This is a case study related to Project Management. One needs to find out the risks, and if the company should take up the project.

1. The Opportunity1
In Fall of 2014, the Vice President of Dallas-based ESC Consulting, Rex Tyler, received an email from
ESC Account Manager Joanne Catwell. Joanne indicated that Global Finance Corporation (GFC) had
shortlisted ESC Consulting alongside 14 firms in its request for proposal (RFP) round based on ESC’s
response during the initial expression of interest (EoI) round.
Rex called Alex Morgan, ESC Director of Technology and Aaron Beafe, an ESC Senior Project Manager
to review the opportunity. For Rex, the stakes were very high. Rex had not acquired new clients for three
quarters. A new client such as GFC would instill confidence in ESC leadership. His deputy Alex had 22
years of experience, but had only recently joined ESC three months earlier. Aaron had 14 years of
experience and had spent his entire career with ESC. Both of them were a staunch believers that IT
Implementation Unit of ESC would turnaround its downward trajectory quickly. Aaron was excited to
learn about the project as it would bolster his project portfolio, which included other DC-based companies
such as Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and Fannie Mae. After learning the basic details,
Alex was cautious and unsure whether this project would generate enough revenue and margin. Aaron
was convinced that GFC was a strategic client and he would be able to attract more projects in future with
this project under their belt. Rex was now tasked with determining if ESC should move forward with the
new client.
An overview of ESC Consulting
ESC Consulting was founded by a group of partners led by Neil Rogers. Previously Neil was Senior Vice
President at Arthur Anderson Business Consulting (AABC). After the desolation of Arthur Anderson (AA),
Neil founded ESC with a primary focus on government consulting. Primary clients of ESC Consulting
include Federal and State government agencies such as World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank
(IDB), who are two of its largest clients. ESC Consulting has three business units:
a) Government Advisory
b) Government IT Consulting
c) Government IT Implementation
Overall, ESC Consulting made around $300 million revenue in FY13. Government Advisory was the
largest, contributing almost $150 million. Government IT consulting was growing fastest – almost at 34%
1
Abhijit Barua has prepared this case under guidance of Professor William Hefley, PhD as the basis for class room
discussion rather than to illustrate either effectiveness or ineffective handling of management. Situation presented
in the case is drawn from real life example; though actors and lead company name have been altered.

2. compound annual growth rate (CAGR). The IT Implementation unit was created 4 years back under the
maverick leadership of Patrick Keating. Patrick quickly raised the annual business volume to $40 million.
After an internal conflict, Patrick left the firm one year ago. Few of Partick’s clients did not offer repeat
business to new management under Rex. Projection for FY15 had gone down to $28 million. Leaders of E-
Government consulting are trying to engulf the implementation practice so that they can match annual
revenue figures of that of the Advisory group head (See Exhibit 2 for organizational structure for more
details).
Competition of ESC
ESC faces its biggest competition from GRM International, Deloitte, Booze Allen Hamilton and Crown
Agent. Like ESC, these companies have very strong advisory and e-Gov practices. Since IT implementation
is not a very strong suit for these companies, they often jointly bid with offshore firms to reap the benefit
of cost arbitrage. This structure gave big consulting firms relative cost advantage. Moreover, increasing
completion of mid-sized Indian IT firms such as RMSI Private Limited, TCG Digital etc., put tremendous
pressure on ESC’s top line. In order to become more competitive in terms of cost, ESC had signed a strategic
partnership agreement with a small Indian software company named Pegasys Private Limited. Pegasys
provided relatively low-cost IT developers, which offset relatively high charge-out rates of ESC’s
consultants. The rate chart of ESC and one of the competitors are provided in Exhibit 3A, Exhibit 3B,
Exhibit 3C, Exhibit 3D.
GFC and GENESYS System
The Global Finance Corporation (GFC) is an international financial institution that offers investment,
advisory, and asset management services to encourage private sector development in developing countries.
The GFC is headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States. It was established in 1965 to advance
economic development by investing in strictly for-profit and commercial projects that help to reduce
poverty and promote development. Since 2009, the GFC has focused on a set of development goals
including sustainable agriculture opportunities, healthcare and education, increase access to financing and
business clients, advanced infrastructure, helping small businesses grow revenues, and investing in climate
health. GFC has developed a system called GENESYS. GENESYS website list the following objectives:
GENESYS is an online platform for potential applicants who seek techno-financial assistance from GFC.
Applicants create a business case for new projects in sustainable agriculture, healthcare, education, green
energy, infrastructure etc. in emerging markets, showing that environmental responsibility correlates with
smart business initiatives. GENESYS aligns the interests of market players to create a groundswell of
engagement that catalyzes resource-efficient building growth. By helping to push the market forward on
the regulatory front while pulling on the voluntary side, GENESYS helps entrepreneurs from developed
markets to build clean, sustainable society.

