Introduction

The purpose of an RFI is to solicit information from vendors relative to products and services.  In essence this is a fact finding mission.  It is often used as a market sounding to establish if there are vendors who are able and willing to provide a product or service, and to evaluate the suitability of that product or service for the requirement.  It can also be used as a means to produce a shortlist of qualified vendors and/or product or service prior to purchasing those products or services using a Request for Quotation or Request for Proposals. Steering Committee, Term Paper Example

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The issuing of an RFI to potential vendors is a useful way of creating communications channels and establishing a start point for a formal selection process.  (Ahima Journal, 2012)

Events in an RFI

The following events make up the composition of an RFI process:-

1. Specification of Requirements
   1. A clear statement that sets out the basis for the Request for Information(RFI). Essentially a high level project description that sets out the skills required to meet the job
2. Benchmarks and Evaluation Criteria
   1. Sets out the measurements of the RFI. It will define mandatory and desirable requirements and details of the weightings or scores that will be used to scale the individual strengths of the candidate
3. Clarifications
   1. Will provide a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s) to assist the candidate in completing the RFI
4. Deliverables
   1. Essentially a list of the key deliverables in which the candidate’s skills will be measured against. May include key performance indicators (KPI’s) (Project Management Institute, 2008)

RFP functional matrix – administrative duties

The key administrative events will be measured by the following matrix example.  This is an abridged version that focuses upon the key administrative tasks within the RFI /RFP Process. The Vendor will advise whether the service offering already exists in a simple (Y/N) response. It will then state whether the service / product currently requires custom development, part of a future development or is not available. Comments can be used to provide an explanation of how custom development requirements will be met or other areas of clarification.

The template below provides an illustrative example of administrative requirements based on a provided scenario. RFP’s can be lengthy documents that will require the vendor to respond on a wide range of functional applications.  It is the full set of requirements that provides the interlock of a holistic system and this is specifically important where systems software selection is the purpose of the RFP.

Administration System
Functional Requirement		Available	Custom  Develop	Future  Develop	Not  Available	Comments
Area	Requirement	(Y/N)
Admin	Track admissions and discharges on hourly basis. Post to Admissions Records System	Y	?
Admin	Enter details for paient billing.	Y	?
Admin	Notification of patient discharge for cleansing of room	Y	?
Admin	New room available notice	N		?		Easy module code build
Admin	Average length of stay by physician diagnosis	Y	?

 The above illustration has been populated with data in order to illustrate a simple response matrix in line with the scenario that has been provided. This provides details of the Administrative function only and does not embrace the many interface requirements that would normally be contained within a full RFP. Steering Committee, Term Paper Example

References

Ahima Journal. (2012, 10 8). The RFP Process for EHR systems. Retrieved from Ahima Journal: http://library.ahima.org/xpedio/groups/public/documents/ahima/bok1_047961.hcsp?dDocName=bok1_047961

Project Management Institute. (2008). Project Management Body of Knowledge Guide, 4th Edition. In P. M. Institute, Project Management Body of Knowledge Guide, 4th Edition (p. 75). Altlanta GA: PMI. Steering Committee, Term Paper Example