Chapter 3: Developing Project Proposals
69. The contractor must notify the customer immediately of any actual or anticipated cost savings or schedule delays.
a. True
b. False
70. The contractor needs to obtain advance approval from the customer before hiring a subcontractor to perform a
project task.
a. True
b. False
71. By having a customer supply schedule, the contractor is protected from incurring schedule slippage caused by
customer delays in furnishing information, parts, or other items.
a. True
b. False
72. At times, patents may result from performing the project.
a. True
b. False
Chapter 3: Developing Project Proposals
73. One party is prohibited from disclosing confidential information, technologies, or processes utilized by the other
party during the project to anyone else or using it for any purpose other than work on the project.
a. True
b. False
74. Contracts for projects that are done for a foreign customer or are conducted in part in a foreign country do not
require the contractor to make certain accommodations.
a. True
b. False
75. The customer can terminate the contract according to requirements in the contract.
a. True
b. False
76. The customer will make payments to the contractor according to the payment schedule in the contract.
a. True
b. False
Chapter 3: Developing Project Proposals
77. The customer will pay the contractor a bonus if the project is completed ahead of schedule or exceeds other
customer performance requirements.
a. True
b. False
78. Changes can be initiated by the customer or be proposed by the contractor. Some changes may necessitate a
change in price (increase or decrease); others may not.
a. True
b. False
79. All changes must be documented and approved by the contractor’s project team before they are incorporated into
the project.
a. True
b. False
80. Contractors measure the success of their proposal efforts by the number of times their proposals are selected by
customers and/or by the total dollar value of their proposals that are selected.
a. True
b. False
Chapter 3: Developing Project Proposals
81. The win ratio is the percentage of the number of proposals a contractor won out of the total number of proposals
the contractor submitted to various customers over a particular time period.
a. True
b. False
82. The total dollar value approach is the ratio of the total dollar value of proposals that the contractor won as a
percentage of the total dollar value of all the proposals the contractor submitted to various customers during a
specific time period.
a. True
b. False
83. Customers and partner organizations prefer to work with people they
a. know are very large with many employees.
b. know and trust.
c. know are lean companies with few employees.
d. have read about.
Chapter 3: Developing Project Proposals
84. establish the foundation for successful funding.
a. Research and records
b. Relationships
c. Public documents
d. Financial investments
85. The most effective way to build a relationship is to
a. talk on the phone regularly.
b. send e-mails.
c. meet face-to-face.
d. maintain a blog so that readers know all about you.
86. Contractors should get to know people in customer organizations
a. by talking all about themselves so the customers know them.
b. by limiting contacts to once or twice a year for business.
c. on a business level only.
d. on personal and business levels.
Chapter 3: Developing Project Proposals
87. A good way to start a conversation with a potential customer at XYZ Company is
a. How did your son‘s football team do this season?
b. Did your sales increase this year?
c. We are working on a project for ABC Company.
d. I just finished a meeting with Grace from ABC. She told me about their new products.
88. You are reading an article about butterfly migration and remember that John from XYZ Company studied
lepidopterology. You decide to
a. send John a copy of the article with a note saying you thought this might be of interest.
b. not bother John thinking he probably already read the article.
c. send John a copy of the article with a note expressing how displeased you are with the latest political
elections.
d. print out a copy of the article and put it in your files in case John comes to the office for a meeting.
89. A way to foster trust is to
a. be reliable and responsive.
b. only contact the customer when planned.
c. ask about upcoming RFPs a company is planning.
d. get insider information about a company then share it with a competitor.
Chapter 3: Developing Project Proposals
90. Sleeping on a contradictory issue and providing a thoughtful answer the next day
a. reinforces that you cannot make quick decisions.
b. reinforces your thoughtfulness and builds a positive perception of you by the customer.
c. lets you get more information to prove the client was wrong.
d. gives you time to find a comic strip to include that expresses your political point of view.
91. It is advisable to build relationship with in a client or partner organization.
a. one individual
b. several key people
c. the top ranking official
d. the chief financial officer
92. Clients want to work with people who can problems, not with those who merely them.
a. identify, evaluate
b. assess, talk about
c. solve, identify
d. create, solve
93. Your company has been supplying a local company with warehouse management. A proposed project
requires warehouse management in 15 national locations. This is an example of how the contractor
could
a. take on too much risk because they have only worked with a small company.
b. hurt its local reputation by working on projects with other companies.
c. develop its proposal writing skills by bidding on the project.
d. extend its capabilities and expand its business to a larger customer base.
