Successful Proposal Made Easy, a Framework that Works for Everyone.

Image Credit: echoadvertisinginc

Posted by: Albert Weng

After the 3 key criteria of making a proposal, here's a more complete step I'd like to share for a daily basis while making effective proposals.

These steps are very well considered and developed by my own experience and experiment, which start from a high level view and angle, with a purpose to make a quick check on its business case, following on that, to take further steps to go one level down to subsets, and continue to the next. The whole process will always keep the big picture alongside the zoom-in and detailing, while maintaining a solid structure from top to bottom. Here're the steps.

Steps of proposal generation:
1. Idea
2. Draft
3. Prototype
4. Template
5. Guideline
6. Proposal
7. Plan

More detail here.

1. Idea
At this very beginning stage of an idea, it could be orally or by a quick script/ sketch to brief/ pitch, mainly to make a good sense about its business case, in order to get a green light for next.
1) The problem
2) The solution/ product
3) Alternative
4) Prospect
5) Why you (the team and yourself)?
6) Resource
Output: free format of making the idea pitch, depends on the case and who to pitch to

2. Draft
The first context of the proposal in a written format, which covers the conclusion of the Idea stage, includes the agreeable feedback from stakeholders.
Output: a brief written doc of the case.

3. Prototype
Make a very simple but complete work of the desired output, this is a starting point of MVP practice. A prototype shall include:
1) Feature sets (to complete as a work/ product, and those to highlight/ or was unique)
2) Look and feel (describe or present in a way that's enough to be evaluated for a go/ no go.
A prototype is a short form of the work, with clear indication of the highlight and difference between those that's been ignored intentionally. No need to make a full version.
Output: a simple, short form of the work/ product

4. Template
The formal stage of making the work/ output close to the final one. Especially when there're a series of work/ product to be made by a similar guideline. Template normally contains a real work/ product as a full example, and the template itself with clear design in line with guideline.
Output: A complete form of the work/ product

5. Guideline
A clear description of the rules and styles from inside out the the work/ product so far as the baseline while the development of its template followed.
Output: a supporting doc to the work

6. Proposal
As a formal stage of making a proposal pitch to anyone involved, the proposal shall contain all essentials, include:
1) The business case
Background, opportunity, solution/ product, alternatives/ competition, team, timeline, resource, cost/ ROI.

2) A ready prototype
So the formal evaluation of design idea, architecture, structure, feature sets, look and feel, user experience could be taken into practice and thus full consideration for getting final/ formal approval to kickoff.
Output: a written doc with full pitch, attached the ready prototype

7. Plan
After the proposal was formally approved, its associated resources, budget could be then recruited and thus, the plan will be completed for further execution.
Output: a solid project plan to guide for execution to produce the work/ product as planned.

It's a quite long process, however, this applies to most of the possible proposals within the workplace, when you're doing it, or when you're helping others to make one.