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July 30, 2004

The Importance of an Outline

Occasionally I get a client who can't understand why they should take the time to prepare an outline of their proposal response. "The outline is right there in the RFP," they say. Or, "we already know what we are going to write -- it's all right here" (tapping their heads). Or, "we don't have time to do an outline, we've got to write the proposal." While I do my best to convince these clients that they really ought to do an outline or have me do one for them, some of them are just determined to proceed without one. And these are the folks who later find themselves in a heap of trouble. Instead of saving time and money, they end up spending more of it in order to fix the mess they've made.

So why do an outline, anyway?

  1. It helps you organize your entire proposal, including both your cost and technical proposals.
  2. It helps you organize your thoughts about what you want to address or include in each section of your proposal.
Outlines can range from very simple (one or two levels) to very complex (4+ levels). Three levels are often sufficient. Here is a pared-down example of one section of an outline that I prepared recently:

I. TECHNICAL/MANAGEMENT PROPOSAL - 50 pages

   A. Executive Summary - 2 pages
   B. Table of Contents
   C. List of Figures
   D. Introduction - 3 pages
   E. Overview of Objectives, Background, and Approach - 2 pages
   F. Special Topics - 8 pages

      1. Management Aspects

         (a) Corporate Organization and Experience: Provide the general background, experience, and qualifications of the organization. Provide a list of previous or ongoing Government or non-Government contracts, subcontracts, or grants, similar or related in scope, magnitude, and complexity. Provide a general description of the work performed and describe how the work is related to the requirements of the RFP - 5 pages

         (b) Project Organization: Organization chart and discussion of how project is organized - 2 pages

      2. Schedule (Gantt chart) - 1 page

It takes practice to become proficient at outlining, and a good outline -- one that you are satisfied with -- can take some time to prepare. But it is also important to note that your outline may change over the course of the proposal as you see how the various pieces are flowing and fitting together.



Posted by Deborah at July 30, 2004 04:31 PM





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