Going beyond the RFP template
Dom & Tom has been designing and developing digital products since 2009, and in that time we’ve seen a lot of Requests for Proposal.
Most mobile application RFPs cover the basics pretty well: company profile, project description, stakeholders, project timelines, platforms for delivery, differentiators … info that’s now standard in any proposal template.
But, there are always big pieces of the puzzle to put into place before you start your product-building journey. When drafting your RFP, keep these questions in mind before contracting an agency. Knowing the answers will bring a tremendous amount of clarity, and help all sides realize your vision.
We always like to know up front:
- What are the top qualities you are looking for in a development agency?
- Is there a technology constraint or requirement we need to be aware of?
- Are you open to time and materials or retained staffing for your project?
- What are the major gaps you’d like a mobile and web agency to help fill? For example, do we need to contribute to the backend architecture? Or handle implementation planning/development strategy/roadmap?
- Are you working with a design agency? If so, can we refine the designs prior to development and scope out technical feasibility? Or offer design flow solutions based on the tech stack?
- Are there any initial design artifacts or specifications you can provide?
- Is there documentation for APIs, codebases, or third-party systems (such as ERPs) we will be integrating with?
- What are the existing continuous integration and deployment methodologies we should be aware of as we release and deploy code to production?
- Are there tools or development procedures that we must adhere to or need to comply with?
- What does your ideal rollout look like? Are we doing a beta test in a few locations, or are we launching nationwide?
- Do you have a post-launch plan? This can include troubleshooting, bug fixes, and updates to core components. Or design work, new feature updates, QA testing, and other product support tasks.
Have questions about the RFP process?
Ask us anything. Then, send out your RFP to digital product agencies and see who asks the right follow-up questions.