MustWin Now: Adding RFP requirements

To build a compliance matrix, you need to copy and paste the RFP into MustWin Now. The many ways that customers format their RFPs are just too inconsistent to automagically import them. So we made it quick and easy to copy and paste them instead.

In addition to this step by step description, you can view a video on how this works.

Open the RFP and Compliance Matrix tool by clicking on the name in the tool banner or the icon on the right side.

 

Click on “open current RFP” to get to work.

The RFP Requirements column will start off blank until you copy and paste the RFP into MustWin Now. Click on the green Add New RFP Requirement button to get started.

 

When the form pops up you will need to enter:

• The RFP Heading Number. You may have to figure this out based on how the customer formatted their RFP.
• The RFP Heading. You can copy and paste this from the RFP.
• Parent Requirement. This is used to identify the hierarchy of the headings. You can skip it for your first entry. But if you enter any subheadings, you’ll want to identify the parent. You can type in the name of an RFP Heading you’ve already entered and selecting the right one from the list that appears. You can also come back and add the parent later. Or add subheadings by clicking on the “+” symbol that appears when you hover the mouse of an RFP item you have already entered.
• Requirement type. We use this to categorize the type of RFP requirement (instruction, evaluation criteria, performance requirement, or other). This is useful when cross-referencing.
• RFP Text. Copy and paste the text of the RFP requirement. You can copy it formatted (necessary if there are tables) or not formatted. The formatting may not always properly translate, and you may have some clean up to do.
• Item Response. You can flag any RFP items that don’t require a written response.
• Note, problems, judgment calls, or other explanations/annotations. If you think about something important that impacts the proposal, you can capture it in a note now. Or if you are unsure about how to interpret or handle something in the RFP, you can capture your thoughts.

After your first few RFP items, this will go quickly. It’s mostly heading number, heading text, and requirement text. Plus a couple of clicks and save.

Note: Pay attention to the assignment, which identifies the parts of the RFP to focus on. For this course you do not have to copy and paste the entire RFP. You are welcome to do so for practice and to see how quickly it goes. But it is not required.