COMMENTARY
of fifth-generation fighter aircraft. While Boeing is still build- ing older, fourth-generation F-15 and F-18 aircraft, Lockheed, with a trained workforce and already-developed intellectual property and software, is uniquely positioned to be ready for a sixth-generation program should one develop. RFPs for these generational-type systems are often designated as must-wins for a company because a loss has such far-reaching potential busi- ness effects. Must-win proposals have virtually unlimited budgets and are carefully managed. (Whether this is a good thing for the government is another column.)
Te proposal manager backward-plans a proposed delivery sched- ule based on the submission due date. Planning estimates are measured by the individual writer in pages, by section, by day. Proposal sections are combined to construct volumes (or books) with the overall number of pages set by Section L of the RFP. (Section L is the part of the RFP that contains instructions, condi- tions and notices to offerors or respondents.) Given the relatively short turnaround time between RFP release and submission of proposals, actual solution development must start early in the pre-RFP process. RFP turnaround times are measured in weeks, or maybe a month or two.
Solution development is executed like an actual project, only accelerated. Costs and schedules must be estimated. Risk assess- ments are ongoing. Proposal team members are gearing up for 12- to 16-hour days to stay on schedule. Te crunch can be even worse when the government releases an RFP shortly before a major holiday.
WRITING THE FIRST (AND THE SECOND AND THIRD ... ) DRAFTS Writing the proposal is the nuts and bolts of developing it. Experts across the proposal sections are sequestered in the proposal devel- opment center or another dedicated space so they can focus on the writing as well as collaborate with other team members. Speed is of the essence. Bigger, more complex proposals often require people from outside the central organization to join the team, which complicates this process.
Four key metrics drive industry: orders, sales, EBIT and cash.
Key initial activities include developing and approving story- boards and identifying graphics, while always checking the rules in Section L of the RFP. Te prime directive for the team at this point is to get something on paper for editing and revisions, and the pressure is significant. Everyone knows that the best propos- als, much like academic work, come from constant revision.
Short timelines, tension and the complexity of answering RFPs often cause real problems on a team. I have worked on proposal teams where we had to physically separate engineers after disagreements on the finer points of the technology. An oft- repeated phrase around the proposal center goes, “Tell them what they (the government) want to hear—not what you want to tell them.” Tat is harder to do than it sounds. Hours turn into days into weeks and so on. For the many people writing a proposal, their world becomes focused on two things: writing deliverables and making sure these products conform precisely to require- ments stated in the RFP.
QUALITY CONTROL AND A METRIC FOR PROGRESS Whatever the differences among different companies’ proposal processes, most use a series of reviews, generically referred to as color teams, because of their designation. Part of the planning process is establishing and scheduling the color teams. While varying from company to company, teams execute a series of events shown in Table 1, Page 142.
A Red Team review is the big event for proposal developers. It is a complete review of the technical and management volumes from the government evaluator’s perspective. Te Red Team simulates the government evaluation board process as best it can, and its end state is the identification of issues the team believes require improvement. Once the proposal has gotten past the Red Team, the pressure to get it fixed, completed and out the door drives everything the proposal manager does.
DELIVERED, AT LAST Te last step (which is actually a series of steps) before a proposal can be delivered is to gain the necessary internal approvals. Te approvals range from the technical solution to the cost. Most proposal managers engage the company leadership throughout the process because no one wants to be surprised.
While the proposal manager is finalizing the proposal, functional managers are meeting with the company president or their busi- ness unit brass for final approvals. If the proposal manager is lucky, this last approval meeting occurs well before the required
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