Proposal Evaluation Criteria and RFQ/RFP Strategy Sessions

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Proposal Evaluation Criteria and RFQ/RFP Strategy Sessions

Project Management · Chapter 6: Developing and Evaluating Project ProposalsSection 6.4 · lesson 40 of 7311 min · free with a free account

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In this lesson

How criteria, weights and independent scoring decide which proposal wins.

  • Write scoring scales with descriptions so different evaluators score consistently
  • Calculate weighted scores and show how changing the weights can change the winner
  • Compare best value with lowest price technically acceptable evaluation
  • Plan a bid strategy session that allocates writing effort by value per hour

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Transcript

Everything said in the video, section by section (1,399 words). Read along, or search it.

Opening Case

Why the Cheapest Kiosk Bid Ranked Third

Tomas chairs a panel at the Cedar Valley State Park Agency, scoring three bids for a visitor information kiosk. All three are within budget. Bid C is the cheapest, and earns the top price score. Yet when the panel totals the scores, Bid C ranks third. How can the cheapest bid lose, fairly? The answer is in how the criteria are designed and weighted.

Scoring Scales

Descriptions Make Scores Consistent

A criterion is a factor a proposal is judged on. Four recur: technical approach, price, past performance, and management. A criterion is only useful if different evaluators, reading the same proposal, reach nearly the same score. That depends on saying what evidence counts. The usual tool is a scoring scale, a fixed set of numbers, each with a written description. 5 means every requirement is addressed, the method is explained, claims are backed by evidence, and something clearly benefits the buyer. 3 means most requirements are met, with gaps. And 1 means the requirements are largely unaddressed. The descriptions matter more than the numbers. They let two evaluators who've never spoken mean the same thing by a 4. Quality of response, with no description, invites personal preference.

Mandatory Requirements

Screen Pass/Fail Items Before Scoring

A pass/fail screen checks a mandatory requirement. A response meets it or doesn't, and one that fails is set aside before any scoring. A scored criterion is rated on a scale, so a response can do better or worse without being removed. Screen first, for three reasons. It's efficient. It's fair, because the same rule applies to everyone. And it prevents a high scorer later turning out to lack something essential. Say the mandatory items are delivery within the season, an outdoor rating, and a declaration form. Bid E meets the first two, but omits the form. Bid E is set aside before scoring, however good its approach. Finding that only after it ranked first would mean reversing a published result.

Setting Weights

Weights Express How Much Criteria Matter

A weight expresses how much a criterion matters. Weights usually sum to 100, so each reads as a share of the whole. Set them before any proposal is opened, by ranking what matters most, then test them on a few imagined proposals. The price weight carries a trade-off. Weight price heavily, and a low price can make up for weak quality. That suits work whose quality is easy to specify, but risks a poor performer. Weight price lightly, and quality is protected, but the buyer may pay more than it needs to. A criterion with a tiny weight barely moves anything, so it may be there for show.

Worked Example

Tomas's Weighted Scoring Matrix

Here's Tomas's weighted scoring matrix. Weights are technical approach 40, price 25, past performance 20, and management 15. Each weighted score is the score times the weight. Bid A scores 4, 3, 4 and 3, giving 160, 75, 80 and 45: a total of 360. Bid B scores 5, 2, 4 and 4, giving 200, 50, 80 and 60: 390. Bid C scores 3, 5, 2 and 3, giving 120, 125, 40 and 45: 330. So B ranks first, then A, then C. C had the best price score, and B the worst, yet the weights decided the order.

What-If Analysis

Raising the Price Weight Changes the Winner

Now change only the weights. Raise price to 45, and lower the others to technical 25, past performance 15, and management 15. A becomes 100 plus 135 plus 60 plus 45: 340. B becomes 125 plus 90 plus 60 plus 60: 335. And C becomes 75 plus 225 plus 30 plus 45: 375. Now C wins, then A, then B. Same proposals, same scores. Only the buyer's statement of priorities changed, and the winner changed with it.

Quick Check

Quality 60 Versus Price 40

Quick check, on a new evaluation. Quality is weighted 60, and price 40. Proposal P scores 4 on quality and 2 on price. Proposal Q scores 3 on quality and 5 on price. Which ranks first, or is it a tie? Pause and predict. Q. P gets 240 plus 80, which is 320. Q gets 180 plus 200, which is 380. Quality carries more weight, but Q's price advantage of three points, times 40, outweighs P's one point of quality, times 60.

Two Approaches

Best Value Versus Lowest Price Acceptable

Buyers combine price and quality in two broad ways. Best value selects the most advantageous combination of price and non-price factors, and may pay more for a better proposal. The weighted matrix is its typical tool. Lowest price technically acceptable sets a minimum standard, screens out proposals below it, and awards to the lowest price among the rest. Exceeding the minimum earns nothing. Its supporters say it's objective, quick and hard to dispute, and fits well-defined work. Critics say a loose minimum means barely adequate, and poor delivery can cost more than the saving. Best value's supporters say it pays for quality where quality matters. Its critics say it's slower, more subjective, and weights can disguise preferences. Whether higher scores produce better results is an empirical question, settled only by evidence in a given setting. How much to value quality against cost is a question of values. No preference is stated here.

