Using CMMI, ITIL, and PMBoK to Improve Proposal Operations

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Using CMMI, ITIL, and PMBoK to Improve Proposal
Operations

• Presenter
• Brenda Crist Lohfeld Consulting Group

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Current Proposal Practices

• Proposal Management Books Often Focus on Proposal
  Management Basics
• Capture and Positioning
• Bid Request
• Bid Decision
• Proposal Scheduling and Development
• Proposal Planning
• Review Teams

These processes are tried and true and promote
collaboration and delivery on schedule
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Do These Processes Meet All Your Job Needs?
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Does Your Job Involve Multiple Functions?

• Do You Manage Multiple Projects?
• Staffing and Resources
• Budgets and Communications
• Cost and Quality Control
• Do You Provide These Services?
• Proposal Systems Design
• Pipeline Management
• Knowledge Management
• Configuration Management
• Template Creation
• Training Services
• Do You Promote Continual Improvement?

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What Can We Learn from Industry to Improve Our
Management of These Tasks?
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We Can Take Best Practices From

• The Project Management Institute, Project
  Management Body of Knowledge (PMBoK) can help us
  effectively manage multiple projects
• Information Technology Infrastructure Library
  (ITIL) can help us deliver better proposal
  services
• Capability Maturity Model Integrated (CMMI) can
  help us smoothly integrate proposal functions
• ISO 90012000 can help us improve consistency and
  quality

We write about industry best practices daily
lets use them to improve proposal management
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What Can We Learn from PMBoK?
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PMBoK Highlights
Offers a framework for project management backed
by project management best practices
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What Can We Take From PMBoK?

• Specific practices for improved
• Project Planning
• Schedule Management
• Quality Management
• Communications Management
• Cost Management
• Risk Management

We can also use PMBoK methods for managing two or
more projects concurrently
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Project Planning and Scheduling

• In advance of proposal activities
• Develop a realistic pipeline to determine
  workload (preferably Using a Customer
  Relationship Management (CRM) Tool)
• Develop project plans with WBSs and schedules for
  10, 15, 30, and 45 day turnarounds
• Establish milestones for major capture/proposal
  activities
• Establish agreements with vendors and consultants
• Manage to the schedule reporting status daily
  against the milestones
• Proactively monitor and record variance of
  planned vs. actual activities

Pre-planning Commitment Success
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Examples
Create a Pipeline
Create a Work Breakdown Schedule
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Cost Management

• Budget realistically
• Plan ways to drive down proposal development
  costs
• Proposal costs are often unpredictable leave
  plenty of cushion in the budget
• Implement cost controls and break down work into
  small incremental pieces
• Measure performance
• Maintain historic cost data for the next
  budgeting cycle

You will be a hero if you deliver your proposal
under your BP budget
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Tips for Driving Down Costs

• Buy supplies in discounts like paper, toner
  cartridges, and binders and tabs
• Negotiate discount rates for hardware
  maintenance (printers, copiers)
• Establish agreements with set rates for services
  vendors like writing or editing
• Create a knowledgebase of reusable written
  materials (resumes, graphics)
• Hold brainstorming sessions after hours w/dinner
  so billable hours are not lost
• Limit review team membership
• Control color printer use

Re-invest savings back into the training of your
staff
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Quality Management

• Incorporate quality standards
• ISO 90012000, PMBoK, CMMI
• Implement a Quality Assurance Program
• Define quality metrics
• Define processes for accomplishing milestones
• Identify artifacts resulting from reviews
• Implement Quality Controls
• Compliance and solution reviews
• Editorial and document reviews
• Book check and media reviews
• Evaluate and continuously improve quality

The quality of the proposal reflects your
companys quality
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Incremental Quality Controls
Build time in for quality reviews throughout the
proposal life cycle
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Human Resources Management

• Define Staffing Plan
• Define roles, authority, and responsibilities
• Define competencies, experience, education,
  certifications
• Maintain a realistic staffing plan for program
  and specific proposals
• Develop a Training Plan
• Define Program-Level Plan
• Define Individual Development Plans
• Attend APMP events
• Develop a Retention Plan
• Spot bonus pool or bonus plan
• Alternate work schedules for long hours
• Morale boosters

Develop plans and objectives for training and
retaining valued capture and proposal management
employees
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Communications Management

• Five things we can learn from PMBoK
• Create a communications plan and train members in
  its use
• Identify the most effective and secure methods
  for information distribution
• Define the best way for communicating with
  stakeholders/participants
• Identify how to report status
• Define your risk escalation path

Communications represent a significant part of a
proposal managers daily activities
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Communications Plan

