Deck 3: Developing Project Proposals

Question 1

If there is high risk for the success of a project, the contractor should include a cost-reimbursement plan in their cost section if the RFP did not specify a contract type.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Successful contract opportunities are grounded in relationships.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

A contractor should bid on RFPs where there is little or no competition and avoid ones where they might have a competitor bid on the project.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

The reputation of the company that announced the RFP should be evaluated as a factor as well as the reputation of the contractor when making a bid or no-bid decision.

Question 5

A contractor should make a no-bid decision for a project that would not be consistent the contractor's business mission.

Question 6

Good pre-RFP marketing helps a contractor to know if funds will be available for a project in an RFP.

Question 7

Always put the client first.

Question 8

It is unethical to submit an unsolicited proposal to a customer.

Question 9

Taking credit for outcomes that others have accomplished is a way to build yourself for others to respect you.

Question 10

A contractor should avoid no-bid decisions.

Question 11

An RFP says that the contract planned is to be fixed price. The project is well-defined and low risk. The contractor should bid based upon the contract type and risk level.

Question 12

Waiting to develop a proposal until an RFP is announced is important to be sure all the information is available.

Question 13

Contractors interested in submitting a proposal in response to an RFP must be realistic about the probability of being selected as the winning contractor.

Question 14

It is unfair to receive a noncompetitive contract with a customer that was thinking about developing an RFP.

Question 15

The cost of developing a proposal should be added in as a direct expense in the budget for a proposal.

Question 16

Helping customers identify needs, even if they are needs your company cannot help them address, is a way to position your company to win future contracts.

Question 17

A contractor's pre-RFP/proposal efforts are crucial to establishing the foundation for eventually winning a contract from the customer.

Question 18

You learn more by telling than by listening.

Question 19

Establishing and building trust is key to developing effective and successful relationships with clients and partners.

Question 20

It is ok to use foul language, slang, and jargon with clients. Especially when they are using them.

Question 21

The proposal should include a lengthy, detailed list of activities to show planning has been well thought out by the contractor.

Question 22

Submitting a proposal that meets the customer's statement of work and requirements is all that is needed to secure a contract.

Question 23

A complex proposal is a technical report with charts and figures to explain the approach.

Question 24

The bid or no-bid decision is made on the capability to develop a quality proposal as well as the capability to complete the project if the contractor wins the bid.

Question 25

If the RFP format requirement states a page limit, the customer can reject a proposal that exceeds the page limit without any further review.

Question 26

Proposals must be realistic in terms of the proposed scope, cost, and schedule in the eyes of the customer.

Question 27

Developing a large proposal is a project.

Question 28

A specific proposed solution should be suggested for the customer's need.

Question 29

Proposals that promise too much or are overly optimistic may seem believable and support that the contractor understands what needs to be done and how to do it.

Question 30

A proposal manager is required to have a consistent, comprehensive proposal by the due date in the RFP.

Question 31

Including complicated graphics in a proposal demonstrates a contractor's advanced skill and shows specific technical expertise.

Question 32

Specific criteria listed in the RFP should be restated in the proposal to reinforce to the customer that the contractor understands the requirements.

Question 33

A contractor should only respond to RFPs if they have the required resources already on their staff.

Question 34

A bid/no-bid checklist helps a contractor to decide whether to submit a proposal in response to an RFP.

Question 35

It is important to emphasize the unique features that differentiate the contractor from other contractors.

Question 36

Key partners and subcontractors can help win a project for a contractor by complementing the contractor's expertise.

Question 37

The length of the proposal is not as important as the quality of the information contained in the proposal.

Question 38

The customer selects the proposal that it expects will provide the best value.

Question 39

A customer uses a request for proposal to solicit bids and then award a noncompetitive contract.

Question 40

Quantitative and qualitative benefits to the customer should be stated to help convince the customer of the value of the proposed result.

Question 41

A desired profit is added after calculating all the direct and indirect costs for a project.