Evaluation Sequence

Score Independently, Then Reach Consensus

The evaluation runs in order. A compliance screen first. Then independent scoring: each evaluator scores every proposal alone, and writes down a reason for each score. Only then the consensus meeting, where evaluators discuss differences and agree final scores. Scoring alone first stops the loudest or most senior voice setting everyone's view. And consensus isn't averaging. A score changes only for a recorded reason. Suppose one evaluator gave Bid B's technical approach a 5, and another a 3, because the second missed a section. Averaging gives 4. Times the weight of 40, that's 160 instead of 200, and B's total falls from 390 to 350, below A's 360. An oversight would flip the ranking.

Fairness Controls

Four Controls Keep Evaluation Fair

Four controls keep evaluation fair. Conflict-of-interest declarations: each evaluator discloses, before reading anything, any relationship that could affect impartiality, so they can be replaced. Equal information for every bidder. Secure handling of responses, protecting bidders' confidential material. And an audit trail, a record that lets an independent party reconstruct who did what, and why. The exact legal duties vary by buyer, and counsel advises. Notice what's being evaluated: the proposal, scored against criteria. Examining the supplier as an organization, its finances and capacity, is vendor analysis, which comes later in the course.

Bidder's Side

Strategy Sessions and Value per Hour

Now the bidder's side. A strategy session decides how to pursue and win: the bid or no-bid decision, the win strategy, the reasons the buyer should choose you, and the response plan and schedule. One starting point divides writing effort by weight. With 80 hours and weights of 40, 25, 20 and 15, that's 32, 20, 16 and 12 hours. But a one-point gain adds that criterion's weight, so value per hour is the weight divided by the hours it takes. Raising technical by a point takes 20 hours: 40 over 20, 2 points an hour. Raising management takes 6: 15 over 6, 2.5 an hour. The cheaper gain comes first, despite the lower weight. Then review drafts as an evaluator would, scoring them with the same matrix, and hold a debrief after every win or loss, to carry lessons into the next bid.

Quick Check

Splitting Sixty Writing Hours by Weight

Quick check. A bid team has 60 writing hours, and the criteria are weighted 50, 30 and 20. Splitting effort by weight, how many hours go to the criterion weighted 30? Pause and predict. 18 hours. 30 over 100, times 60. 30 hours mistakes the weight for hours. It's a share of the total, then adjusted for where extra effort would really change a score.

Case Resolved

How Bid B Won Fairly

Back to Tomas's panel. By giving technical approach and past performance a combined weight of 60, and price 25, the agency had said what mattered. A kiosk that works in rain and wind, built by a firm with relevant experience, mattered more than the lowest figure. Independent scoring proved its worth. Mina gave Bid B's technical approach a 5, and another evaluator a 3. Their recorded reasons showed the second had missed the weather-protection section. The score was raised for a recorded reason, not by seniority. The agency paid more for Bid B, and spent extra days on documentation, for a stronger kiosk and a decision it can defend. That's how the cheapest bid lost, fairly.

Key Takeaways

Describe, Screen, Weight and Agree

To recap. Describe what each score means, so evaluators score alike. Screen mandatory requirements first, then score. Weights state priorities. Change them, and the winner can change. Score independently, then reach consensus for recorded reasons, never by averaging.

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FAQ

Questions students ask us

About Proposal Evaluation Criteria and RFQ/RFP Strategy Sessions

How does a weighted scoring matrix work in proposal evaluation?
Each proposal is scored on every criterion, each score is multiplied by that criterion's weight, and the weighted scores are added. With weights of 40, 25, 20 and 15, a bid scoring 5, 2, 4 and 4 earns 200, 50, 80 and 60, a total of 390. Because the weights state the buyer's priorities, a bid with the best price score can still rank last.
Why do evaluators use pass/fail screens before scoring proposals?
A pass/fail screen sets aside any proposal that misses a mandatory requirement before scoring begins. Screening first is efficient, applies the same rule to every bidder, and prevents a high scorer from later turning out to lack something essential, such as a required declaration form. Discovering that gap after the bid ranked first would mean reversing a published result.
What is the difference between best value and lowest price technically acceptable (LPTA)?
Best value selects the most advantageous combination of price and non-price factors and may pay more for a better proposal, typically using a weighted matrix. Lowest price technically acceptable sets a minimum standard, screens out proposals below it, and awards to the lowest price among the rest, so exceeding the minimum earns nothing. Each approach has supporters and critics.
Why shouldn't evaluators simply average their scores at a consensus meeting?
Averaging lets one evaluator's oversight change the result. If one evaluator scores a technical approach 5 and another gives 3 because they missed a section, the average is 4, which at a weight of 40 costs 40 points and can flip the ranking. Evaluators should first score independently with written reasons, and a score should change only for a recorded reason.

About the Project Management course

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Project Management (Business 230) carries a NCCRS credit recommendation for 3 semester credits. ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.
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