PROJECT BRIEFING DOCUMENT
From: Company Name
Date of issue: Date
Closing Date: Date
CONTENTS
TENDER NOTICEPROJECT BRIEF
SCOPE OF WORK
GUIDE FOR TENDER SUBMISSION
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Copyright and Confidentiality Statements
This document is for the use only of the recipient. Permission is required from [person, company name] prior to disclosure to other parties. Neither the whole nor any part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, except a document replying to this tender.
The information contained in this document is confidential. All intellectual property, business plans, product intentions, documents, methods of operation and information relating to the same for the purpose of conducting discussions or undertaking work, and the systems, procedures and products developed through the award of the contract will remain the property of [company] Organisations tendering for the project will be required to sign such a confidentiality undertaking. The successful tenderer will also acknowledge all Intellectual Property Rights to [company] in the contract for award of the tender.
It is to be understood by the tendering organisations that no fees are payable by any party in the tendering process.
TENDER PROCESS
This document provides the background information, sets out the main items of the scope of work, and sets out guidance for tender submission. Should clarification be required, please direct all enquiries to contact person
Tender submission should be as per the breakdown in the Project Brief.
Interested parties should notify of their intention to tender by [date]. By [time] on [date], tenderers should either:
1. email their response to
2. email URL location of response to , include password
Developers wishing to tender for the development of this project should provide an estimate of costs based on the information given in this document. Costs should be clearly broken down into component parts as identified and fully itemised. It is not necessary to tender for the entire project if this is not deemed appropriate but this must be clearly stated and the parts applied for and not applied for must be stated.
The criteria for award of contract will be based on:
(for example)
1. Comprehensiveness of response to requirements
2. Innovation of process design
3. Experience in similar projects
4. Proposed price and overall value for money
PROJECT BRIEF
Introduction
[Example: This is a project brief to cover delivering a system/ developing an existing system that supports adapted business processes/ client contact systems/ commercial transactions/ market research/ database interaction/ updating systems/ management reporting etc.]
[Describe any e-commerce history to-date in general terms.]
Company Background
Founded date
Owners
What business is the company in
Sector information
Location(s)
Turnover
Staffing levels
General client information]
Anticipated Budget
The Phase I budget has a ceiling of £xx,xxx. Or: There is a limited budget for the development and management of this project. A budget will not be specified.
Timescales
Complete this section as appropriate. [For example: The site must be live by [date] with a fully functioning ecommerce facility.]
Business Aims Supported by This Proposal
[Describe general vision that the system will make the company become e.g. market leader, 24-hour trader, close to key clients, etc.]
Primary Aim:
[e.g. marketing tool or generate sales enquiries or undertake transactions or integrate back-end IT systems with supplier systems or clearly differentiate the company.]
Secondary Aims:
[whatever else except primary aim!]
Target Audience
1. Core: Present the main client list, and supplier list.
2. Broader Targets: list target market and additional target suppliers
Functionality
[This is the most detailed section ideally in the form of a software specification.]
In order of priority/ no priority, the system should :
1. Provide up-to-date pricing information to browsing clients;
2. Allow [company] Account Handlers to update pricing;
3. Automatically process new pricing data and update the central database by validation and exception;
4. Load into [company’s] office system any new orders;
5. Authenticate and provide validation at both the hosting and office databases;
[Other examples: capture sales leads after qualifying through on-line form, key product descriptions available on-line or downloadable as pdf’s, password client forum for pre and post-sales support.]
[Also generalities such as :
instant eye-appeal
fast loading
clearly differentiated product range
consistent branding]
[Mention Flash or plug-ins required by viewer browsers.]
Current Content
[If any]
[Detail what is available and in what format (brochure, file, on-line already, etc) and amount.]
Mood/ Tone of Design
[Examples: professional, employment of (limited) graphic device, simple, clean, colourful, powerful enough overall design to compete for attention in a very bright and often confused and confusing market place, finished design to look superior to existing company branding.]
Empathetic Web-Sites
[Web site URLs where like the functionality: www.likethisone.com
Web site URLs where dislike look and feel: www.dontlikethisone.co.uk]
Relevant Technical Information
[Describe the computer infrastructure that would interact with this Project development.]
Hosting Role
[Example:
Where is the site to be hosted?
Is there sufficient bandwidth and backup capability?
Examples of similar sites should be given].
Any helpful transactional information should be given, for example, no of transactions to be supported per minute’/ hour /etc.
Mandatory Information
Legal notices as appropriate, details regarding where these must be placed, notice that the site is not to be treated as an Invitation to Treat
Future Development
Summarise First phase objectives then list phase II wish list.
