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Your request for proposal (step 5) should include the following six
components:
¥ Detailed Requirements Specification (See step 2 of the main text.)
¥ Project Management Statement -- This document describes the responsibilities and interaction process between your organization and the outsourcer, such as how changes to requirements will be handled.
¥ Required Documents List -- This is a list of the supporting documents that will be developed by the outsourcer in parallel with the localization work. These should include design documents, source code documents, and status reports. Also specify a schedule of document due dates.
¥ Preliminary Cost and Schedule Estimates-- Based on the detailed requirements document, provide cost and schedule estimates to let prospective vendors know the size and scope of your project and budget. If possible, include performance measurements to be made at project milestones for evaluating outsourcing progress and quality.
¥ Vendor Proposal Guidelines -- In order to simplify side-by-side comparisons of vendor proposals, specify in detail the required format for the proposal. Be as detailed as possible to ensure consistency between the proposals; if possible, use a common PC application like MS Word to create an electronic document with the vendor proposal template.
¥ Proposal Selection Criteria -- Each vendor bid should be evaluated and scored based on pre-specified selection criteria. Vendors should know their selection will be based on how well they respond to specific questions. Areas to consider include: project management skills, technical design skills, documentation, configuration management, requirements management, quality assurance, track record and experience with similar projects, skills of key people to be assigned to the project (include a resume format), depth of language resource skills (translators, QA members, engineers), vendor schedule, resources, and cost proposal.
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