ACOSM 2010: Metrics Questions in Request For Proposals ... Why It’s Not as Easy as It Seems
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Metrics Questions in Request For Proposals ... Why It’s Not as Easy as It Seems Dr Harold van Heeringen CFPA, Sogeti Nederland B.V., (Netherlands) |
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Abstract Worldwide, many requests for proposals (RFPs) are send out every day to even more potential suppliers. In modern RFPs, clients are trying to gather objective criteria, with which they can analyze and evaluate bids from different suppliers. However, the questions asked in these RFPs are often hard to answer for immature organizations, but sometimes even harder to answer by more mature organizations.
Sogeti Nederland B.V., a large IT software supplier in the Netherlands, is often struggling to answer RFP questions like:
Of course, these questions seem like good questions at first, but in fact these questions are ‘unanswerable’. We believe that there is no such thing as a standard productivity rate, but that there are a number of factors, like duration, size and complexity, that together lead to a realistic productivity rate. We could answer a question like: ‘What is your productivity rate for a moderately complex Java project of 500 function points and a duration (low-level design – acceptance test) of 20 weeks?”. However, these are not the questions that are asked in RFPs, so we have to improvise. This also means that in the software industry, quotations of suppliers are often not realistic. Client organizations should become aware of the questions they should ask in RFP’s and they should learn how to evaluate the quotations from the suppliers. In this presentation, both topics will be addressed. Attendees working on the demand side will learn which questions they should ask in RFP’s and how to identify the quotations from suppliers that are not realistic. Attendees working on the supply side will learn about the future in RFP management and the questions that they should be able to respond to in the (hopefully) near future.
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Biography Dr Harold van Heeringen CFPA, works for Sogeti Nederland as a senior metrics consultant. Harold graduated from the university of Groningen in Business Economics in 1997 and he has worked in the information technology ever since. Harold is an expert on the functional sizing methods FPA and COSMIC and he is a certified practitioner in both methods. Furthermore he is an expert on different software estimation models and benchmarking practices. In his role as metrics consultant, he advises clients on how to implement Estimating and Performance measurement processes into their organizations and he trains people in functional size measurement, software estimation and benchmarking. Next to his consulting work, he is also heavily involved in the Sogeti estimation process for fixed-price / fixed date projects. He constructed and implemented a number of Estimation tools and techniques that are used on a daily basis in the Sogeti bid process. Harold is an advanced expert in using estimation tools like QSM SLIM and the ISBSG tooling. Next to his job, Harold is also involved in a number of metrics related communities:
Harold can be reached on harold.van.heeringen@sogeti.nl, or via the website http://metrieken.sogeti.nl. He is present on LinkedIn and Plaxo. Harold also shares his professional thoughts on twitter: @haroldveendam. |
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