Audience
Map, Plan, & Brainstorm Gain Stakeholder Buy-in
Storyboarding

6. WHEN SHOULD STORYBOARDING
OCCUR?

7. KEY ELEMENTS OF STORYBOARDING
• Key brainstorming outcomes:
– Analyze the customer
– Consider the competition
– Consider your position
– Define the section strategy
– Identify section themes
– Outline
– Research
– Add key visuals

8. SECTION INFORMATION
Insert Project Name
Volume:
Section Number:
Section Title:
Author
Number of Pages:

9. OUTLINE AND COMPLIANCE CHECKLIST
Proposal Section
RFP
Instructions Evaluation PWS/SOW Other
1.0 Management
Approach (L.1,
M.1)
L.1 Management Approach.
The offeror shall provide
information on its management
approach, to include:
M.1 Factor 1 Management Approach. The
government will evaluate the offeror’s approach to
managing the work on the contract.
n/a n/a
1.1 Organization
Structure (L.1.a,
M.1.i)
a. Organization structure and
how this structure will support
contract delivery
i. Subfactor 1: Organization. The degree to which
the offerors proposed organization provides for the
necessary management oversight.
n/a n/a
1.1.1 Management
Oversight to
Support Contract
Delivery
L.1.a (see row above) M.1.i (see row above) C.1 Program Management. The
offeror shall provide program
management and oversight to
meet the program requirements
described in the SOW.
n/a
1.2 Key Personnel
Roles and
Responsibilities
(L.1.b, M.1.ii)
b. Key personnel and their
respective roles and
responsibilities
ii. Subfactor 2: Key Personnel. The offeror identifies
adequate key personnel with roles and
responsibilities to support the contract delivery.
n/a H.3 The offeror shall
designate the
following positions as
key: Program
Manager
1.2.1 Program
Manager (H.3)
L.1.b (see above) M.1.ii (see above) n/a H.3 (see above)
1.3 Management
Controls (L.1.c,
M.1.iii)
c. Management controls, to
include schedule and budget
management
iii. Subfactor 3: Management Controls. The
management controls described are adequate to
provide schedule and budget management.
n/a n/a
1.3.1 Schedule
Management
L.1.c (see row above) M.1.iii (see row above) n/a n/a
1.3.2 Budget
Management
L.1.c (see row above) M.1.iii (see row above) n/a n/a

10. CUSTOMER ISSUES/HOT BUTTONS
Customer Issues/Hot Buttons

11. TEAM STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES
Team Strengths Team Weaknesses

12. COMPETITOR STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES
Competitor Strengths Competitor Weaknesses

13. ISSUES, FEATURES, & BENEFITS
Issues Features Benefits
Usability—current tool is old,
clunky, and difficult to use
Our COTS solution is modern,
streamlined, and has an intuitive
user interface
 Enhanced user productivity
 Enhanced user adaption
 Reduces contract risk
Contract start-up delays;
although they don’t like the
current tool, they are concerned
about program impacts of
implementing a new tool
Our COTS solution requires no
custom development to perform
all the functions in the RFP; it can
be implemented within 2 weeks of
contract start-up
 Immediate contract start-up
 Reduces impacts to the
program mission
 Increases program delivery
continuity
Budget concerns; perceive
software development as costly
and time consuming
Our COTS tool performs all of the
required functions listed in the
RFP out-of-the-box
 Immediate start-up, enhancing
user productivity
 Reduces software
development costs: life-cycle
savings of roughly $300,000 in
software development costs

14. THEME STATEMENTS
Discriminator
Feature Benefit(s)
Because our COTS tool performs all of
the required functions listed in the RFP
Customer A benefits from:
• Immediate start-up, enhancing user productivity, and
• Life-cycle savings of roughly $300,000 in software
development costs
Customer A benefits from:
• Immediate start-up, enhancing user productivity, and
• Life-cycle savings of roughly $300,000 in software
development costs
because our COTS tool performs all of the
required functions listed in the RFP

15. RISKS & MITIGATIONS
Risk
Level
Before
Mitigation
Mitigation
Level
After
Mitigation
Transition activity
will cause
disruption to
ongoing work
High
Detailed migration plan tests all technical functionality
before cutover; servers stay in place with data backed up
to new site until cutover; new facility is turnkey, with all
systems pre-set
Low
Failure to achieve
high incumbent
capture jeopardizes
knowledge transfer
Medium
Use processes that have provided high incumbent capture
on a similar program; use in-place consulting agreements
to fill short-term staffing needs; use database of local staff
resumes to fill remaining gaps
Low
Failure to deliver
proposed key
personnel slows
start
Medium
Signed commitments are provided with proposal; three of
five proposed key personnel are residents of the area of
work; additional resumes of available staff prescreened as
back-ups
Low
Facility not ready
for full operations
after Phase-in
Medium
Pre-build interior and pre-ordering of all IT equipment,
furnishings, and ancillary equipment mean installation is
prompt and occurs prior to occupancy
Low

16. CREATING KEY GRAPHICS
Figure #. Title. Action Caption.
Creating Key Graphics
Provide a rough sketch, a template for a table, a photograph or other graphic to
support the material to be presented in this section. Provide a title and action caption
for each graphic identified. Use additional sheets as necessary.

