Guide to Writing a Request For Proposal (RFP) For Software Development

It’s no longer a secret that COVID-2019 has triggered a global spike in the business world. The pandemic has forced entrepreneurs, as well as established businesses, to move online. Every company has to develop a software version of itself. For that, founders turn to software development agencies. 

However, the most difficult part of going online is not developing a website or any other software. It’s a challenge to find the appropriate outsourcing partner to perform the job. 

One way to do this right is to get proposals from software development companies. This is where a Request For Proposal (RFP) comes in hot. 

The first obvious question is ‘What is a request for proposal?’ As follows, an RFP is the first document you need before approaching software development agencies. RFP for software development contains all significant details related to your project. It helps to ensure a mutually beneficial relationship with the software development partner. 

If you’re wondering how not to lose in the race of getting the best software provider with your software RFP, you’ll not go back empty-handed after this article. Here, we discuss why RFP is important, the steps to writing a software request, and tips for a well-written RFP. 

Request for Proposal For Software: What, Why and Who

Let's begin with the request for proposal definition. An RFP is a document that contains all your requirements and expectations from collaborating with a software development partner. In other words, it is a ground for a successful partnership between your business and a software outsourcing company. So, RFPs are so-called mediums that help interpret, address, and understand the requirements of your project. 

As we have mentioned, software RFPs include all the project requirements, but who exactly gathers the specifications and writes the RFP document? There’s a separate specialist who creates such a document in an ideal world. But in the case of startups, founders, CEOs, and product owners write software development RFP or even request for proposal website design. 

Crucial Steps in Writing Request for Proposal

A concise and well-composed software request will secure your company's chances to get a quality vendor and diminish the time you wait for the submitted bids. 

In information technology request for proposal writing process can seem daunting and may require additional preparation and research. But it becomes pretty easy and understandable when you do everything in steps. There’re only six of steps in request for proposal process flow: 

1. Listing business requirements
2. Creating the RFP document
3. Primary evaluation
4. Follow Up
5. Final evaluation
6. Writing, reviewing, and signing the contract

Listing business requirements

You should keep in mind your business to get started with a request for proposal software development document. A clear and concise description of your business goals is half of success in finding the right software development partner. By stating your requirements accurately, you let the vendors understand your idea and ways of its implementation. 

So, the information you list during the first step influences how the whole request for proposal process will go. When gathering the data and specifications for vendors, make sure you take into account four elements, notably purpose, goals, evaluation/acceptance criteria, and extra requests. They allow software development agencies to provide you with effective responses on each point. 

Purpose

What first comes to your mind when you’re talking about your project? What is its purpose? Does your project help to solve someone’s issue? This information is crucial for setting the right expectations from the very beginning and assuring that you get software development proposals only from qualified vendors. 

But let us give you an example. So, imagine two situations. 

In the first case, you state that your project is a management platform for hospitals. It has to streamline document processing and make the life of patients easier by allowing them to skip filling in numerous paper forms. 

Yet, in the second situation, you mention in your request for proposal for software development that you want to develop an app for your business. And that’s it! You don’t think that information about your idea is relevant, and you miss it. 

Obviously, the first request for proposal (RFP) will receive more responses and more qualified service providers.

Goals 

Then, you explain how you want to solve a particular problem, and it implies your goals. Ask yourself what do you want to acquire by making this project real. What does the desired outcome look like? 

Most importantly, outline the role of the vendor in helping you achieve your business goals. In such a way, the software development company will be aware of how you see the partnership and can evaluate its opportunities for implementing your project. 

Evaluation/Acceptance Criteria

The definition of acceptance criteria helps you filter vendors according to your priorities. The main question you ask yourself during this step is: what information will be crucial for my decision? 

If you have limited funding, you’ll probably be most concerned about the price and overall cost of the project. 

Still, if you want to go live in three months, the speed of execution will be more critical for your software request. The availability, technical specifications, and user experience can also be essential things to consider. 

Extra requests 

In your request for proposal doc, you can also mention any additional requirements that you’d like to have in your solution later. It is not an obligatory thing, but it can help you improve your view of a vendor’s proposal. For instance, you can include your requests on what the design should look like in a beta version. 

Creating the document

As follows, an RFP for software development contains information about your business, goals, and questions to the vendor who will submit a bid. While there are RFPs that have dozens of questions for the service provider, it’s more efficient to keep the questions short and simple. Such an approach helps decrease the time of receiving bids and prevents qualified vendors from declining your software request. Who wants to answer numerous questions? Right, no one! 

First, start crafting messages in a “yes or no” format as it helps to filter the unqualified service providers. Then, include open-text questions to discover the supplier’s vision and approach. Here’s a brief list of such qualifying questions: 

• What is your development and implementation process?
• Could you provide case studies and customer reviews? 
• What similar projects did you create? 
• Who are your competitors?
• Could you please describe your less successful project? What went wrong?

