Chapter 16
Proposal Production
Proposal production refers to the collective tasks necessary to format, edit, organize, publish, copy, package, and deliver a proposal to the customer. It is best performed by experienced, well-trained production professionals. Mistakenly viewed by some as a low-level clerical function, proposal production is a critical part of the overall proposal development process. A well-oiled and well-managed production capability staffed with experienced professionals can help you gain competitive advantage. At the other end of the spectrum, a poorly managed and inadequately staffed production team can be a burdensome millstone.
Two general factors contribute to the importance of proposal production. First, a good production team can maximize the amount of time proposal authors have to prepare, modify, and polish their final product. For proposals, time is more valuable than gold. Giving the proposal team more time to perform their tasks will contribute immeasurably to proposal quality.
Second, the production team is largely responsible for the overall appearance of the final product delivered to the customer. Submitting a proposal that looks as if it was prepared by a group of disinterested teenagers will not win you any points with government evaluators. Sloppy format; failure to follow RFP instructions; typographical, spelling, or grammatical errors; inaccurate references, page numbers, or figure references; missing information; wrong file formats, etc., all contribute to the overall appearance of your proposal.
The statement that you have only one chance to make a good first impression is trite, but true. In fact, it may be doubly true for proposals.
It is the role of the production team to ensure that you make a good first impression with the customer. As you work to maximize the time available for the proposal team, you must also ensure that production personnel have sufficient time to perform their jobs.
PRODUCTION ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT
The proposal administrator is responsible for proposal production. He or she works directly for the proposal manager. In small companies, or on small proposals, the administrator may perform most of the formatting and production tasks, with assistance from other trained staff. If your organization has a separate publications department or production group, the administrator will serve as the primary interface between the proposal team and the production team.
The size and composition of the production team will vary according to the size and complexity of the proposal, the proposal schedule, and other competing production projects. At a minimum, you will need someone to help format and produce the proposal, an editor, and a graphic artist.
To develop a production approach and staffing plan, consider the following production tasks that must be performed:
Proposal formatting to comply with Section L instructions
Preparation of graphs, illustrations, and photographs
Electronic and hard copy configuration management and version control
Word processing to integrate text and graphics
Preparation or acquisition of proposal covers, spines, and tabs for hard copy proposals
Development of tables of contents, figures, and tables, plus acronym list or other lists
Proofreading of text and graphics
Reproduction of hard copy proposal material
Collation and assembly (such as three-ring binders), including placing covers, spines, and tabs into binders
Final quality assurance check for hard copy material
Preparation of electronic version of proposal and electronic quality assurance check
Packaging of proposal for delivery to customer
Completion of specific bid forms and packaging labels
Email delivery, overnight shipping, or hand-delivery of proposal.
Completing all these tasks in the shortest time possible, while maintaining a high-quality product, can be a formidable challenge. Take too much time for production, and you shortchange the proposal team. Squeeze production time too hard, and you run the risk of delivering a shoddy product. Neither outcome is acceptable. So the key is balance and disciplined management. Here are some guidelines for managing this process.
During the first draft, authors should not worry about formatting or other production issues. They need to concentrate on their assigned tasks. Identify required graphics early and have them prepared concurrently with the first draft (at least before the red team review). Use “waterfall” schedules for each individual proposal section to maintain the fluidity of proposal production. As the author completes each section, it is passed to production for formatting, integration, and editing.
After the red team review, again build individual schedules for each proposal section. Based on the red team results, you will be able to determine which sections need the most work and which need the least. Schedule the sections that require the least amount of work to be completed first. Those that require significant rework are scheduled last. As the author completes each proposal section, it moves to production, where it undergoes all the steps necessary to produce a final document. This enables each proposal section to be processed and produced individually. It also allows the greatest amount of time to work on the sections that require the most work. As authors complete their proposal assignments, they can help with production tasks or go back to their day jobs.
There are some limits on how far you can go with this approach. In most cases you will not be able to number the pages until a major portion or volume is complete. If you are fighting page-count problems, you may need to leave a major section, or the entire volume, open until you solve the problem. Nonetheless, you can perform all the editing, proofreading, and quality assurance checks for each section. Also make sure you leave at least one full day (24 hours) to complete the final quality checks, assemble the proposal, and package it for shipping.
Another potential barrier to using a waterfall scheduling approach comes from organizations that have a separate publications department. Such departments often perform the production and publication services for the entire company. To manage their workload, they require that a complete product be delivered before they start production. In such cases, it is not unusual for the production group to ask for five to seven days to produce your proposal. This makes great sense for the production group, but it could spell disaster for your proposal. Using 15 percent or more of the time available to produce your proposal gives the competitive advantage to bidders that are more efficient.
