A Request for Proposal (or Request for Information) is a critical stage in any business transformation process. With the need to procure a professional tool onto which to anchor the enterprise architecture practice clearly identified, the next step is just as important – but not so straightforward. It is at this junction point that one must ask themselves – How do we identify the best offer out there? What should/shouldn’t we prioritize? And is it possible to make it more difficult for ourselves, or perhaps even endanger the transformation initiative through our own fault?
These questions have merit and considering that we have been through many RFPs throughout the years we believe it’s safe to say we can help answer them. Here at Bizzdesign we have successfully carried out transformation projects for private and government organizations across the world. That experience helping EA teams become productive members of the enterprise is what gives us the authority to have an opinion on what constitutes a good RFP (i.e. one that represents your interests) and what doesn’t. It was on this vast repository of industry knowledge that we drew in order to create a Definitive EA Tool RFP Template to help organizations in identifying the best option for them.
So, what things did we account for in this RFP template? Briefly, we touched on the following:
As you can see, it includes a wide range of categories since it seeks to create as complete an image as possible of the vendors responding to your RFP. Undoubtedly, there are things that can be added or removed from the list of items we selected, but it is fair to say it advances a solid template – as the name clearly states – for further work of customization.
We hope you’ll find this template useful as you embark on your journey to identify the right EA platform for you and your company.