Architecture
- What are the specifications for the system architecture?
- What are the specifications for the network architecture?
- What are the specifications for the hardware architecture?
- What are the specifications for the software architecture?
- What is the information model?
- What are the specifications for the database architecture?
- What are the benefits to the customer of your architectures?
- How do you architectural plans account for future needs?
- What standards do your architectural plans comply with?
Supply Chain
- What kind of relationships do you have with your suppliers?
- How will you manage your supply chain?
- What will you keep in inventory?
- How will you stock it?
- Where will you warehouse the inventory?
Support
- How will you provide support?
- What capacity will it have?
- How will you track issues?
- What is your response time for problems?
- How will you manage issue escalation?
- Will you provide a call center?
- Will you provide a self-service facility?
- What support will you provide on-site?
- What support will you provide off-site?
- How will you determine whether to fix or replace a defective component?
Knowledge Management and Data Warehousing
- What data will be collected for knowledge management and data warehousing?
- How will data be collected?
- What formats will data be collected and stored in?
- Will data/records conversion be required?
- What types of analysis will be performed?
- How will you identify best practice documents?
- How will you disseminate best practice knowledge?
- What is your plan for records management?
- How will records be defined, identified, or received?
- How will records be disposed of after they are digitized?
- What is your archival plan for digital records?
- What is your disposition plan for digital records?
- Who is responsible for knowledge/records management?
- How will the customer benefit from your knowledge management/data warehousing approach?
- How will your approach enable you to better leverage lessons learned?
- How will your knowledge management approach promote organizational learning and understanding?
- How will your knowledge management approach lower training costs?
- How will your knowledge management approach provide access to newer and better information?
- How will your knowledge management approach contribute to faster/better decision making?
Tools
- How will the customer benefit from the tools that you will use?
- What tools will you use for development?
- What tools will you use for computer aided design?
- What tools will you use for workflow?
- What tools will you use for configuration management?
- What tools will you use for process automation/management?
- What tools will you use for program management?
- What tools will you use for collaboration?
- What tools will you use for budgeting?
- What tools will you use for record keeping/Time keeping?
- What tools will you use for tracking systems
- What tools will you use for customer relationship management?
- What tools will you use for document/knowledge management?
Techniques
- What formal methodologies will you employ?
- What documented processes/procedures will you follow?
- Will you perform any process re-engineering?
- Will you perform any reverse engineering?
- Will you use any design aids/techniques such as Unified Modeling Language (UML)?
- Will you use any documentation aids/techniques such as psuedo-code?
- Will you use any job aids?
- How will you maintain process documentation?
- How will you maintain configuration management?
Standards and Certifications
- Are you ISO 9000 certified?
- Are you certified at any Capability Maturity Model (CMM) levels?
- Does your company have any other certifications to cite?
- Does the staff being bid have any relevant certifications to cite?
- Will you use any specific Application Program Interfaces?
- What published standards will you comply with?
- Does the customer have any documented standards or procedures to comply with?
Safety
- What safety precautions may be required on this project?
- What is the process for reporting an accident?
- How will you recognize safety hazards and respond?
- Will you provide safety training?
- What safety records will you keep?
- How will be responsible for ensuring safety?
- How will the customer benefit from your approach to managing safety issues?
Capacity issues
- What types of capacities are important to this project?
- How did you arrive at the projected capacities?
- How do you measure capacity requirements?
- How will you model performance metrics?
- How will you forecast workload requirements?
- What is your plan for handling the projected capacities?
- What is your plan for handling peak and valley work load requirements?
- How will you achieve the necessary scalability?
- How will you anticipate and accommodate for changes in capacities?
Deliverables
- What deliverables will you produce? (provide a table)
- What is the benefit to the customer for each deliverable?
- Is the scope of each deliverable sufficiently defined?
- Are the completion points for each deliverable clear?
- Can you provide samples of deliverables?
- Does the format of the deliverables fit their intended purposes?
- How will you manage the production of deliverables?
- Are there any specific requirements that deliverables must comply with?
- What media should be used for deliverables?
- Are there any compatibility requirements for data deliverables?
- What standards will be used to evaluate the quality of deliverables?
- What is the review/acceptance process for each deliverable?
- How will you maintain deliverables after initial production?
By Carl Dickson, Founder of CapturePlanning.com and PropLIBRARY