Several solutions are possible. First, you can start your proposal early enough and manage it so that you have ample time left over to meet the production group’s schedule. Personally, I would rather eat a grub worm than let the production group dictate the proposal schedule, but you probably do not have the option of dictating schedule.
A second option is to create a special proposal production group apart from, or as a subset of, the company’s production group. This group would work alongside your proposal team and support a waterfall production schedule. They would receive special training in proposal production and be assigned to the proposal team to accomplish production tasks. Such a group can be assembled or supplemented with outside personnel. In fact, I recommend that you maintain a cadre of qualified and experienced freelance production personnel to help supplement your in-house capability. Maintain a list of prequalified local freelance graphic artists, word processing operators, editors, and proofreaders to call on during peak periods.
Some will argue that a separate proposal production group undermines the cost-effectiveness of having a centralized publication capability. That is a vacant argument, however. Spending a few extra dollars to improve proposal win probability will prove to be one of the most cost-effective moves your company ever makes.
PROPOSAL CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT
Configuration management covers control of both the different versions of proposal documents and the authorized changes to those documents. Everyone on the proposal team must be able to identify the most current version of each proposal section. Few things are more disheartening than to work all day on a proposal section only to find out that it is last week’s version.
Having computers networked via a local area network or comparable system simplifies proposal configuration management. It is also an absolute necessity for preparing government proposals. No one can afford not to work on networked computers. Therefore, this section assumes you have a computer network with individual access to centralized file directories.
There are many ways to implement proposal configuration management. Commercially available software tools can be used to perform this function. The following is a system I have found effective.
Create a separate file directory for the proposal. Limit directory access to people assigned to the proposal or set up a password. Build subdirectories for each proposal volume and major proposal section. You can use the paragraph number derived from the proposal outline and contained in the author guide to identify each individual proposal section or subsection. Save the first-draft proposal write-up by using a filename consisting of the proposal paragraph number, a short heading, and a version number. For example:
1.2.3 Program Management v.1
Structure all the files in the proposal directory as “read only” files. When a change is made to the original file, it is saved with the next higher version number. For example:
1.2.3 Program Management v.2
Because the files are read-only, no one can make a change and then save the file with the original file name. The version number lets you know the latest version. If you wish, you can ask authors to add their initials to the end of the version number:
1.2.3 Program Management v.2 SRO
This system lets you identify the latest version. It also maintains all previous versions so you can go back and see what has been changed.
To further help with version control, put a time and date stamp in the header or footer of draft documents. This is a simple process and is a selectable feature in word processing software.
Separate subdirectories can be created to store and manage proposal documents through the different phases or milestones of proposal development and production. Here is a candidate list of proposal subdirectories:
01 1st Draft
02 1st Draft Edited
03 2nd Draft
04 2nd Draft Edited
05 Ready for Red Team
06 Post-Red Team
07 Post-Red Team Edited
08 Final Edit
09 Final Proposal.
Numbering each subdirectory will enable you to maintain the order in which subdirectories occur in the file listing if you use a Microsoft Windows operating environment. Also, plan to create a separate set of subdirectory files for each proposal volume. You can develop a similar scheme to handle configuration management of proposal documents like the proposal requirements document or the proposal outline.
First-draft proposal documents are stored in the “first draft” subdirectory. Once a first-draft proposal document has been edited, it can be stored in the 1st Draft Edited subdirectory. Older versions of the document are moved to an archived directory to avoid confusion. Version numbers continue to be changed each time the document is changed so the highest version number is always the most recent version. Eventually, each proposal section will end up in the Final Proposal subdirectory.
Limiting access to the proposal during its final stages of development is an important configuration control technique. You do not want everyone to be able to make changes. Some network systems have the ability to limit directory access according to user name. This is the easiest method. As the proposal nears completion, limit access to those authorized to make changes. If your network system does not have this capability, you will need to devise a password system to limit access. You can also tell the proposal team not to make any changes unless the proposal manager specifically authorizes them, but this does not always work.
CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT OF GRAPHICS
The same method can be used to control the configuration of proposal graphics. Create a separate read-only graphics directory for each proposal volume. Assign each graphic a unique control number and version number. Each time the graphic is changed, it is stored in the graphics directory with the next higher version number. Include the control number within the graphic itself using a very small font.
When authors reference a graphic in the proposal, have them include the graphic control number. For example:
Figure 1.2.3-1 (00181) depicts our systems engineering process.