3. Analysis of Problem Statement
After reviewing Bid Data Sheet (Exhibit 4) and Statement of Work –SoW (Exhibit 5) the team realized
several fine points which were not considered earlier:
• Selection will be based on Quality and Cost (QCBS)
• Other shortlisted firms are Deloitte, Crown Agent, RMSI and TCG Digital
• Overall project duration is three years where the development of the software will be completed
in one year and maintenance and enhancement support will be provided for the next two years. A
possible extension is another two years which will be confirmed after satisfactory completion of
two years of maintenance.
• Maximum budget for the project is $750,000. This excludes additional budget for the extra two
years of maintenance. The additional budget will not exceed $200,000.
• After completion of development, GFC may decide to foray into mobility platforms. This may
include additional mobile development work.
Dilemma within ESC Consulting
Rupert Smith, Vice President of E-Government Consulting believed that this project was too risky to
undertake. This project was based on existing GENESYS platform which was notoriously complex and the
existing GFC vendor had reneged to undertake the upgrade work. After the departure of Patrick, the
“Implementation” team did not have enough Architects who could understand such complex technology.
This project also required deep knowledge of Cloud Infrastructure and Analytics Platform which had been
an Achilles heel for Rex for some time now. In spite of his ardent effort, he could not find suitable
candidates for these positions. Roger felt that bad performance on this project would reflect negatively on
his overall performance within the Washington D.C. region which contributes almost $25 million of yearly
revenue. Rex also understood these problems. His team is contemplating following points:
• What are the possible risks for this projects?
• What should be the proper team mix to ensure a balance between cost and quality?
• What should be their competitive quotation for this project? Should the quotation make financial
sense or should they get this project in order to win future projects in this area/from this client?
• How can they ensure that the team takes proper steps so that they don’t get into the issues mentioned
by Roger?
• How can they make their proposal and presentation attractive and meaningful so that they get
maximum marks in the technical section?
Note: Provide your answers based on the above-mentioned questions EMC team are ruminating over.

4. Exhibit 1: Letter of Invitation
Global Finance Corporation
Washington, DC
Re: Letter of Invitation – Selection# 7412452311/ GENESYS web application enhancement
and maintenance
The Global Finance Corporation invites proposals from short-listed firms for the provision of consulting
services for Selection# 7412452311/ GENESYS web application enhancement and maintenance. A detailed
instruction document relating to this selection is provided. Please ensure compliance with the instructions
provided therein to prevent rejection of your proposal. This selection comprises of the following documents:
• Information to Consultants
• Terms of Reference
• Technical Proposal Template
• Financial Proposal Template
• General Terms and Conditions for Operational Consulting Services
• Any other attachment as applicable
Your submission shall include a Technical Proposal, Financial Proposal.
You are responsible for ensuring the successful submission of your proposals into the system by the due
date. Late proposals or proposals not properly uploaded into the system will be rejected.
All communications related to this selection shall be via the system and not directly to any GFC employee.
Proposals must be sent in a sealed envelope. Each page of the proposal should be signed by an authorized
signatory.
Failure to comply with the instructions may result in the rejection of your proposal.
If you encounter technical difficulty during upload, please send an e-mail to the GFC Help Desk at
gfchelpdesk@gfc.org.
Yours sincerely,
Ned Kelly, President - Technology
Global Finance Corporation

