The Thorny Road. Management: Navigating Trouble Spots for Project Success.

Transcription

1 The Thorny Road from RFP to Project Management: Navigating Trouble Spots for Project Success NAVIGATING TROUBLE SPOTS FOR PROJECT SUCCESS 1

2 Roadmap Good and Bad RFP Characteristics Some of the remedies for developing clear RFPs Dialog with the Industry, so that Government s needs are communicated correctly and understood by the bidders Bidders advance preparation prior to RFP issuance Proper brainstorming to devise the right solution The handoff between the capture/proposal and project teams NAVIGATING TROUBLE SPOTS FOR PROJECT SUCCESS 2

3 Good NAVIGATING TROUBLE SPOTS FOR PROJECT SUCCESS 3 Good and Bad RFP Characteristics A well organized RFP establishes clear goals, provides the right details, and solicits useful information from Offerors Instructions and Evaluation Criteria are aligned, and correlate to the Statement of Work

4 Bad RFP Characteristics Poor organization The authors didn t seem to have started with a clear work breakdown structure to organize the work Tasks are bulleted lists of unrelated responsibilities, like a stream of consciousness Frankenstein's cut and paste with conflicting requirements Unrealistically short page count leading to an exercise in concise writing instead of a thorough solution presentation NAVIGATING TROUBLE SPOTS FOR PROJECT SUCCESS 4

5 And More Bad Procrastination that leads to no DRFP for commenting (which leads to lack of or minimal dialogue with the Industry) No hot buttons communicated What are the most important requirements? Evaluation criteria and instructions are not aligned with what is important to the Government Important details about the project are missing and are only available to one or two vendors "in the know," already at the agency Inappropriate use of LPTA NAVIGATING TROUBLE SPOTS FOR PROJECT SUCCESS 5

6 Select Remedies for Developing Clear RFPs Frontload the process to ensure correct requirements to reduce back and forth with the Offerors and eliminate procurement delays due to excessive questions and protests Review similar RFPs and lessons learned from other agencies Contact colleagues in other agencies to learn from their experience in procuring similar services and running projects NAVIGATING TROUBLE SPOTS FOR PROJECT SUCCESS 6

7 Remedies: Mirror the Industry s Proposal Process for RFP Development Read RFP Prepare for Kick- Off Conduct Kick- Off to Reach 9 Goals Develop Work Packages Prepare Draft 1 Conduct Pink Team Prepare Draft 2 Prepare Draft N Conduct Red Team Prepare Final Draft Read- Out- Loud Print, Check, Deliver Implement Post- Delivery Win Strategy, Orals, FPR Update Lessons Learned Annotated Outline Assignments Work Packages Compliance Checklist Style Guide Background Materials Briefing Pink Team Recovery Outline Frozen Red Team Recovery Decision to proceed Award Make Bid-No- Bid Decision Brainstorm & Research In-Process Review(s) In-Process Review(s) DTP, Edit DTP, Edit Conduct Gold Team Collect Lessons Learned Attend Debrief Integration Phase Planning Phase Writing Phase Polishing Phase Production Phase Post-Proposal Phase Establish and manage to a clear schedule that integrates key process steps NAVIGATING TROUBLE SPOTS FOR PROJECT SUCCESS 7

8 Remedies: Introduce Process Steps Such As Brainstorming and Reviews with All the Key Stakeholders NAVIGATING TROUBLE SPOTS FOR PROJECT SUCCESS 8 Establish and manage to a clear schedule that integrates key process steps Introduce process steps such as group brainstorming and reviews with all the key stakeholders Document lessons learned and review prior to each new procurement process

9 Remedies: Establish a Working Group Under the Direction of a Competent Project Leader NAVIGATING TROUBLE SPOTS FOR PROJECT SUCCESS 9 Select a project leader who understands the political environments of stakeholder organizations that the project will affect Build working relationships with other leaders in the administrative, budget, and legal offices Oversee the project schedule and reviews, understand the contracting and procurement process, and report on progress to agency management Understand budget cycles, regulations, and standards, and masterfully apply the relevant boilerplate language used in every RFP and contract Bring in a consultant if needed

10 Establish a Dialog with the Industry Dialog is important so that Government s needs are communicated correctly and understood by the bidders Start long before the final RFP issuance Communicate to prospective offerors what the Government really needs pain points Describe your organization better Communicate the specific task and deliverable goals in detail Provide documentation that could serve as project's background Consider communicating your budget NAVIGATING TROUBLE SPOTS FOR PROJECT SUCCESS 10

