Writing RFPs and Evaluating Vendor Proposals

Writing RFPs and Evaluating Vendor Proposals

Rajesh VirkarNational Association for Public Health Statistics

and Information Systems

NAPHSIS-VSCP Joint Meeting, New York, NYJune 8-12, 2003

Theme: Re-engineering

First two days: 67.4% presentations on topics related to re-engineering

MoVERS booth Vendors’ booths … now what?

Using all the information…

Move forward with an RFP RFP template is a deliverable to

SSA on the EDRS project RFP template has been drafted,

and is under review/revision

Making Preparations Decide the focus of the project

Birth, Death, Back Office, etc. Decide overall objectives

All-phases-at-once or One-phase-at-a-time Stakeholders’ input and support If 85-95% requirements are common,

then what are the 5-15% that are unique?

Seek help from partners

Stakeholders For Birth:

Senior management, Jurisdiction office, Local offices, Hospitals, Other Jurisdictional agencies, Federal agencies, Registers of Deeds, etc.

For Death: Senior management, Jurisdiction office,

Local offices, Hospitals, Funeral Directors, ME, Coroners, Other Jurisdictional agencies, Federal agencies, Registers of Deeds, etc.

Help from Partners

Who are your in-state partners in putting together an RFP? Public Health CIO / State CIO IT Support State/Jurisdiction Purchase and

Contracts Office IT / Vital Records Oversight

Committee(s) Attorneys ?

High Level Components of an RFP

General Information and Administrative Requirements

Contract Terms and Conditions Statement of Work Cost Proposal

General Information and Administrative Requirements

Jurisdictional procurement process Administrative requirements Proposal format and content Evaluation process Glossary

Jurisdictional Procurement Process Process description

Issuance of RFP Bidders’ conference Written questions Milestones and Deadlines Evaluation (technical, cost) “Best Value” procurement

Clarifications Protests

Administrative Requirements Communication with the jurisdiction Proposal submission

Exceptions Competitive Offer Cost for Proposal Preparation Time for Acceptance Subcontracting Proprietary Information Historically Underutilized Businesses

Proposal Format and Content Vendor’s organization Vendor’s qualification Subcontractors References Acknowledgement of contract

provisions Detailed statement of work Project plan

Evaluation Process

Proposal format Vendor’s understanding

Vital Records business Challenges

Vendor’s qualifications Adequacy and completeness of the

proposal

Glossary

Explanations of the jurisdictional alphabet soup… Who’s who What’s what

Contract Terms and Conditions Key Personnel Subcontracting Performance and Default Availability of Funds Confidentiality Copyright Access to Books, Persons and Records Compliance with Laws, Rules and

Regulations

Contract Terms and Conditions (cont.)

Advertising Amendments Acts of Insolvency Conduct upon Expiration or

Termination Liquidated Damages Contract Bond Contract Administration and Project

Management

Contract Terms and Conditions (cont.) Contractor’s Project Manager Schedule: Meetings and Progress Reports Delivery and Installation Final Acceptance Training and Documentation Warranties and maintenance Software Licenses Software Source Code Improvements and other Modifications to

Software

Statement of Work Overview of current processes Strategic direction Purpose of contract & Scope Functional requirements Technical standards, guidelines and

requirements Deliverables Project plan

Overview of current processes

Current business processes Problems and challenges facing

vital records Personnel Changing business requirements Contractual obligations The new U.S. standard certificates

Strategic Direction

Automation of Vital Records processes

Restructuring of the workforce Expected effects of re-engineering

on business practices Expected effects of re-engineering

on Vital Records employees Available resources

Purpose of Contract & Scope Purpose of contract

Detailed design Database design Technical specifications Security and integration with other systems Operational support mechanisms Develop, test and install

Scope Multiple phases?

Functional Requirements Controller Diagrams Use Cases Use Case to Actor Matrix Use Case Diagrams Use Case Activity Diagrams System Requirements, Design

Considerations and Business Rules State Diagrams Glossary

Technical Standards, Guidelines and Requirements NAPHSIS EDR Standards and Guidelines NCHS Standards for Data Edits Jurisdictional Technology Standards Data Requirements Interface Requirements OVS Requirements Document Reports and File Extracts Requirements

Deliverables Project Kickoff Document – Baseline

for the project plan If applicable, assessment of vendor’s

product Work Plans Status Reports Enhanced Requirements Document High-Level System Design Document Detailed Design Document

Deliverables (cont.)

Software Development Plan Software Testing Plan System Implementation Plan Historical Data Migration Plan Training Plan Disaster Recovery Plan

Deliverables (cont.) System Documentation

End-User Manual(s) System Administrator Manual(s) (including

backup/recovery management, archival/restore management, etc.)

Warranty Maintenance/Support Help-Desk Support

The System: MoVERS or its components Submission Requirements

Project Plan

Work breakdown structure Timeline Resources

Vendor Jurisdiction (vital records) Jurisdiction (IT)

Cost Proposal General Information

Number of facilities, users, volume of records Cost Responsibilities – Who will pay for what? System Licensing Options

Based on unlimited users Based on concurrent number of users Based on functions and features available at a site

System Pricing (software, hardware, tools)

Post Warranty Maintenance (full, on-call)

Cost Proposal (cont.)

Life cycle cost analysis matrix Phases: Requirements enhancement,

High level design, Detailed design, Development, Testing, Training, Data Migration, Implementation, …

Cost categories: Vendor resources, Jurisdiction resources, Software tools, Equipment, Networking, …

Evaluating Vendor Proposals

Proposal evaluation committee Decide evaluation criteria Assign weights Combine scores Follow-up

Criteria for Vendor Evaluation Ability to Complete Statement of Work Clarity and Conciseness of Proposal Corporate Background Corporate Experience (prior experience

and references) Cost Financial Information Fit with Technical Architecture

(database and network)

Criteria for Vendor Evaluation (cont.)

Hardware and Software Functionality

Product Demonstration Quality of the Project Plan Support and Training System Ease of Use Understanding Requirements

Evaluating Vendor(s)

Follow-up meetings/demos for top 2 or 3 vendors

Negotiate towards the final bid Sign contract …”May the Force Be With You!”

Contact Information

NAPHSIS Ken Beam, Executive Director:

kbeam@naphsis.org, (301)563-6008

Next…

For the South Dakota RFP Experience, Kathi Mueller

Manager, Data, Statistics and Vital Records

State Registrar Award Winner!