RFIs: The Good, the Bad and The Ugly

 

RFIs--a walk in the park? Not the normal vision I used to conjure up when preparing Requests for Information to send to vendors for software product selection! But following the steps in this article will help you:

1. Develop a quality RFI, focused on your companies specific requirements.
2. Focus vendor responses on your requirements, versus their product's strengths.
3. Give you a tool to easily compare vendor responses side by side in order to select the short list of vendors (for the Vendor Targeted Demonstration--more on that later).

The Good
In previous articles, I described how to develop a strong scope statement and criteria for systematic product selection. These are the foundations of the RFI. The Criteria Based RFI includes the following:

1. Introduction
2. Expectations
3. Criteria
4. Customer References
5. Sign-off

Introduction
The introduction should contain a description of the vendor selection process your company is following. Include the scope statement that was previously developed (see Scope It). Include in the scope statement (if you haven't already) the key criteria most important to your company. Next, provide a brief history of events leading up to this product selection process. Describe the current state of your company relative to the software capabilities that you are pursuing in a vendor's product. This and the …

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