Category: RFPs

One last step in simplifying bid documents: testing the response instructions to be sure they’re complete, clear, and consistent.

Three ways to use visuals to simplify bid documents: use a picture (e.g. for a schedule), use a form (e.g. for experience details), use a spreadsheet (e.g. for bidders’ questions on the RFP).

Think about the critical-path order of all questions: What do you need to know first? The organization example given here illustrates an entirely preventable problem: The order of the questions doesn’t help evaluators understand the answers.

This second in my series for procurement professionals focuses on remembering “what you want” – and asking for just that, just as specifically as you can.

Three practical suggestions for improving bid documents and, by extension, the bids received: say it once, ask just once, and use one word for one concept.