How to Develop a Request for Proposal Software?
Every company is now turning its heads towards software and IT for its business processes. With the application of the internet in every nook and corner, it won’t be an understatement to say that every company is on the verge of coming up with their custom software and is looking forward to the companies who can offer them custom development services.
Software development for a specific company or niche has become a norm. It is a cost-effective solution and because it lets you focus on the bigger picture of the core business and other activities.
However, finding the right software and the development partner is still a challenge, and this is where the concept of Request For Proposal Software, or RFP for software development, came into being.
In the blog, we will discuss the request for proposal software development, RFP software, and the features included in RFP software development.
Read below to understand why do you need RFP and how to make the most of it.
What is Request For Proposal and RFP Software?
Since the businesses have started addressing the software requirements for their work processes, RFPs have become a crucial part of identifying which vendor is the best for an opportunity.
RFPs are used to draft a specific project’s requirements, whether for a business organization or a software development company. Moreover, RFPs are an excellent way of presenting the project’s needs to the software development company and putting forward the project goals and vendor options.
An RFP aims to help the companies select the best IT firm to develop the solution they need for their business processes.
The RFP software allows enterprises to create, edit easily, manage RFP documents to design processes, and distribute them to various software companies. The RFP software allows the companies to streamline RFP document creation, track submissions, and analyze the efficiency.
The RFP software offers standard templates for small- and large-scale businesses to develop detailed and descriptive RFP documents.
Why is There a Need for RFP?
You can send the Software development RFP to potential vendors to get the proposal and their bid for participation in the project. Here are some of the reasons why you should have an RFP software development to ease all your business processes.
- You can get various point of view on the project.
- It will help you in understanding the vendor’s capabilities.
- Will offer you a transparent selection process by having a standardized format of proposals.
- With many vendors to compare, you can quickly bring the prices down and work cost-effectively.
- It will save your time by storing the history and eliminating the need to rewriting the RFP.
- It is an ideal option for complex and large-scale projects where you have to access big data and various criteria before giving it to the vendors.
Now let’s talk about the essential part of the RFP software development,
What are the Essential Features of RFP Management Software?
It is extremely crucial to know about the features to be included in the RFP as it will decide the way you work and help create RFP documents for further use. Here is a list of all the must-have features that make RFP Management Software beneficial for your business.
RFP Creation
This will let you create, edit, and customize RFP documents on the go using a vast library of pre-approved RFP templates and content.
Collaboration
Collaborating will empower the stakeholders and teams across your organisation to ask questions, gather insights, and review final responses.
Data Import/ Export
Enjoy the ease of the data export or import from suitable locations and share them across the organisation and related people using an intuitive & easy-to-use interface.
Status Tracking
This will let you keep an eye on the progress of your proposal through a status tracking feature that combines information such as progress, approval, etc.
Compare Vendors
Before giving out the project, you must also compare vendors and their quotes and every information handy while weighing their candidature.
Bidding
Bidding will help you stay updated on new requirements posted on the platform and offer a quotation on time.
Vendor Management
This allows you to manage the vendors who have shared the quotation with you and store the information for future usage using cloud-based storage.
Post-RFP Activities
This feature helps in streamlining all the post-RFP activities and make sure they progress as expected using an all-inclusive dashboard.
Now that you know about the feature, you should also know how to proceed with the RFP software development.
Moving on to answer your question,
How to Proceed with RFP Software Development?
With the wide use of RFPs, organizations start by defining the criteria that they use to select vendors for potential partnerships and decide the developers or their software development company. Many factors come into play, such as the skillset, reputation, capabilities, and more.
To avoid the hassle and for an easy RFP software development, the organizations must follow a basic structure for the critical steps into an RFP software development project.
Let’s talk about them,
1. Summary of the Project and Company Overview
The first part of the RFP for software development is the executive summary of the project and an introduction to your company. You can write the project’s summary and straightforwardly. Ensure that you include the following highlights about your project:
- Software goals
- Software requirements
- Features
- Target audience
While putting forward your project goals, it is important to keep a few things in mind. For instance, enlist the goals and needs of your business and leave the technical part to the software developers.
By including your company background, you can ensure that the vendors are on the same page as yours, understand what you want, and develop solutions that align with your business goals and values.
2. Scope of the Project and Deliverables
It is one of the most critical parts of the RFP for software development because the vendors will do most of the cost estimations based on the details mentioned in the project scope.
- Ensure that you include
- Project management requirements
- Infrastructure requirements
- Functional design for the required software
- Product requirements
- Software development and collaboration approaches
- Quality assurance
- Product management
3. Timeline for a Response to Your RFP for Software Development
Here you can set the deadlines for various RFP stages that include RFP release date, Deadline for submitting and intention, meetings with the vendors for further discussions, Final interviews, and selection deadlines.
Make sure that you are providing enough time to the software vendors to meet all the deadlines satisfactorily. Moreover, providing enough time offers you a better chance of getting accurate quotations.
4. Prequalification Stage
Once you are through with the deadlines and quotes, you should conduct a preliminary exclusion process to filter out the vendors that can handle your project. It will be helpful to get references and ask for similar types of projects to shorten your list of potential vendors and save your time.
5. Selection Stage
Post the prequalification stage; the selection is the last and final stage of your RFP software development. To make the process shorter, you can ask for the following things from shortlisted vendors:
- What is the cost of software development?
- How do you define the technical vision of the project?
- What will be the project deadlines?
- Are there any intellectual property terms?
While preparing an RFP, it is always a good idea to let the vendors know about your no-compromise terms if you have any. A clear conversation will save both your time and the vendor’s time, which will help avoid future problems for both of you.
For example, if you don’t wish to work with a vendor who is not ready to sign an NDA, you should state that clearly.
Recommended Read – Outsourcing vs In-House: What to Choose for Bespoke Software Development
Are you thinking of getting custom RFP software for your organisation? Here is how Matellio can help.
Let Matellio Craft an RFP Software for Your Business.
With businesses growing in size, it becomes crucial to cover every single aspect of business operations. Owing to this fact, the RFPs have become an essential part of requesting and evaluating potential vendors or a software development project.
Thus, it will not be an exaggeration to say that the importance of RFPs is exponentially growing and is now a determining factor in selecting strong partnerships and better businesses.
Matellio’s expertise in RFP software development across various business niches proves that we offer the industry’s best software development.
We treat each project with the utmost care, and with our agile development methodology, we offer top-notch solutions to our clients that are in line with their RFP requisites.
Talk to us today if you are ready to navigate the pool of RFP development and leverage RFPs to your advantage and in the best interest of your business.