5. Exhibit 2: Organizational Structure of ESC
Note: Each Architect leads a particular competency such as JEE, .Net, Cloud, SAP, etc. Within each
competency, there is a Technical Lead, Senior Developer, Developer and Junior Developers. ESC follows
a rank structure which determines seniority, pay grade and charge out rate. It is to be noted further that
people holding ranks over OF6 don’t work directly in projects. Hence, their salary cost is typically included
in SG&A (Selling General Administrative Cost). SG&A is typically charged as a part of the overhead cost.
Rank Grade Typical Designation
OF8 CEO
OF7 COO, CFO, VP Advisory
OF6 Director, Portfolio Manager
OF5 Architect, Senior PM, Program Manager
OF4 Tech Lead, Project Manager
OF3 Senior Developer, Senior Analyst
CEO
Corporate
Officers
VP -
Implementation
Director
Technology
Architect
Director Market
Program
Manager
VP - Consulting VP - Advisory

6. OF2 Developer, Associate, Analyst
OF1 Junior Developer, Junior Analyst
Exhibit 3A: Rate chart of ESC
Rank Grade Hourly Rate
OF6 $400/hour
OF5 $250/hour
OF4 $150/hour
OF3 $120/hour
OF2 $90/hour
OF1 $75/hour
Exhibit 3B: Rate chart of Pegasys
Designation Hourly Rate
Delivery Manager $50/hour
Technical Lead $40/hour
Senior Developer $30/hour
Developer $25/hour
Exhibit 3C: Rate chart of one of the competitors – US Firm
Rank Grade Hourly Rate
Partner $400/hour
Director $200/hour

7. Manager $150/hour
Senior Associate $100/hour
Associate $70/hour
Exhibit 3D: Rate chart of one of the competitors – US Firm’s Indian counterpart
Designation Hourly Rate
Delivery Manager $40/hour
Technical Lead $40/hour
Senior Developer $30/hour
Developer $30/hour
Exhibit 4: RFP Data Sheet
RFP Issue Date Feb 1, 2017
Clarification Request Deadline 31 March 2017
Proposal Submission Deadline 10 April 2017 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Standard Time)
Expected Work Start Date 3 Jun 2017
Location Washington DC
Proposal Weightage Technical 0.8
Proposal Weightage Financial 0.2
Min Technical Score Required 60
Max Budget $1,000,000
Range (+/15%)
Language of proposal English

8. GFC Envisages the Need for Continuity
of Downstream Work
Yes
Currency USD
Shortlisted Firms
Deloitte
TCG Digital
ESC Consulting
RMSI Software Private Limited
Crown Agent
Evaluation Criteria
Criteria Weight
Relevant experience of the vendor 30
Methodology and the proposed work plan in responding to the
Statement of Work
25
Qualifications and competence of the key staff related to the
assignment
25
Strategic thinking exhibited in the proposal 20
Exhibit 5: GENESYS online platform Statement of Work (SoW) GENESYS Website version 1.1
1. BACKGROUND
1.1. GFC is one of the largest global development institutions focused exclusively on the private sector
in developing countries. GFC works in more than 100 developing countries and allows companies
and financial institutions in emerging markets to create jobs, generate tax revenues, improve
corporate governance and environmental performance, and contribute to their local communities.

9. 1.2. GFC has developed a new environmental assessment financial assistance application. This
assessment system, called GENESYS, has been developed to assess new financial assistance
applications from the qualified company. This application focuses on measuring key project
parameters, as well as the development costs and their impact on running costs.
1.3. By using GENESYS, the financial viability of a project can be determined at the early design
stage. GENESYS encourages project proposals that is cost-effective in nature. This application
determines future cash flow for a project and lays out initial financial requirements. Each applicant
is assessed based on their profiles, background and financial strength, and then given a mark
between 0-100. Though high-profile mark strengthens an application, it does not guarantee
financial assistance.
2. OBJECTIVES AND PURPOSE OF THE SOW
2.1. GFC seeks a highly-skilled and experienced web design firm for further development of the online
platform that forms the user experience of GENESYS. The firm will update a new GENESYS
online platform with the following objectives:
2.1.1.To develop a financial assistance management system for 10 new GFC local and global
offices; functionality should include the ability to register new “financial assistance projects”,
fill-out the online form, upload the supporting documents, and a platform for Genesys officers
to review, approve, reject and comment on submissions. Data management and user access
rights are required. System should provide payment function to the users globally after the
release of a decision online. The current system only takes scan copy of the application form.
There is no online form or additional functionality.
2.1.2.The application must be reviewed by three officers. These officers must not belong to same
pay grade.
2.1.3.The current IT platform is .NET. The same should continue to be the platform under this
scope of work.
2.1.4.The new function should enable differentiated access and control for users to various content
using username and passwords. The following is an example of users and their access rights:

10. User Group Access Right
Super Admin Full access and control including user rights
Country
Admins
Access to country-specific data, i.e. Netherlands
Country
Office
Access to country-specific data restricted to one
department
Head Office Behave like a country office. Few C-suite officers
can access any data
Ordinary
User
Access to own profile and application
Ordinary
viewers
Access to information which is publicly available.
2.1.5.Development of verify mechanism for GENESYS system. It should enable verifier to upload
documents such as PDF, Word, Excel, PPT or other files, and add notes and comments. Users
from different locations should be able to upload files as per selected software. The files
should be passed to the GENESYS financial assistance certifying committee for final
approval. The system should also have the capability to enable GFC users to add, amend or
change the user interface or user access rights.
2.1.6. The platform should have the ability to have multiple language options to enable switching
between languages. This will include at minimum English, Spanish, Chinese, Portuguese,
Vietnamese, Arabic, Bahasa and French. The system should have seamlessly switch between
languages and have the capability to adapt to languages and elements such as reading and
writing from right to left as well as left to right. The current platform allows only the English
language. The future update should continue to grow while keeping all languages functioning
and without interruption to the existing system in any way.
2.1.7.New reporting system to be developed. This includes new reports such as financial assistance
grouped by country, number of projects grouped by areas, etc. Actual report type and template
will be determined during requirement analysis, but it can be expected that a total number of
such reports will not exceed 20.

11. 2.1.8.Online calculators to help users calculate amortization, data display maps as needed for
providing the reporting either to admin or to the external users, and other visualizations that
pull data from the database.
2.1.9.High security of the site in line with stringent GFC security requirements.
2.1.10. Capability to restore data if files are mistakenly deleted, with the capacity for more than
500,000 saved projects annually and 2,000,000 users per year.
2.1.11. Version control full functionality for new GENESYS software updates, which allows the
users to switch between the older versions and new versions.
2.1.12. Customized content based on country of the user (e.g., dynamically adjusting technical
information, pricing according to country selection).
2.1.13. Maintenance of the website; it is expected that the firm will have a unit to support GFC
and other users to maintain the functionality and resolve bugs or any problems with the system
for a period of two years.
3. NOTES:
1.1. GFC will own the intellectual property of the website, platform architecture and the data, which
are protected by intellectual property laws.
1.2. The programming platform should be developed in a manner that is easily transferable to other
companies or users.
1.3. Web hosting, servers, and storage to be provided by GFC.
1.4. Ideally, at least one or two team members to be locally available in Washington D.C. to interface
with GFC team during the term of the contract.
4. TERM:
4.1. A 36-months contract from which 12 months is to build the system and 24 months to maintain and
support the website and database with the option to renew for another year, starting from June
2017.

12. 5. ELIGIBILITY:
5.1. GFC is in need of a highly creative, technically skilled and dedicated team to deliver a quality
product for the future, beyond the traditional norms of typical online applications.
5.2. This is a firm assignment, no individual can submit a proposal.
5.3. At least a 5-year track record of developing online platforms, applications, and online tools with
international experience is expected.
5.4. The team shall include at least software engineers and programmers, graphic designers, web
architects, and user experience experts.
6. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION:
5.5. Technical proposal should be no more than 50 pages including the background, proposed scope,
team, relevant experience.
5.6. The separate Financial proposal should be submitted as per GFC financial proposal template.
7. PROPOSAL EVALUATION:
5.7. The technical proposal should demonstrate:
5.7.1.The firm’s track record in similar assignments
5.7.2.Execution capacity (number of software engineers on staff, the experience of a specific team
to be assigned to this task)
5.7.3.Strategic thinking regarding options to achieve certification service delivery goals, long-term
planning regarding software and hardware system needs as the platform evolves to handle
increasing volume of certifications in an increasing number of countries under the auspices
of an increasing number of certification service providers
5.8. Separate financial proposal as per GFC financial proposal template