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FTP download of Word Doc This downloads the Word proposal document in Word '97 format.
FTP download of Project Spreadsheet This downloads the Microsoft Project 2000 timeline. This is "Appendix A" of this document.
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IMSAMPLE

For

YOUR Corporation,

Information Services Development Group

Thursday, March 27, 2003

 

 

Albright Ideas,â Inc.

21 Century Ave

Maplewood, MN USA 55119


Table of Contents

Summary Statement

Assumptions

Exclusions

Issues

Risks

Stated Goals

Meeting Goals

Working with recognized teams

Analysis/ Requirements

Design Process

Development Process

Testing

Training

Documentation

Implementation

Post Implementation Review

Proposed budget

Time and Budget Goals

Conclusion

Contacts for any questions regarding this proposal

Corporate Qualifications

Corporate History

Albright Ideas, Inc.

Corporate Key Personnel

Gerry Albright, Managing Principal

Teri Albright, Managing Principal

Leo Abraham, Staff Consultant

Diane Shursen, Staff Consultant

Copyright and Infringement Notice

Appendix A. Estimated Project Timeline

 


Summary Statement

Albright Ideasâ , referred to in the document as AI, can provide the resources necessary for completion of the conversion project. All consultants have experience, which allows for a quicker ramp-up and rollout of the project. Please see Appendix A for the timelines supporting the roll out schedule.

Gerry Albright has 3 years (1994-1997) of Northwest Airlines experience, UNISYS CRA experience (1997-1999), and one year Air Canada experience (1990-1991). He is familiar with the processes and procedures in use for various airlines cargo departments and is familiar with many of the personnel involved. Diane Shursen also has familiarity with Northwest Airlines Cargo procedures (1996-1998) and experience in UNISYS CRA (1999). Teri Albright has UNISYS CRA experience (1989-1990), Northwest CHAMP experience (1995-2000), and more importantly, Air Canada experience (1990-1991). By combining the knowledge gained while under contract, and leveraging the familiarity with the existing systems, AI is poised to jump in and produce results for the conversion project.

Albright Ideasâ , Inc. is a Minnesota computer consulting firm that has been serving customers for over 8 years. Founded in 1992 as TAG Computer Services, we recently changed our name to the federally trademarked Albright Ideasâ . During our operation, we have done work for Northwest Airlines, UNISYS Corporation, and others in the government, private, and corporate arenas. Our personnel have high volume transaction computer experience dating back to 1982 and have developed many professional contacts and networks throughout the state, nationally and internationally and have a track record of successes. Each of our clients has provided us with repeat business indicating their pleasure with our services.

Our knowledge base of over 47 years of MAPPER and ECL programming experience gives us unique insight into completing this UNIX conversion in a timely manner.

The proposal is a time and materials bid at an estimated cost of approximately $xxx for:

The estimated total hours to be spent on the project would be x utilizing x resources.

The proposal does not include:

The project as defined in the timeline is broken into 4 phases: Scope/Analysis, Design/Development, Unit and Integration Testing, and post development activities such as documentation, implementation, and deployment. Each of these phases builds on the previous phase and is needed to properly come to closure on the total conversion.

Each of the above items is subject to the following assumptions, exclusions, issues and risks:

Assumptions

The Request for Proposal (RFP) includes assumptions made for this proposal:

  1. Some items in the budget are available for negotiation, with the reduction or elimination of some items available as an option to reduce overall timelines and costs. After the first phase of the project, determining scope and analysis, more items may be placed into the project timeline, increasing costs and extending timelines, as this is a time and materials bid.
  2. All items not specifically mentioned in this proposal are outside the scope of this proposal. If additional items are required as determined during the scope phase, they will be added using a change/order procedure. AI reserves the right to change the billing rate to adjust for the additional items.
  3. AI is not expert in all areas of your business. AI will facilitate third parties and provide introductions when appropriate., All costs associated with these introductions are outside the scope of the proposal.
  4. AI will present a signoff sheet for each milestone of the project indicating that the milestone has been reached. By the signature of the project sponsors, they agree that the milestone has been completed and is ready for the next step as defined in the timeline.
  5. Customer will provide the following resources:
  1. This proposal is provided in a "best fit" scenario. It assumes that there are no other projects ongoing that will interfere with completion of this project or its timelines.
  2.  

Exclusions

Certain items cannot be covered under the services AI can provide. This list is not inclusive of all the items excluded, but represent those items known at the time of the proposal, which are not included in the proposal.

