Whether the system will be developed in-house, use package software, or be outsourced, a Request for Proposal (RFP) must be prepared to solicit quotes from vendors. The primary purpose is to communicate with vendors and rank software and hardware products from different candidates. A formal RFP must include system requirements and design features to support the IT system as well as research on technical criteria and options. These tasks are done in combination with the project manager, developers, and business analyst.

Once all RFP responses are received from selected vendors, proposals are evaluated and ranked. Having ranked the proposals, the next step is to present the best options to management in the feasibility report. Once the vendor approval is obtained, the business analyst and project manager will meet with the winning vendor and begin contract negotiations and license agreements. The following RFP samples will give you an idea how these are prepared.

Sample Request for proposal Template

Request for Proposal

The following documents have examples for RFP for a phone system and a website. Since each student's assignment is different, you can use the sections to fill in the specifics for your project. All RFP templates are very similar, but on the Internet, these RFPs are already filled out by real companies. To prepare the RFP, you need to consider the main sections and fill in your information not in long detail but enough to make the assignment understandable and substantial for a vendor to read.

Website RFP Sample Template
SME Toolkit
References

Priority Integrated Marketing. (2012). Sample Request for proposal Template. Retrieved from http://www.netdynasty.com/articles/request-for-proposal-template.asp

World Community Grid. (2010). Request for Proposal. Retrieved from http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/bg/rfp.pdf

Website RFP Sample Template - http://www.entrepreneur.com/formnet/form/1173

SME Toolkit. (2013). Sample Request for Proposals. Retrieved from http://www.smetoolkit.org/smetoolkit/en/content/en/538/Sample-Request-for-Proposals.