Chapter 3: Developing Project Proposals
94. Proposal preparation is completed by
a. a single person when proposing a multimillion-dollar project.
b. a large team for a simple project.
c. a proposal manager regardless of the project size.
d. one or more people depending upon the requirements of the proposal.
95. Proposals are often organized
a. as one long document with no breaks or sections.
b. with technical, management, and cost sections that may not be labeled.
c. as separate volumes to display the different phases of the project life cycle.
d. with a lot of detail to identify the customer‘s problem.
Chapter 3: Developing Project Proposals
96. The contractor should state its understanding of the customer’s need
a. in its own words with description of the customer’s current condition.
b. by restating the problem statement that appears in the RFP.
c. by including complex graphics to show expertise.
d. adding lots of information about other projects that are similar.
97. Materials that would be used for a construction project are
a. concrete truck delivery fees and permits.
b. people, money, and time.
c. lumber, windows, and paint.
d. rough carpenters, plumbers, and finishers.
Chapter 3: Developing Project Proposals
98. When making contingency estimates, the contractor should
a. estimate the amount to mitigate high impact and probable issues.
b. include an amount for each issue that has high impact.
c. include a small amount for each possible issue.
d. heavily pad the estimates to include every issue.
99. A BAFO requested by a customer is
a. a base accounting and finance office clarification from the contractor.
b. a best and first offer from the contractor.
c. a clarification request for broad, ambiguous, frivolous, and obscure aspects of the proposal.
d. a best and final offer from the contractor.
Chapter 3: Developing Project Proposals
100. A vehicle for establishing good customer–contractor communications and arriving at a mutual
understanding and clear expectations to ensure project success is
a. a request for proposal.
b. a contract.
c. a communication plan.
d. the initiation phase of a project.
101. The contract must clearly spell out
a. the names of those responsible for tasks.
b. the number of contact hours the contractor must have with the customer.
c. the deliverables the contractor is expected to provide.
d. the level of risk acceptable by the contractor.
102. The type of contract where the customer and the contractor agree on a price for the proposed work is
a. a fixed price contract
b. a fixed agreement.
c. a cost reimbursement contract.
d. a work agreement.
Chapter 3: Developing Project Proposals
103. A contractor bidding on a fixed–price project must develop
a. accurate and complete cost estimates and include sufficient contingency costs.
b. a well–defined project with low risk.
c. techniques to control costs and reduce expenses to make a larger profit.
d. techniques to determine the cost–at–completion with actual expenditures.
104. Fixed-price contracts are most appropriate for projects that
a. take less than one year to complete.
b. are with customers that want a single payment date.
c. are well defined and entail little risk.
d. involve risk.
Chapter 3: Developing Project Proposals
105. In a , the customer agrees to pay the contractor for all actual costs (labor, materials, and so forth),
regardless of amount, plus some agreed-upon profit.
a. fixed price contract
b. fixed agreement
c. cost reimbursement contract
d. work agreement
106. In , the customer usually requires that, throughout the project, the contractor regularly compares
actual expenditures with the proposed budget and reforecasts cost at–completion, comparing it with the
original proposed price.
a. fixed price contracts
b. fixed agreements
c. cost reimbursement contracts
d. work agreements
Chapter 3: Developing Project Proposals
107. Cost-reimbursement contracts are most appropriate for projects that
a. take less than one year to complete.
b. are with customers that want a single payment date.
c. are well defined and entail little risk.
d. involve risk.
108. The win ratio approach gives
a. equal weight to proposals with larger dollar amounts.
b. more weight to proposals with larger dollar amounts.
c. equal weight to all proposals.
d. less weight to proposals with larger dollar amounts.
109. Total dollar value approach gives
a. equal weight to proposals with larger dollar amounts.
b. more weight to proposals with larger dollar amounts.
c. equal weight to all proposals.
d. less weight to proposals with larger dollar amounts.
Chapter 3: Developing Project Proposals
110. Contractors seriously consider the bid/no–bid decision process in responding to RFPs and submit fewer proposals
but attempt to have
a. a high win ratio.
b. less work to do for projects.
c. the same number of subcontractors and employees.
d. consensus on projects.
111. Describe the differences between a complex proposal and a simplified proposal.
112. Describe at least three criteria that a customer could use to evaluate a contractor’s proposal.