  1. No enhancements or local code initiatives will be provided under this proposal. These can be provided at additional cost.
  2. Travel costs associated with gathering requirements, interviewing clients, developing code, implementing the finished product, etc. are not included.
  3. AI cannot install, repair, or provide service on facilities or peripheral equipment.
  4. It is the responsibility of customer to provide the proper licensing of the products and services utilized under the proposal. AI does not license hardware or software.
  5. AI may recommend specific products for use in the business, but AI does not provide merchantability or warranty guarantees regarding the products recommended nor customized for use.
  6. Customer is responsible for determining the fit of the developed software into the overall business needs. AI does not provide merchantability warranties regarding software customized or developed to specification.
  7. AI, through its distributor can provide equipment, software, and Microsoft Press books, IDG Worldwide, IBM training materials, Sun, etc. The costs associated with individuals or corporations wishing to purchase training books, courses, software or equipment through AI are outside the scope of the proposal budget.
  8. AI cannot control factors such as on site work actions and other personnel related issues. AI will not place its consultants in situations where safety is an issue. Should customer experience a job action or slowdown by one or more personnel, or other disruption in workflow including, but not limited to, other projects interfering with this one, AI does not accept responsibility for deliverable timetables.
  9. Conversion of archiving and imaging routines for data storage outside of the primary computer system. These will be addressed at additional cost.
  10. Conversion of data not directly related to unit or implementation testing. Items outside this scope will be addressed at additional cost.

 

Issues

With a project of this scope, outstanding issues and open-ended questions are raised. This section documents the known issues at the time of the proposal submission. This list is not fully inclusive of all outstanding issues relating to this project, but identifies some of the questions.

  1. Start date.
  2. Scope.

Risks

Risks are inherent with a project of this size and scope. This section identifies the known risks at the time of proposal submission. It is not an all-inclusive list. Using Risk Management techniques AI will attempt to mitigate and reduce risks associated with completion of the project wherever possible. Potential risks include:

  1. "Ramp up" time to provide AI consultants with current system protocols and access routines for accessing the required databases.
  2. Decisions made by the user group which may mitigate the need for the project.
  3. Lack of available corporate resources to answer questions and perform duties pertaining to the project.
  4. Freeze or cancellation after start of project. AI hours will continue to be billed in total as specified in the signed contract.

 

Stated Goals

Meeting Goals

AI will make reasonable effort to meet the stated spirit and goals of the proposal. AI will utilize one-on-one contact to reduce the risks associated with roadblocks presented and try to gain consensus opinions of how to proceed when direction is not clear.

To create consensus on completion we will address each of the stated goals of the project:

In addition to the above stated goals, AI will ......

Working with recognized teams

AI will work with the identified teams to determine needs and analysis required to complete the project. We will follow up with one-on-one and group meetings to acquire requirements.

To administer groups the following steps will be taken:

  1. Identify groups currently cognizant of the project.
  2. Identify key personnel (sponsors) and contacts in those groups. These personnel will become the signatory authority on milestone completions.
  3. Provide a methodology or procedure to involve those groups in the project and provide the input and feedback required to complete the project within specifications. This will include weekly status meetings either by phone or in person to the signatory authority. These meetings may include verbal updates regarding the progress of items outlined in the project spreadsheet. Group team meetings will be utilized to disseminate information regarding this project locally.

Analysis/ Requirements

AI will review the current documentation available and determine if additional requirements are required or needed. We will inventory the systems to define the scope of the conversion effort. We will then identify the additional steps required and provide feedback to the signatories of the proposal. This will allow a dialogue to be set up between parties to gain a good working relationship regarding the needs assessment and future direction of the project. This phase may add additional time to the proposed timeline based on the findings of the AI team.

Design Process

AI will design the new programs needed according to specification. Once specifications are determined, signatory authority will be required on the specification allowing the next phase of the project to begin.

Development Process

AI will develop code according to the industry practices. Development will be completed using customer supplied access routes, routines and methods.

Once each unit is completed to specification, customer personnel will sign off on completion.

Testing

AI will unit test each of the converted modules as it is completed (unit testing). Customer will be expected to provide a dedicated testing team to properly verify that the software performs to specifications and provide preliminary approval for the next phase of the software implementation. AI and customer personnel will determine the readiness of the software for the next phase of the project, implementation, by signing off on completion.

Training

AI can provide an email address for use of up to two weeks following implementation of this project to provide answers to written questions.

Following the two-week time period, additional training sessions and support issues can be addressed to AI for additional cost outside the scope of this proposal.