Question 42

A contractor that is entering a similar but new field should plan a smaller profit to increase chances of winning the project.

Question 43

Documentation deliverables are sometimes shown as separate costs in the project cost estimate.

Question 44

Special facilities for a project are a project cost and should be included in the project cost estimates for the proposal.

Question 45

If a customer has stated the budget in the RFP, the customer might reject proposals that have cost estimates greater than the budget without further review of the proposal.

Question 46

For projects that are new and have high risk, the contractor should include larger amounts of contingency.

Question 47

A ballpark estimate is acceptable for the proposal. There will be time to figure out the budget after the contract is won.

Question 48

It is good practice to have the person who will be responsible for the major work tasks estimate the associated costs.

Question 49

Equipment that is included in the project costs are those required by the project.

Question 50

Local travel is usually not included in the project costs.

Question 51

Contractors may outsource some of the work to subcontractors or consultants to perform certain project tasks.

Question 52

Indirect costs of doing business are included in proposals where the customer permits the charging of indirect costs.

Question 53

The objective of the cost section of the contractor proposal is to convince the customer that the contractor's price for the proposed project is realistic and reasonable.

Question 54

Management reserves are the estimated costs to cover unexpected situations.

Question 55

By participating in pre-RFP meetings, a contractor may gain budget intelligence and be able to submit a project proposal with a more appropriate level of effort expected.

Question 56

Historical data can be used to guide estimating costs for a proposed project.

Question 57

The schedule can include times for major tasks and key milestones to show sequence and interdependencies of the tasks.

Question 58

Costs of escalation are costs associated with the increased costs for materials and wages in a long term project.

Question 59

Realistic estimated hours and hourly labor rate for each person or classification is included in the cost section.

Question 60

Inclusion of an organization chart or assigned responsibility is helpful for the customer to evaluate the expertise of the project staff.

Question 61

Changes can be initiated by the customer or be proposed by the contractor. Some changes may necessitate a change in price (increase or decrease); others may not.

Question 62

The customer will pay the contractor a bonus if the project is completed ahead of schedule or exceeds other customer performance requirements.

Question 63

Project proposals are evaluated with a standard set of criteria.

Question 64

The amount of profit on a project is adjusted depending upon the amount of competition for a project.

Question 65

Contractors measure the success of their proposal efforts by the number of times their proposals are selected by customers and/or by the total dollar value of their proposals that are selected.

Question 66

Contractors must continue to be proactive after submitting a proposal by contacting the customer to ensure the RFP has been received and answer any questions.

Question 67

The contractor needs to obtain advance approval from the customer before hiring a subcontractor to perform a project task.

Question 68

At times, patents that may result from performing the project.

Question 69

All changes must be documented and approved by the contractor's project team before they are incorporated into the project.

Question 70

Contracts for projects that are done for a foreign customer or are conducted in part in a foreign country do not require the contractor to make certain accommodations.

Question 71

The win ratio is the percentage of the number of proposals a contractor won out of the total number of proposals the contractor submitted to various customers over a particular time period.

Question 72

As soon as a contractor finds out it is the winner, it can start working on the project.

Question 73

The customer can terminate the contract according to requirements in the contract.

Question 74

Responding to follow-up communications may be viewed as an unfair advantage for contractors.

Question 75

The contractor must notify the customer immediately of any actual or anticipated cost savings or schedule delays.

Question 76

The customer will make payments to the contractor according to the payment schedule in the contract.

Question 77

It is illegal for the contractor to overstate the hours or costs.

Question 78

For clarification on a specific proposal, a customer may send a list of questions to be answered.

Question 79

One party is prohibited from disclosing confidential information, technologies, or processes utilized by the other party during the project to anyone else or using it for any purpose other than work on the project.

Question 80

By having a customer supply schedule, the contractor is protected from incurring schedule slippage caused by customer delays in furnishing information, parts, or other items.