Page 11 - DLIS408_INFORMATION_TECHNOLOGY-APPLICATIONSL SCIENCES

Information Technology and Application

Notes Developing a Formal Specifications Document

RFP—that organizes and standardizes the information provided to and requested from the various
system vendors.
Utilizing an RFP to solicit written responses from vendors makes it possible for you to
systematically compare functionality, cost, maintenance, support, and all the other issues that are
involved in system procurements. The process can save you money and will result in a wiser
decision.
An RFP document should include these essential elements, among others:
background information on the library;
a description of how the proposals should be arranged and submitted;
instructions on receiving vendor business and financial information;
criteria the library will use to evaluate vendor proposals;
questions regarding vendor training and documentation;
your functional and technical specifications.
Also, vendors should be asked to describe:
how they will create bibliographic, item and borrower databases;
their system maintenance programs and services;
their site preparation requirements;
their delivery and installation methodologies;
their system performance guarantees; and
their pricing and cost strategies, in detail.

Evaluating Vendor Proposals
Upon the receipt of vendor proposals, it will be time to begin the process of system evaluation and
selection. This process involves a number of key steps:
Form a project team of persons to assist with the evaluations and the selection who have
some knowledge of automation or who work in the area(s) being automated. People
involved in the strategic planning process would be a good choice.
Try to weed out proposals that are “fatally flawed,” e.g., where the vendor fails to reply to any
of the functional specifications or the system is missing a module for a high-priority function.
Begin in-depth reading of the “surviving” proposals, carefully noting both deviations
from the requirements as defined by the RFP and any aspect that is handled unusually well.
Make a list of any parts of the response that are not clear and require further clarification.
Schedule system demonstrations. They are an important component of the evaluation
process. Allow the vendors to show off the vendor’s system in the most attractive light;
however, be prepared with a list of what you want to see along with questions you would
like answered. Use the same list with each vendor. This permits more effective cross-
comparisons.
Consider using computerized spreadsheet software in order to compare and evaluate
vendor cost proposals. Costs may not be what they seem at first glance.
Contact some of each vendor’s current clients—sites of the same library type, and of
similar size, where the hardware and software modules that have been proposed to you
are currently in use.
Assign point values to the criteria listed in the RFP and assign scores to the different propos-
als. The system with the highest score becomes the number one finalist, the system with the
second highest score number two and so on. To maintain a negotiating edge, it is better to cut
to two vendors rather than one. If that is impossible, maintain the illusion anyway. Remem-
ber: The selection process is not over until the contract is signed. Until that point, never let
any vendors know that they have been eliminated, including those with fatal flaws.
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