Besides, if you want to check whether the service provider is a pro in your field, ask industry-related questions. For example, you aim to develop a telemedicine app, so ask questions about HIPPA and GDPR compliance. 

Primary Evaluation of Software Proposals

After you’ve received bids from the suppliers, the initial evaluation can start. The purpose of this stage is to filter the subset of qualified service providers.

To finish the qualification process, you compare the vital factors to supplier strengths, decline weak or unqualified proposals, and determine the differentiation criteria. 

During this stage, try to dig deeper into the questions. We’ve prepared a list you can use to make sure you choose only the right fits:

• Did you receive an accurate bid from the vendor in time? 
• Are all of your questions properly answered? 
• Does the vendor have experience working in the same industry? Does the vendor have the same projects in the portfolio? 
• How long has the supplier been in the market? 
• Is the vendor able to grow and meet your requirements when your product scales?

Follow Up

After you’ve completed the preliminary evaluation and shortlisted the qualified vendors, the finish line is about to be reached. 

During the follow-up stage, the software RFP issuer engages with the chosen suppliers, asks in-depth questions that focus on critical factors (price, speed, availability, etc.), defines the weighted scoring RFP process, and requests a proposal presentation or demo session. 

Final evaluation of Software Proposals

This is the part where you make the decision. By this time, you have compared each service provider, finished the scoring process, discussed your choice with other stakeholders, and are ready to step ahead. 

However, if you are not sure and need one more interview to reach a consensus, don’t hesitate to schedule it. In most cases, this last call helps to address all lingering questions. 

Writing, reviewing, and signing the contract

After you’ve got it licked and happily chosen your software development partner, it’s high time for documenting the requirements of web development request for proposal, bid, and other information you consider essential. For this, you sign a Statement of Work (SoW).

Here, you can find how to write an SoW document and plan the future execution of your project in it. 

Request for Proposal Format and Structure

Company Description

While it may seem easy to describe your company, it is one of the most challenging parts of an RFP for software development. In this part, you have to present a comprehensive overview of your business, notably the company background, field of expertise, culture, and values.

Besides, it will be helpful for the vendors if you tell them about the target audience, possible roadblocks, and flaws you foresee. 

Project Overview

Without a doubt, this will be the most explicit and detailed part of your software RFP. The project overview is used by the software development agencies to create a proposal and estimate for your project. So, stay accurate! That's important in a request for proposal in project management.

The things to include in this section are project infrastructure, product requirements, and the list of experts that may be engaged from your company side. 

Project infrastructure helps you understand how the vendor ensures the security and reliability of your solution. Here, you list the information about the hosting, data security, and intellectual property protections. However, the vendors can advise you on the project infrastructure if you are not a tech person. 

Product requirements outline how the solution will function. To keep a clean and conscious request for proposal format, put it this way: 

User experience

Foresee how the users will interact with your solution and what actions they will take. For instance, “The user will log in using email and password, then they will be directed to their profiles with a set of following actions… .”

Processes

Here, write about any actions that the system may perform. Include even those that are not forced by user action. For example, “The telemedicine platform has to update the information regarding the patients every 72 hours automatically.”

Solution capabilities

Include the capabilities of your product in this section. Take a look at an example, “The app sends congratulations to all users every time the number of visitors reaches one million.”

Entity requirements

Mention the characteristics of every entity of your system. Here’s how it may look like, “The entity “Confirm Your Payment” includes the following attributes: full customer name, reference number, order name, payment details, button to confirm.”

Risks

In most cases, people who want to develop a particular solution for a specific industry know all the in-s and out-s. So, to help your provider take into account the possible flaws of the system, list the risk points in advance in your software request. For instance, “More than 50,000 users can use the telemedicine app simultaneously so that system failure may occur.”

You can document all this information in the user stories. This article offers an easy explanation of how to do it. 

To top off the project overview, you need to include the list of experts engaged in the project from your company side. The range of involved people may consist of business analysts, early adopters, and advisors. Although this part is optional, the RFP document with the list of involved people appeals to vendors more. 

Scope of Work

In general, the scope of work describes your expectations. (Not to be confused with the statement of work).

The easiest way to outline the scope of work is to say, “Hey, Impressit, I need a progressive web application. The scope of work will include discovery phase, UX/UI design, development, testing, and further maintenance.” 

Still, if you are eager to dive deeper into the requirements, you can divide the scope of work into smaller tasks and outline the development of specific features. 

Remember, the more expectations you mention in software development request for proposal, the better vendors will understand your needs and the more proposals you will receive. 

Deliverables 

The Deliverables part answers how you will measure the success after the project is completed. It focuses on the results of your collaboration with the software development agency. 