17. CREATING KEY GRAPHICS
Information Presented Recommended Graphic Type
Relationships Chart
Process Flow Diagram
Relative Size Pie Chart
Precise Data Table
Actual Depiction of an Object Photograph or Diagram
Sequence of Events Gantt Chart

18. CREATING KEY GRAPHICS

19. CREATING KEY GRAPHICS

20. CREATING KEY GRAPHICS

21. CREATING KEY GRAPHICS
Position Roles and Responsibilities
Executive-in-Charge Provides corporate leadership and authority, including allocation of budget
and resources for the effort. Often has a relationship with the customer and is
a key player in the Contact/Call Plan.
Capture Manager Positions the team to win. Provides vision and guides solution development,
teaming, pricing, and strategy. Knows the customer. Has senior management
access and respect. Develops and manages the bid and proposal (B&P)
budget.
Proposal Manager Drives the proposal development process.
Business Development
(BD)/Marketing
Manager
BD person with the best knowledge of the customer. May also be the
Capture Manager. Uses his or her knowledge of the client and industry to
collect market intelligence and position the team to win.
Technical Specialists/
Solution Architects
Develop the technical approach and are responsible for the technical
solution.
Cost Volume Manager Ensures the pricing strategy and approach are financially viable. Supports
the development of the risk analysis and pricing strategies.
Volume Managers Responsible for leading the content development of their respective volumes.
Exhibit 2-2. Capture Team Roles and Responsibilities. The Capture Team composition is
scalable to reflect the size and complexity of the opportunity.

22. NEXT STEPS
Decision Needed Person Responsible
Information Gathering
Indicate additional information needed to complete the section or make it stronger
Data Call
Indicate information that may need to be gathered through a data call. Attach separate
sheet if necessary
Decisions Needed

23. PROBLEMS WITH STORYBOARDING
• Storyboarding is difficult to
implement
• When we do use storyboards,
they are often ineffective
– Content is often incomplete
– Content often doesn’t transfer
to the proposals
• This is likely because we are
approaching storyboarding in the
wrong way

24. PROBLEM #1: STORYBOARDING IN SILOS
• The real intent of storyboarding is to
foster collaborative thinking
• The process of visual thinking and
planning allows a group to:
– brainstorm together
– place ideas on storyboards
– arrange the storyboards on the wall
• When used correctly, storyboarding
fosters more ideas and generates
consensus inside the group

25. PROBLEM #2: OVER-STORYBOARDING
• Storyboards work best when they support the big
picture
– i.e., the thread that will be pulled throughout the
overall response
• For smaller proposals, stick with the major high-level
sections
– e.g., Management,Technical, Staffing
• For larger proposals, storyboarding to the first and
second-level sections will typically suffice
– e.g., 1 Technical, 1.1 Development Approach, 1.2
Testing Approach, 1.3 Implementation Approach,
2 Management, 2.1 Organization, etc.

26. PROBLEM #3: NOT CATERING TO
DIFFERENT PERSONALITY TYPES
• Different people need different environments
to cater to how their minds work
• Some individuals need independent, quiet time
to think through things
• Some individuals need group dialogue to
generate ideas and think through things out
loud
• Other individuals are more visual, and prefer
to draw things out

27. TIPS TO SUPPORT DIFFERENT
PERSONALITIES
• Vary your solution development,
brainstorming, and/or storyboarding
sessions to cater to different
personality types
• Allow for:
– independent solutioning
– group solutioning
– small group solutioning
• Present different brainstorming
strategies:
– lists, mind maps, freewriting, etc.

28. TIPS TO INCREASE STORYBOARDING SUCCESS
• Before the storyboarding sessions,
authors should review:
– RFP documents
– Capture documents
– Proposal outline and assignments
– Storyboard templates
• Set aside multiple days for storyboarding
• Limit brainstorming sessions to 30- to 60-
minute intervals with several breaks
• Make time for a formal storyboard review
• Transfer the storyboard content to the
Draft Templates

29. FINAL THOUGHTS

30. THANK YOU!
Ashley Kayes, CP APMP
Senior Proposal Consultant
AOC Key Solutions, Inc.
akayes@aockeysolutions.com
proposalreflections.com | aockeysolutions.com