• Communication Plan Outline
• Roles and Responsibilities
• Proposal Communications
• Contracting Officers
• Team Members
• Executives
• Capture and SMEs
• Status Meetings
• Proposal Security
• Status Reporting
• Risk Mitigation / Escalation

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Risk Management

• Define a risk management plan or processes with
  escalation paths
• Identify major risks
• Proposal program risks Lack of resources
  (personnel, technology, funds), Lack of training,
  Lack of time
• Proposal risks Solution gaps, Lack of key
  personnel, Missing price information, Unforeseen
  RFP changes/amendments
• Maintain a risk mitigation log
• Identify the risk
• Person responsible for mitigating the risk
• Risk mitigation timeframe and due date
• Risk mitigation outcome
• Discuss risk mitigation during daily standup
  meetings and at routine staff meetings

Risk Log
Keep management aware and focused on potential
capture and proposal risks to mitigate
deficiencies
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What Can We Learn from ITIL?
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Information Technology Infrastructure Library
(ITIL) Framework
If your job requires more than just proposal
management, ITIL offers a framework for the
delivery of services
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The ITIL Framework Defined

• Service Strategy provides guidance on how to
  design, develop and implement service management
• Service Design describes how to convert your
  service strategy objectives into service assets
• Service Transition describes how to ensure
  service elements (applications, infrastructure
  knowledge, facilities) are delivered on schedule
• Service Operations provides strategies for
  service support (incident, problem, access mgmt,
  and service delivery (infrastructure and security
  management)
• Continual Service Improvement measures
  performance, implements improvements, and ensures
  expected results are achieved

ITIL is an IT infrastructure and services
framework originated by the UK Office of
Government Commerce
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Service Strategy and Design

• Develop Your Service Strategy
• What services are you offering in addition to
  proposal management and production?
• Knowledge management
• Data calls/information requests
• Change and configuration management
• Customer relationship management (CRM)
• Pipeline management
• Proposal facilities management
• Task order registration and processing
• Who are your internal/external clients?
• What assets do you need?

Develop a service strategy that meets the needs
of your internal and external clients
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Knowledge Management Services
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ITIL Knowledge Management Tips

• Make knowledge easy to access and intuitive to
  find
• Create an electronic library using directory
  folders or a collaboration tool
• Create instructions for a cheat sheet for finding
  information
• Restrict access to the knowledgebase as
  appropriate for your company

Dont re-create the wheel build a knowledgebase
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Items to Put in the Knowledgebase

• Resumes (updated annually)
• Past performance summaries (updated annually)
• Processes for program planning, cost control,
  human resources, communication, risk, quality,
  and monitoring
• Management factoids about retention, degrees,
  certifications
• Processes for transition, incident, problem,
  change, configuration, release, asset,
  availability, capacity, and security management
• Technical architectures and system flows for
  operations
• Performance management success stories to
  demonstrate performance at or above industry
  averages
• Problems and solutions
• Kudo letters and success stories
• Proposal templates
• Art library containing photos and graphics

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Do You Feel Like a Help Desk?

• Are you always fielding questions about company
  characteristics? Like number of employees,
  certifications or revenue?
• Are you always asked for past performance
  summaries or resumes?
• Are you always asked for sample graphics or
  photos?

If you feel like a help desk, implement ITIL best
practices for service management to function most
efficiently
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Consider Adding a Self-Help Feature

• Work with company executives to determine what
  type of knowledge should be included in the
  self-help feature
• Determine how you will restrict access based on
  roles
• Identify what subset of the knowledgebase can be
  shared
• Setup policies for adding, updating, and
  maintaining data

The self-help feature can benefit the company by
providing secure, accurate, consistent, and
timely information
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Configuration Management Services
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ITIL Configuration Management Tips
Keeping knowledge under configuration control
increases proposal preparation efficiency
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Items to Put Under CM Control

• Capture Plans and CRM data
• Solicitation, QAs, amendments, BAFOs, debriefs
• Proposal Management Plans and schedules
• Kick-off meeting agendas
• Compliance matrices, storyboards, outlines
• Templates, graphics, photos
• Background information
• Input from authors
• Blue, black, pink, red, and gold team versions of
  the proposal/task order or oral presentations
• Resumes, past performance summaries
• Final proposals (hardcopy and softcopy)
• Proposal budgets and metrics

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What Can We Learn from CMMI?
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Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI)
Level 5 Optimizing
Focus on process improvement
CMMI is a process improvement approach
Level 4 Quantitatively Managed
Process is measured and controlled
Level 3 Defined
Process is defined, repeatable, and proactive
Level 2 Managed
Process is characterized but is often reactive
Level 1 Initial
Process in unpredictable, poorly controlled, and
reactive
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Continual Process Improvement