Documentation

Prior to the start of the code phase AI will provide an inventory list of programs to be converted. This will define the scope of the conversion effort. As conversion proceeds, this inventory list will be updated to provide an ongoing status report of the conversion effort for each system. Along with this list, in the same or other similar document, a quick statement regarding the required changes for each run will be provided. AI will maintain one copy of this list on the customer servers and one copy on the AI servers.

At completion of the conversion, AI will provide documentation in the form of Word documents and notes used in the development of the product to support staff. It is customer's responsibility to maintain this documentation in good order and update it according to corporate needs.

Implementation

In conjunction with customer personnel, AI will provide support to implement the software modules.

Post Implementation Review

AI will meet with sponsoring key personnel to determine how the project was completed and where correction may be made in the next project undertaken.

Proposed budget

Time and Budget Goals

This is a time and materials bid.

Liability of the execution of the proposal lies directly with customer. AI does not accept the liability for any issue that is outside the scope of what is specifically stated in this proposal. If other projects are on-going which might interfere with the execution of this project, timelines are likely to slip.

Approximate expected timeline is about x months for x resources (see project plan for details):

Our proposal is based on time and material hours, which are billable to customer at $xxx per hour per resource, assuming x full- time resources and x part-time resources. The detailed project plan including time and resources are found in Appendix A. The Microsoft Project Plan as given in the Appendix provides a rough scope for meeting the stated objectives of the UNIX conversion project.

Estimates for resource hours:

Resource 1 x hours
Resource 2 x hours
Resource 3 x hours
Resource 4 x hours
  x Total hours

On a per line basis the cost would breakdown to approximately $xxx per line of code.

In addition, customer personnel are expected to provide a minimum of x hours of support work in the form of testing, database administration time, and management time.

As a reminder, these timelines are estimates only.

Conclusion

 AI has the resources and knowledge to complete the project. We have consistently completed tasks for our clients to their satisfaction evidenced by the repeat business we have obtained from them. Our familiarity with x protocols and procedures provide an edge to speed up the development and implementation of mission critical systems.

 Please choose us for completion of the project.

Contacts for any questions regarding this proposal

Albright Ideas, Inc. (651) 688-2726

Gerry Albright or Teri Albright

Albright Ideas, Inc. is a Subchapter S Corporation incorporated in the state of Minnesota with main offices located at 21 Cenutry Ave, MN 55119.

Corporate Qualifications

Corporate History

Albright Ideas, Inc.

Albright Ideas, Inc. is a Minnesota computer consulting firm in operation for 8 years. Founded in 1992 as TAG Computer Services, we most recently changed our name to the federally trademarked Albright Ideasâ , Inc. During our operation, we have done work for Northwest Airlines, UNISYS Corporation, and others in the government, private, and corporate arenas. On staff personnel have high volume transaction computer experience dating back to 1982 and have developed many professional contacts and networks throughout the state and nationally. Please see the included key personnel listing for individual resumes.

AI personnel have demonstrated in the past that we know how to work with diverse groups of people to reach a specified goal. AI personnel provided the State of Minnesota with the Redistricting effort early in 1992 under Comp-U-Staff (now Ajilon Corporation). In doing so, the personnel had to coordinate all the Minnesota County Election officials that coordinated with all the local precincts for the following elections. Beginning in early 1992, AI personnel gained invaluable experience in working with large widely scattered groups, bring them together to reach a consensus, and training them on the operation of their new software, developed in house at the Secretary of State's office. The fact that all citizens in the state were able to vote, and received notifications of their new precinct assignments, indicates that this project was a success. This undertaking was done after a consulting group from outside the state was unable to complete the project, and deadlines were looming. Using three personnel from Ajilon (two of which are currently with AI) as well as 5 Secretary of State personnel, we were able to complete the project in just 6 months. This involved rebuilding the precinct database using the new political census which determined new boundaries, training all personnel on how to utilize the new database, applying the new precinct database to each of the 4.5 million (at that time) registered voters, and providing notification to the citizenry of the new precincts to which they were assigned based on each County's legal budget and notification procedures.

Since that time, AI has undertaken projects for other government entities. In partnership with the Kaufman Group and INET, Inc., AI personnel provided the research and written opinion of the implementation of software for Suffolk County in New York. The stated goal of the project was to determine the suitability of the implementation of several high volume transaction systems including 911 service, police databases, and other government infrastructure computer systems. In a short timeframe, Kaufman Group and INET provided the written opinion and report to the County Commissioners so they could make an informed decision of the next step to take. 

AI for the last five years has worked in the private sector providing clients such as UNISYS and Northwest Airlines with private enterprise contract maintenance programming for high volume transaction systems in their respective Airline Cargo Revenue Accounting systems. During this timeframe, AI has become sensitive to the needs of private business, and gained invaluable insights into the needs to expand market share, drive toward e-commerce, and expanding sales.