The italicized number in parentheses is the control number. This number remains constant despite changes to the figure reference caused by proposal revisions. The control number can be removed from the proposal once all final revisions are complete.
INTERNAL DOCUMENTATION STANDARDS
It is worthwhile to develop and maintain a standard proposal publication guide that defines basic style and format for company proposals. This guide can be derived from your company publications handbook if one exists. Otherwise, you can develop your own. The production group, working with the business development staff, should develop and maintain format and style standards. This will ensure consistent presentation of a uniform company image.
Several writing, editorial, and proofreading standards can be used to develop a format and style guide. These include the United States Government Printing Office Style Manual and the Supplement to the United States Government Printing Office Style Manual. Both documents are available online.
The formatting instructions provided in Section L of the RFP define basic format. However, a standard style and format guide can be used to assist proposal authors, proposal reviewers, and production staff in working toward a consistent style and presentation structure. In addition, the proposal administrator should develop a list of RFP-specific terms to be used in your proposal. Proposal writers and publication staff can use this list to capitalize, hyphenate, and abbreviate terms according to a set of predefined standards consistent with the style and format your customer uses.
HARD COPY AND ELECTRONIC PROPOSAL SUBMITTAL
Many federal agencies require bidders to submit both hard copy and electronic (e.g., email, CD-ROM) versions of their proposal. These same agencies also evaluate proposals electronically. Eventually, hard copy proposals will disappear, and we will deliver all of our proposals over the Internet. Until then, here are some tips to help you avoid costly mistakes:
Provide your proposal in the specific version of the software application requested by the RFP, on the requested medium, and in the correct format. Government agencies often use older versions of software that are not capable of opening documents prepared with more recent versions.
Use the filenames specified by the RFP, and do not submit both your technical and cost proposals on the same CD-ROM unless specifically authorized by the government contracting officer.
If your proposal contains complex or color graphics, make sure they will not bog down the government’s computers. I know of an instance where government evaluators were using antiquated computers with limited memory to evaluate proposals. One of the bidders submitted a proposal with graphics that routinely took three to five minutes to open. Not good!
Be mindful of how your proposal will look on a computer monitor versus in a hard copy version. This might affect some basic proposal formatting decisions and how you construct graphics. If possible, avoid using oversized pages for illustrations. They are practically impossible to view on standard monitors.
If you are delivering your proposal via overnight mail, send two separate packages, each with a different carrier. This is cheap backup protection against a late delivery that could eliminate you from the competition. Just let the contracting officer know in advance and ask the contracting officer to either return or destroy the backup copy of your proposal.
Verify the delivery address for overnight mail deliveries. Sometimes this is different from the address for hand deliveries or regular mail deliveries. Bidders have been eliminated when they failed to deliver their proposal by the time and date specified by the RFP because they sent their proposal to the wrong address.
FINAL QUALITY ASSURANCE CHECK
Plan to conduct a final quality assurance check before submitting your proposal to the customer. If time permits, perform a final proofreading of the entire proposal to detect and correct any remaining typographical and spelling errors. Also, have someone check each copy of the proposal to:
Verify the number of hard copy proposals to be submitted.
Check filenames to verify that they correspond to those specified by the RFP if an electronic copy is being submitted. Label the CD. Verify that the electronic copy opens properly.
Proof volume cover pages and spines.
Verify that each volume has a table of contents, lists of figures and tables, plus any other required information, such as an acronym list.
Check each page for overall appearance. Look for improperly printed pages, smudges, and consecutive page numbers. Make sure that no pages are missing.
Verify that all required attachments are included and submitted in the proper proposal volume.
Verify that any RFP-required binding or proposal assembly instructions have been followed, such as submitting each volume separately in a three-ring binder.
Check anything that could affect the appearance of your proposal and verify that all RFP instructions concerning proposal organization and packaging have been followed.
Allot one day of your proposal schedule to perform a final quality assurance check and to package the proposal for delivery to the customer.
Use proposal production as a vehicle to gain competitive advantage in an area that generally receives very little attention. Establish and maintain a proposal production capability to maximize the time available to work on your proposal and to prepare a professional-looking document that will favorably impress your customer. Prequalify and maintain a cadre of contract production personnel to fill staffing shortfalls and to supplement the talents of your in-house production capability. Implement a disciplined process to manage the configuration of proposal preparation documents and proposal material. Conduct a final quality assurance check of the proposal before it is submitted to your customer.
Avoid the common pitfall of viewing proposal production personnel as simple clerks or low-level administrative hacks. They are an important part of the proposal team and play a critical role in the proposal development process.