11 Prior to the RFP Issuance ID technical challenges and cost drivers, potential vendors and their capabilities, appropriate adjustments to mandatory and optional requirements, cost estimates, scheduling estimates, and Offeror qualification requirements Pose informative Request for Information (RFI) questions, with clear explanation that you are not seeking marketing pitches 1 Use Industry s input on how to create a problem driven versus a solution driven RFP in one on one sessions with the bidders 2 Issue a Draft RFP to solicit candid inputs (perhaps by not sharing everyone s questions with all the Offerors) 3 Conduct an Industry Day that's forthcoming with new information, rather than rehashing RFP requirements; preferably filmed and posted for bidders' access later NAVIGATING TROUBLE SPOTS FOR PROJECT SUCCESS 11

12 Don t Gloss Over the Pain Points What is currently not working? What keeps you up at night about this project? Rather than describing a solution, articulate the problem as best you can and let the Industry provide a solution set Describe the desired impact of the project s outcomes on the agency and the end users Encourage potential Offerors to think outside the box NAVIGATING TROUBLE SPOTS FOR PROJECT SUCCESS 12

13 Example of a Recent Air Force RFP s Candid Language (Sample Task) The Air Force Ground Equipment (AGE) office has requested support to purchase a new IT system to replace their 30 year old legacy system, FIDGIT, for management of ground support equipment that is rumored to be on the verge of collapse and is requiring time intensive man hours to extract and consolidate necessary data to satisfy audit requirements such as accountability and valuation as well provide key information to better assist in decision making. Throughout the years, members at the unit level across the Air Force have seen many initiatives come and go through the years that promise to deliver new IT but fail to execute and are reluctant to support the continued shuffling of the deck chairs on another Titanic due to the volume of their workload. A recent audit highlighted significant findings in the tracking of equipment and the inability to provide a full accounting of the equipment (valuation). Many instances were noted of purchasing high dollar pieces of equipment when the property books indicated the equipment was already at the authorized level. However, the property books and accounting of the equipment was not kept up to date, with documentation either showing equipment had been disposed of while other pieces of equipment remained unaccounted for. In addition, there were inconsistencies in how equipment was valued, depreciated and what source data/documents were used as a basis for such calculations. When units were asked to provide a response to the findings, the FIDGIT system was identified as the root cause. NAVIGATING TROUBLE SPOTS FOR PROJECT SUCCESS 13

14 Describe Your Organization Better Talk about how this project fits with your values and mission, so that vendors do a better job tying the solution to your needs and goals Who are the ultimate customers you are serving with this project? What do you find important in fulfilling your ultimate customers needs? NAVIGATING TROUBLE SPOTS FOR PROJECT SUCCESS 14

15 Communicate the Specific Task and Deliverable Goals Better Start with the outcome you have in mind that would constitute this task's success Think through any applicable quantitative or qualitative metrics Include your timeline and/or schedule expectations Develop technical specifications and requirements, including key personnel requirements NAVIGATING TROUBLE SPOTS FOR PROJECT SUCCESS 15

16 Provide Documentation that Could Serve as Project s Background Attachments to the RFP Reading "room" on the web (by registration only) Physical reading library by registration, with a time limit NAVIGATING TROUBLE SPOTS FOR PROJECT SUCCESS 16

17 Consider Communicating Your Budget Downsides: Have harder time eliminating those who know nothing Upsides: Truly shows the magnitude or limitations of the project, prompting more realistic proposals and eliminating guess work on Offerors' part May result in better value proposals: Offerors will compete with each other for what they will offer you at the same price A strategic move requiring intent and sophistication, and it doesn't necessarily preclude companies that may propose a radically different solution at a lower cost Disclosing budget early on may help with vendors identifying true priorities NAVIGATING TROUBLE SPOTS FOR PROJECT SUCCESS 17

18 Bidders Advance Preparation Prior to RFP s Issuance Contact plan and strategy Hot buttons research Message development Solution development workshop CONOPS, EV 1 graphics conceptualization Price strategy Pre proposal preparation Opportunity background research Data analysis Teaming strategy Teaming partner selection Value proposition to join the team Teaming agreement negotiations OST Capture Process Win themes/win strategy workshop Capture Plan development RFI responses and White Papers preparation Competitor identification and analysis SWOT, Black Hat Labor rate competitive analysis NAVIGATING TROUBLE SPOTS FOR PROJECT SUCCESS 18

19 Prior to Solution Development: Postulate the Requirements NAVIGATING TROUBLE SPOTS FOR PROJECT SUCCESS 19 Old RFP Draft RFP Offeror s own version of the RFP Get old agency's RFPs for other pursuits Use other agencies' SOW for similar work Modify based on your intel

