Proposal 101: Technical Writing Presenter: Ms. Tan V. Wilson, Entellect, LLC June 10, 2015 11:15am – 12:15 am
Session Topics Recent GAO Protest Denial Challenges to writing Technical Approach Solution development Be Persuasive Key take aways
Tan V. Wilson Background Over 21 years of program management experience and certified Project Management Professional (PMP) Over 10 years of Federal contracting, project, and proposal management experience with both Civilian and Defense Agencies Shipley Trained Proposal Writer and Manager Notable Proposal Wins: – INSCOM Global Intelligence – NIH CIOSP3 – SAMHSA Domains IV and V Contracts – DIA SIS Contract – HUD Big Buy Contract
Recent GAO Protest Denial 4
VA Prohibits Use of Consultants on Proposals GAO Protests regarding VA118-15-R-0558 (Transformation Twenty-One Total Technology Next Generation (T4NG) VA prohibited the use of consultants during the development of the sample task responses in any way. A consultant may review other portions of the proposal not related to the Sample Tasks. VA Rationale: Sample tasks are a test of an Offeror’s inherent capability to perform under the T4NG contract and should represent the efforts of the team planned to perform under the contract and not the product of outside consultants. The agency went on to argue that this restriction would reduce the risk of unsuccessful performance. 5
Aftermath of Protest GAO Ruling: GAO found the agency's rationale for its inclusion of the clause reasonable GAO noted the Government's desire to reduce the risk of unsuccessful performance was rationally achieved by restricting its consideration of experience and past performance to the firms contractually obligated to meet the agency's requirements Implications on Small Businesses: How other agencies react to GAO's decision in Advanced Communication Protest could lead to a significant impact on proposal preparation, particularly in response to solicitations involving sample tasks SBs will need to rely on internal and team member experts and proposal writers 6
US Census Disagrees with VA U.S. Census Bureau had language prohibiting technical consultants from participating in it’s RFP YA1323-15-MS-0003 for Multi-Tiered Acquisition Framework for Systems Engineering and Integration unless they are part of the offeror’s team. Industry, along with the Association for Proposal Management Professionals (APMP), responded to the DRFP to have this restrictive clause changed. June 2, 2015: U.S. Census Bureau added a sentence in the final RFP that reads, “This does not preclude the use of contracted technical writing, marketing, and communications support in the preparation of the proposal.” 7
Challenges to Writing Technical Approach 8
Why Bidders Score Low Not complying with the PWS/SOW and technical requirements Not providing the “how” in addressing the PWS/SOW Not enough detail to gain strengths at the evaluation stages Too many weaknesses in the technical approach Too focused on “You” and not enough on the “Customer” Presenting potential risk by not understanding the appropriate staffing that is substantially above the government’s estimate High/low pricing that does not match the weight of your technical proposal or the government’s estimate 9
Technical Proposal Challenges Little or no understanding of the technical requirements Proposal are very labor intensive, expensive and tend to run over budget Proposal teams start too late and are usually in reactive mode SOW/PWS is either incomplete or inconsistent with Sections L and/or M Technical SMEs, Program Managers, and other staff are currently billable, over tasked, or don’t have proposal writing experience Proposal process is cumbersome and confusing Unclear Subcontractor experience, roles and responsibilities 10
Get Organized Thoroughly shred RFP and set up compliance matrix (CM) and outlines – Take the time to thoroughly review and understand the RFP and requirements – Make time to collectively review these artifacts Allocate the necessary resources and expertise – Know when to hire consultants and outside experts – Use your billable SMEs appropriately (storyboards, color teams) Storyboard & Solutioning – Solidify the solution component before you write – Include Pricing Staff Identify the critical color team reviewers – Engage the appropriate technical experts and project teams – Secure the right Executives and Functional Managers 11
Understand the Requirements Demonstrate understanding of the customer, mission, and goals of the contracts EARLY and OFTEN – the “so what factor” Don’t parrot the RFP language – fine line between using key words and parroting the customer Use “anchor” graphic to show or communicate approach – Should replace long and complicated narrative – Show the interconnectedness of multiple tasks (“the big picture”) Develop detail storyboards for each technical section to describe specific steps, processes, procedures, tools, etc. to address RFP requirements 12
Solution Development 13
Sources of Information Proposal reuse from previous proposals – Only effective if the current PWS/SOW is almost the same as the previous – Previous approach may be different for each customer – Use only relevant parts and tailor accordingly Storyboard in addition to reuse Technical Solutioning discussions with SMEs Leveraging Team members 14
Elements of a Storyboard Administrative: Volume, Section #, page allocations, Date, POC, and SMEs RFP References (C, L, M, CDRLs, etc.) Theme Statement (overarching message, “Why Team ABC?”): should claim something that is substantiated by the contents of this section Customer Hot Buttons: Specific issues, concerns, likes, or dislikes of the customer Discriminators: two types 1) Offensive, which is what we have that nobody else has, and 2) Defensive, which is what we have that we must present because the other guys are using it as their discriminator. 15
Elements of a Storyboard (continued) Annotated Section Outline of Approach: outline against RFP sections Features/Innovations & Benefits of Approach/Solution: For each feature/innovation, identify the corresponding benefits to the customer Experience/Success Stories: Cite specific contracts, activities, accomplishments, metrics, awards, customer kudos, etc. Perceived Risks and Mitigation Strategy Graphics 16
Extracting Technical Information and Approach from SMEs Do this via interview, group session, or data call questionnaire Describe the specific steps, processes, procedure, etc. to achieve requirements – Steps, phases, inputs, and outputs – Key performance indicators (KPI) – Detail methodology, framework, etc. – Deliverables, final product, etc. List any dependencies among the tasks Detail the schedule and key milestones Project Risks & Mitigation strategies with success examples Basis of Estimates (BOE) – resources to perform work – Analyze the functional requirements against the solution set – Discuss staffing level of effort based on the functional requirements 17
Graphics Start each major section with a graphic Call Out Box designs should pop off the page Start early in the process and refine Image should complement or replace narrative Reuse graphics as a starting point to save time and resources IF they support your approach and win- themes Make graphics consistent (color scheme, font) Use action captures to describe the benefit or feature of your graphic 18
Leverage Team Member Skills and Resources Have NDA and TAs in place before proposal writing occurs Provide clear assignments and expectations – get buy in first Establish incremental milestones and reviews Leverage Teammate’s experiences and resources – May have specific expertise or customer insight – Help to minimize your B&P cost by using other outside resources from the team 19
Combine with other Proposal Artifacts Schedule Proposal Management Plan Compliance Matrix Annotated Outline Storyboard BOEs 20
Be Persuasive 21
Persuasive Structure in Four Steps 1. Summarize your understanding of customer’s needs 2. Indicate the probably outcomes from taking worthwhile action 3. Recommend solutions to address the needs and delivers results 4. Provide evidence that you are the right choice (e.g., on time, under budget, etc.) and your discriminators 22
Demonstrate Past Performance (proof points) Collect this through team data calls early in the process Sprinkle throughout proposal Use any past performance not referenced in the PP section Use kudos and excerpts from Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS) and Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) Use call out boxes to highlight feature, benefit, or metrics Consider where you have conducted similar work before and the results Wrap up how this solution, delivered by only you will solve the problem End with focus on the client 23
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