 AI work at Northwest Airlines involved the design, implementation, and training of airline personnel in developing an interface between the existing CHAMP system and the CARMs invoicing and billing systems in 1994. Working with goals set by Northwest Airlines personnel and designing the interface between the two systems, we were able to install the system using Northwest Airlines and AI personnel within budget parameters. This gave us local exposure to Northwest Airline's business processes and code. Following the completion of the phased CHAMP to CARMS interface, AI was contracted to perform maintenance and upgrades on the CHAMP system (CHAMP 14 upgrade) and provide backup system support. We have continued to provide those services since then. Most recently, we have provided an additional interface, in conjunction with Northwest Airlines personnel, for the CHAMP to CARMs billing information, by enhancing the existing CARMS interface to include all Air Waybills entered into the CHAMP system.

 Corporate Key Personnel

Albright Ideas, Inc.

Gerry Albright, Managing Principal

Mr. Albright has over fifteen years of technical and applications support and development experience within the business and service industries in public, collegiate, and private sectors. He has had a career progression that has led to supervisory roles as Lead Programmer, System Coordinator, Project Leader, and President and CEO. He co-founded TAG Computer Services in 1992, Inc and has operated AI. He has extensive experience with software systems and installations, hardware conversions, and support of related peripheral devices for both online and batch information technology computer and information technology systems. He has experience in mass marketing mailing systems, personnel systems, airline accounting systems, commercial computer software development, county and state government applications including political boundary redistricting, and wastewater control systems.

He has over 6 years experience with the CHAMP MAPPER systems: One year experience with Air Canada's CHAMP system, three years experience with Northwest Airlines MAPPER systems, and four and a half years with the UNISYS CRA system (CRA is the UNISYS trade name for CHAMP).

Teri Albright, Managing Principal

Mrs. Albright has fourteen years of data processing experience using UNISYS and IBM environments, for government and commercial applications. These include, includinga meter tracking system for a public utility, online applications for a performance services company, a redistricting project, an accounting package and interface for major airlines, tax service applications, and electronic funds transfer applications. Extensive experience with fourth generation languages, online and batch applications, system documentation, and user support.

She has over 4 years experience with the Northwest Airlines CHAMP system and one year experience with Air Canada's CHAMP system and 2 years with the UNISYS CRA system.

Leo Abraham, Staff Consultant

Mr. Abraham is a staff consultant skilled in the use of custom designed computer systems and development and implementation of those systems in the MAPPER language. He has 22 years experience in the development, implementation, and completion of computer information technologies. He is most recently familiar with manufacturing distribution systems in the automotive industry. His background is working for the MAPPER development team at the UNISYS Roseville facility.

 Diane Shursen, Staff Consultant

Over 17 years programming and professional consulting specializing in CASE/4GL on mainframe, UNIX, and PC platforms with experience in airlines financial systems, state government, broadcasting, distribution and manufacturing industries utilized for application design, conversion, database design, performance analysis, database administration, communication skills.

She has over 4 years experience with the CHAMP MAPPER systems: 3 years experience with Northwest Airlines CHAMP system, and 1 year experience with UNISYS CRA system (CRA is the trade name for UNISYS' version of CHAMP.)

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

This timeline, proposal, and associated documentation are proprietary to Albright Ideasâ , Inc. copyright 2000. All right reserved. Documents may not be reproduced or used in whole or part, via transmission electronic or otherwise, nor be transferred to any third party. Documents may not be used in conjunction with or as an addition to customer proposed work without the expressed written permission of Albright Ideasâ , Inc.

This document does not present nor define any type of partnership agreement between Albright Ideasâ and customer and should not be construed to identify such a relationship.

 

Appendix A. Estimated Project Timeline

 The following pages attached as a separate document represent the estimated timeline for the project proposed above. The timeline is an estimate based on the facts known at the time the proposal is submitted. The project timelines will slip based on factors such as X. Additionally, deadlines will slip if additional items are identified in the detailed design and development phase not covered under this guideline.

 At each indicated milestone, customer personnel are expected to approve the completion of the milestone by signature indicating to all parties the milestone has been reached and completed satisfactorily.

This timeline is available to customer using Microsoft Project 2000, for updating in conjunction with project management tools. This timeline will be used as the measurement tool to identify that the project is on track and will meet the milestones indicated, or to determine project need. It may not be used for any other purpose. 

Click here to see web representation of Microsoft Project 2000 timeline