20 Brainstorm in a Group Preferred approach Get the right SMEs in the room The problem becomes: how do we maximize the precious time? NAVIGATING TROUBLE SPOTS FOR PROJECT SUCCESS 20

21 Unstructured Group Brainstorming is Flawed Goes on for hours Little usable proposal material gets produced The solution may lack persuasive power, appear bland, show no innovation NAVIGATING TROUBLE SPOTS FOR PROJECT SUCCESS 21

22 Use Facilitated Brainstorming with Post its or Mind Mapping Warm up Generate massive quantity of ideas without judgement Use silent idea generation or with discussion Allow everyone to write down, reorder ideas while others generate theirs Order, sort, prioritize, weed NAVIGATING TROUBLE SPOTS FOR PROJECT SUCCESS 22

23 Interview SMEs Individually Less preferred approach, but beats boilerplate reuse option Requires the proposal writer to have a solution architect's mind to tie everything together Requires solid interviewing techniques NAVIGATING TROUBLE SPOTS FOR PROJECT SUCCESS 23

24 Start with a Schedule Plan Plan out the project in detail Describe Describe your schedule in your narrative Sequence Sequence correctly to include predecessors and successors Resource Resource load your schedule Discover NAVIGATING TROUBLE SPOTS FOR PROJECT SUCCESS 24 Discover parallel activities and time savings Develop Develop critical path

25 Start with a Flowchart Where many steps are involved, flowchart is appropriate Discover process efficiencies and shortcuts Pinpoint spots where you could bring innovations and efficiencies NAVIGATING TROUBLE SPOTS FOR PROJECT SUCCESS 25

26 Start with a Graphic CONOPS, OV1, overview graphic All the key pieces of the program, stakeholders Customer's challenges, your solution, what constitutes mission success NAVIGATING TROUBLE SPOTS FOR PROJECT SUCCESS 26

27 Start with Win Themes Win Themes Work Statement Focus Develop overall win themes, then those for each instruction and evaluation criteria Address areas of the statement of work Focus on Hot Button Benefit Feature Proof Action sequence NAVIGATING TROUBLE SPOTS FOR PROJECT SUCCESS 27

28 Start with a Checklist Checklists enable disciplined decision making Reduce tangents Enable reuse of past successful solutions without the pitfalls of boilerplate NAVIGATING TROUBLE SPOTS FOR PROJECT SUCCESS 28

29 The Handoff Between the Capture/Proposal and Project Teams Project/Program Manager should have been part of the proposal process (but it often doesn't happen) Request a winning debrief: what did the Government customer like about the proposal the most? This will enable customer focus from NAVIGATING the outset TROUBLE SPOTS FOR PROJECT SUCCESS 29

30 Conduct a Preliminary Project Kickoff Between the PM, Project Team, and the Capture and Proposal Team Create and use a tailorable project implementation plan/project kickoff checklist to go through NAVIGATING TROUBLE SPOTS FOR PROJECT SUCCESS 30 Do a complete knowledge dump The team that sold the project knows how they came to the solution, assumptions, price, and timeframe that was committed to The capture/proposal team knows customer wants, needs and quirks that will help the project team best serve that customer and execute the project

31 Prepare for the Kickoff with the Government With a Detailed Agenda The project statement of work discussion in detail All milestones and deliverables and proposed dates The role of the project team members The change order process for the project How the project will be managed overall including communication and the general project methodology What the next steps are and when they will happen NAVIGATING TROUBLE SPOTS FOR PROJECT SUCCESS 31

32 A project that starts well has a better chance of running smoothly and ending favorably NAVIGATING TROUBLE SPOTS FOR PROJECT SUCCESS 32

33 About OST WE'VE WON OUR CLIENTS OVER $22 BILLION IN GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS SINCE 2005 BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, CAPTURE, AND PROPOSAL CONSULTING Build Portfolio of Indefinite Delivery Vehicles Develop Opportunity Pipelines Capture Opportunities Win Proposals Optimize Your Processes 18 COURSES IN ALL ASPECTS OF FEDERAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT; FULL BD LIFECYCLE TRAINING ALONG FIVE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TRACKS VIRTUAL AND COWORKING INCUBATOR FOR SMALL GOVERNMENT CONTRACTORS Certified Business Developer Certified Capture Manager Certified Proposal Manager Certified Proposal Coordinator Certified Proposal Writer NAVIGATING TROUBLE SPOTS FOR PROJECT SUCCESS 33

34 Contact Information Olessia Smotrova, CF.APMP Fellow, President/CEO Cell: Office: OST Global Solutions, Inc Calhoun Place, Suite 560 Rockville, MD NAVIGATING TROUBLE SPOTS FOR PROJECT SUCCESS 34