• Obtain buy-in for a CPI Program
• Define SOPs for performing your job
• Establish metrics
• Allocate sufficient resources to collect metrics
  and analyze findings
• Use IT to facilitate CPI data capture and
  analysis
• Monitor performance and record lessons learned
• Identify and implement improvements
• Control improvements to verify they achieve the
  intended result

Start with one or two areas you wish to improve
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Suggested Measurements

• Win ratio
• Completed on schedule
• Completed within budget
• Free of editorial defects
• No unauthorized changes made to baselines
• All proposal artifacts are kept under CM control
• Internal clients express high satisfaction with
  service

Select performance metrics and use them to
measure how well you perform
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Training

• Use feedback and metrics to identify training
  needs
• Train external clients Proposal training
  classes, secure, just-in-time training
  knowledgebase
• Proposal team training On-the-job training,
  knowledgebase, formal proposal training, APMP
  events, professional certification programs

APMP NCA Professional Day 2008
A well-trained team improves efficiency,
increases retention, and improves morale
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Consider Using Software Development Techniques to
Facilitate Proposal Management
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Software Development Methods Applied to Proposal
Development

• The Software Engineering Institute (SEI)
  originally designed CMM/CMMI to define what
  processes and activities were needed to develop
  software
• Many best practices were developed to specify how
  these processes and activities should be
  accomplished
• Waterfall Method
• Spiral Method
• Iterative Development Method
• Agile Method
• Plug and Chug Method

Evaluate each solicitation to determine the best
process for developing a winning proposal response
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Proposal Development Methods to Consider

• Traditional Development

• SW Development Techniques

• Storyboard
• Annotated Outline
• Pink Team
• Red Team
• Gold Team
• Production
• Delivery

• Waterfall
• Plug and Chug
• Iterative Method
• Spiral Method
• Agile Method

Consider using an iterative development technique
if your solution is not established
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Burn Rate/Burn Down Chart
Burn Rate/Burn Down Chart

• When using an iterative/agile development method
  link accomplishments to a Burn Rate/Burn Down
  Chart, so executives can assess progress in
  comparison to the schedule

A Burn Rate Chart illustrates your performance
against the budgeted schedule and cost
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What Can We Learn from ISO 90012000?
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ISO 90012000 Highlights

• ISO 9000 is a family of quality management
  standards maintained by the International
  Organization for Standardization (ISO)
• To become ISO 90012000 certified you need
• A set of procedures covering your business
  process
• A plan for monitoring processes
• Records demonstrating you followed your business
  processes
• A plan to check output for defects and a plan for
  corrective action
• Regular review processes
• A plan for continual improvement

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We Can Learn to Write Effective SOPs Using ISO
Guidance

• Procedures should have
• Clear instructions and a schedule
• Owner(s)
• Metrics
• Monitoring methods
• Reporting methods
• Audit methods

Set expectations and communicate how you will
perform proposal management activities using SOPs
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Sample SOP
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Internal Audits

• Conduct quarterly audits to determine if
  artifacts are
• Present
• Complete
• Secure
• Correctly located
• Require updating

Internal audits provide a discipline for ensuring
your records are present, secure, up-to-date, and
easily located
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To determine if industry best practices can help,
make a list of your job functions
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To determine if industry best practices can help,
make a list of your job functions

• Proposal Process Management
• Proposal Project Management
• Proposal Service Management
• Proposal Performance Management

Process Mgmt
Functional Categories
Service Mgmt
Project Mgmt
Performance Mgmt
Proposal management is a multi-dimensional
process often involving project, service, and
performance management
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Functional Breakdown

• Process Management
• Capture Management
• Proposal Management
• Coordination Management
• Graphics/Art Management
• Production Management
• Project Management
• Project Planning / Scheduling
• Cost Management
• Quality Management
• Human Resources Management
• Communications Management
• Risk Management

• Service Management
• Knowledge Management
• Pipeline Management
• CRM Management
• Change Management
• Configuration Management
• Performance Management
• Measurement and Analysis
• Training
• Continual Improvement

List and categorize your job functions to
determine if you can benefit from industry best
practices
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Link Functions to Best Practices
Link your job functions to best practices and
create SOPs to enhance your performance
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Summary

• As a proposal professional your job is complex
  and demanding
• It involves the management of multiple processes,
  projects, and services simultaneously
• Learn from industry and adapt best practices and
  lessons learned to help as needed
• Pass your lessons learned and best practices onto
  others

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Thank You Brenda Crist APMP NCA Vice
President Professional Day Committee Chairperson
2009 Principal, Lohfeld Consulting
Group www.lohfeldconsulting.com bcrist_at_lohfeldcon
sulting.com 301-466-9566