Top 10 Keywords that Describe the Site
Statement Regarding Retention of Intellectual Property
SCOPE OF WORK
[The company] requires the following activities to be undertaken as part of this tender: (for example)
1. Hosting Role
To provide a secure and continuous site 7 x 24 that guarantees a minimum bandwidth.
2. System Development (Design and Programming)
The system is to be developed as to meet the items as described in the Project Brief and to fully satisfy all requirements in the Functionality section.
3. Content Management
[company] will retain the right to maintain editorial control. [Who will be responsible for being the Webmaster, what are the procedures to change the site content, and costs associated.]
4. Hardware and Software Supply
[If any]
5. Technical Management and Maintenance
The successful tenderer will work with the host supplier to ensure all the technical aspects of the operation of the site are maintained in a satisfactory and professional manner.
6. Training
The new system may require staff training.
7. New Feature Development
The site will require [continuous] updates that will be [joint] responsibility of the successful tenderer and [company].
Responses to tender should be based on all the criteria set out in the Project Brief and also describe any innovations proposed to enhance the site to achieve its aims.
Marketing the Site
The marketing of the site in other traditional media will remain the responsibility of the company issuing the tender.
The Developer will optimise the site for search engines using current methodology ( descriptive page titles, description/keyword metatags,alt tags etc) and register the site with the leading search engines.(a list to be provided)
The developer will help the company develop a link strategy whereby link popularity will be increased by developing a number of quality incoming links.
Security
Adequate records should be maintained of all work carried out and the chosen Developer must demonstrate ability to provide continuous operation of the site together with complete data backup.
All developments carried out on the software will be engineered in such a way that at the end of the contract the system can be handed over to [company] or another 3rd party to run on a suitable system. The system developers will use, wherever possible, industry standard tools. Responses should note which software tools have been used.
[company] will be required to be made satisfied that internal systems are safe from intrusion. Responses should describe any risks associated with the proposal and how the risks will be mitigated.
Measurement of Success
For the purposes of review, the success of the project will be judged on the following counts:
Example:
1. Format is judged to be subjectively excellent by company management.
2. Increasing level of site activity over first twelve months
3. Generate XX income
4. etc
GUIDE FOR TENDER SUBMISSION
The contract will be awarded to one organisation. This prime contractor may choose to subcontract some or all of the four main roles to third parties, however tenderers should identify all relevant companies or individuals proposed as being part of the team.
Contract
[company] requires a prime contractor to manage the entire operation for a twelve-month period commencing [date]. Should [company] decide to continue with the programme in this form thereafter, [company] will consider an extension of the contract for a further year based on the success of the previous year’s operation.
The contract will be with one organisation, the prime contractor, who will be responsible for managing all project roles as described earlier.
Tender Submission
The preferred method of response to tender is for all tenderers to submit a concise proposal by e-mail.
The tender should be presented in the order outlined as follows. The number in brackets, (x pages), is suggested as a guide to the maximum length of the proposal in printed form.
The proposal should address the areas outlined below:
Introduction and Management Summary (1 page)
Tendering Company Background (1 - 2 pages)
Company information, relevant skills and experience, reference clients and URL's, knowledge of the sector, identification of team members and or subcontractors, location of offices, number of relevant staff to this project in local office with detailed skill sets.
Proposed Approach to Contract (2- 4 pages)
Details on hosting, description of system development, confirmation of meeting timescales, describe the system functionality in detail, describe look-and-feel, and respond to all other items in Project Brief
Costings (1 page)
The quotation is to be broken down as follows:
1. Hosting costs £
2. System Development (design and programming) £
3. Content Management £
4. Other support costs £
5. Hardware and software £
6. Technical Management and Maintenance £
7. Training £
8. Set-up or conversion charges if any £
9. Project Management Element if separate £
10. Other (detail) £
Total Contract £ ______
Year 2 Hosting and Management Costs £
New feature development charging structure (describe) £
Ongoing costs (describe) £
Transfer costs at end of contract (describe) £
Additional Information and Attachments (no limit to pages)
This section could be used to provide links to other web pages of interest or to address more fully design, technical or commercial issues the tenderer wishes to bring to the company's attention.
If tenderers wish to combine certain elements of above they are free to do so but must provide detail of the consolidation.
Contract Terms
The prices will be quoted for a twelve month period and be exclusive of VAT. Payment terms will be negotiable. Ongoing management costs are likely to be on a monthly or quarterly basis. However, for the purposes of comparing tenders we ask that quotes are based on annual figures with additional notes be supplied to set out proposed payment terms
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Attachments: 1, 2, 3, …
[Examples: Logo .gif, hardcopy of brochure availability, Product list .dbf]
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