Here, we apply the same rule: stay clear and concise. Define your final priority in the software request. Do you want to have a web app in two months with an 83% uptime guarantee or a web app after four months of development with a 60% website traffic growth?

RFP Technical Requirements

Next, you include technical requirements in your RFP. Tech details are essential for the software RFP because they describe your software's behavior. 

In this regard, startup founders have to keep in mind that technical requirements are chosen not because of their personal preferences. 

For example, you cannot choose Python for your project just because your younger brother used to learn it. 

You have to take a look at all tech stacks and choose the one that is the most appropriate for your solution. For instance, we use Node.js and React.js synergy to build complex business automation systems. 

Project Management

We’ve approached a section that is vital for the successful execution of your project. 

This step includes the discussion of methodologies, management tools, methods and tools of communication, quality assurance approach, and documentation. Another consideration to be made during this stage is the choice of a team: do you want to have a fully remote team, a dedicated outsourced development team, or something in the middle of these two?

Budget Details

No one wants to spend too much money on a product, but in most cases, spending less money means a low-quality solution. So, when things come to budget, indicate the exact number you’re ready to spend. 

You can be very specific in your request for a proposal for software development and write the exact sum. Still, if you have already divided your overall budget into pieces, for example, $20,000 for design and $50,000 for software development, just mention this in your RFP. It's a crucial part of proposal format for software company as it will help to filter the unqualified suppliers. 

Besides, you can also select fixed-price or time and material models. The T&M model gives you more freedom throughout the development process as you can change the requirements. 

Evaluation Criteria 

Stating the evaluation criteria beforehand in your software RFP ensures that vendors do not neglect the key points.

For instance, in your request for proposal document, you articulate, “We’ll make the decision based on your availability (the faster you can start, the better) and based on similar projects in your portfolio.” Nonetheless, if your expenses will be a vulnerable point, you put the price as your top priority. 

In addition, you can include the desired bid structure in this part of your software development request for proposal. If there are any restrictions you want to place on vendors and their proposals, give detailed instructions. 

In general, all bids are alike. Yet, if you give the detailed structure for a proposal, you will be able to make a side-by-side comparison of the services providers. Below you can find a list of the information we usually provide in software proposals:

• Company name, industry, and background
• Location, time zone
• Project management
• Qualifications of team
• Initial project execution plan
• QA and documentation processes
• Cost and timeline estimate
• Case studies, references

Don’t forget to mention the deadline for sending proposals. Timely proposals are another way to prioritize software development partners. 

Process Description

Congratulations, you’ve reached the finish line of your web development request for proposal! This is the process description, and it explains your further steps to software development companies who bid on your request for a proposal. Articulate the actions you expect to happen: 

• Date when you start the evaluation process
• Date when you set up an initial call with vendors
• Date when you expect to choose the service provider
• Date to start the project 

Keep in mind that you’ll receive the best proposals if suppliers know your steps and timeline in advance. 

Tips for a Well-written Request for Proposal

Tip 1: Transparency in Web Development Request for Proposal

Transparency ensures that your expectations are appropriately set and explained. In other cases, a lack of transparency leads to the wrong understanding of your goals by the service provider. 

Robin Davis, an RFP consultant and expert, wrote in his The future of RFPs book:

In terms of those procurement teams or consultants writing RFPs, providing clear and concise goals and instructions is appreciated … Provide the background and information on what you currently have in place and the problems you are trying to solve. Then, in your questions, ask the vendor what they would do differently or better and what result they will deliver. In short, transparency is the way to go if you want the same in return.

As follows, three areas should always be transparent, notably background, expectations and goals, and evaluation process. 

Tip 2: Collaboration with Stakeholders

A request for proposal for software development is not only about starting a project. It’s about solving the problem for your business and the people. As follows, the key point here is to understand the problem and view it from different sides. To do this, start by collaborating with people who are most impacted by your product. Together, you can define the crucial factors and ways to make your product a success. 

Tip 3: Vendor Engagement

Will you choose a software development partner that provided you with a half-written software proposal one day after the deadline, the second one who did everything on time, or the third one who prepared additional marketing research and a detailed estimate for the project? 

It’s a no-brainer that you’ll engage with the vendor who exceeded your expectations and provided the most value. 

Conclusion

No one will give you a receipt for an impeccable software RFP because it doesn’t exist. Instead, in this article, we’ve gathered all the necessary information on how to make a request for proposal that will bring you numerous qualified proposals. Keep in mind our guidelines, and you’ll nail it!

If you want to know more about the other types of requests, how to write a request for information, and find out about RFI vs RFP or RFP vs RFQ, follow this link.

Just keep in mind that Impressit is the company that may turn your startup idea into a brilliant project!