Before an RFP takes over the project

Is this technology project ready for an RFP?

Pressure-test the outcome, ownership, data, evaluation, cost, risk, and exit conditions before drafting a public technology RFP.

Start Failure patterns Decision pack Pressure tests Resource library RFP readiness Transportation billing AI procurement Worked example Scope Cutter Review record Standards and policies

Time

About 5 minutes

You leave with

RFP readiness gap brief

Privacy

No account. No submission.

Use operational facts, not confidential records.

Do not enter confidential procurement, student, personnel, resident, vendor, security, or incident information. Answers are saved only in this browser and are not sent to JS Technology Solutions.

Your pressure test

Leave with a gap list for the decision meeting, not a generic procurement checklist.

Answer for the project as it exists now, before solicitation language is drafted.

Question 1 of 10 0 answered

Answer standard: “Yes” means you can point to evidence today. Treat assumptions as unknown.

Nothing has been submitted.

Question 1: Does the team agree on the operational outcome and the decision this procurement must improve?

Public decision · core condition

Does the team agree on the operational outcome and the decision this procurement must improve?

Describe what must change for users or the public, without assuming a particular product or technical method.

Yes, with evidenceThe condition is defined, current, and supported by something the team can review. Partly or unknownSome work exists, but the evidence, owner, or boundary is incomplete. NoThe team cannot support this condition yet.

Question 2: Are the operational, procurement or finance, and IT or security owners named?

Decision team · core condition

Are the operational, procurement or finance, and IT or security owners named?

Add privacy, accessibility, legal, records, data, labor, or communications review when the scope requires it.

Question 3: Can the organization show the current volume, cycle time, errors, cost, risk, or service level?

Current baseline

Can the organization show the current volume, cycle time, errors, cost, risk, or service level?

A baseline makes vendor claims, evaluation, and acceptance testable.

Question 4: Has the team documented why process repair, current-system changes, shared services, or a smaller scope are insufficient?

Alternatives

Has the team documented why process repair, current-system changes, shared services, or a smaller scope are insufficient?

Market research should not begin with the preferred product as the only viable answer.

Question 5: Are necessary data, system interfaces, access roles, retention, export, and transition needs known?

Data and integration · core condition

Are necessary data, system interfaces, access roles, retention, export, and transition needs known?

Record unknowns and approved discovery work instead of turning assumptions into requirements.

Question 6: Can each must-have requirement be demonstrated or verified?

Requirements

Can each must-have requirement be demonstrated or verified?

Replace vague promises with observable vendor actions, evidence, and pass or fail conditions.

Question 7: Is there a common evaluation method that distinguishes mandatory gates from scored preferences?

Evaluation

Is there a common evaluation method that distinguishes mandatory gates from scored preferences?

All vendors should face the same scenario, evidence request, scoring rule, and conflict safeguards.

Question 8: Will pricing capture implementation, integration, migration, support, usage, change, renewal, and exit costs?

Whole-life cost

Will pricing capture implementation, integration, migration, support, usage, change, renewal, and exit costs?

A low entry price can hide the cost shape that matters across the intended life of the arrangement.

Question 9: Are pilot or implementation acceptance conditions tied to a continue, repair, or stop decision?

Acceptance

Are pilot or implementation acceptance conditions tied to a continue, repair, or stop decision?

Name the decision owner, evidence, time window, dependencies, and remedy for a failed acceptance test.

Question 10: Have responsible local officials verified authority, competition, funding, approvals, contract terms, and schedule?

Local route · core condition

Have responsible local officials verified authority, competition, funding, approvals, contract terms, and schedule?

Procurement law, policy, thresholds, and required approvals vary by organization and jurisdiction.

Do next

Questions to close

Local verification boundary

This brief is a working aid, not legal, procurement, security, privacy, accessibility, records, finance, or policy advice. Responsible officials must verify the route, authority, requirements, risk decisions, and approvals that apply locally.

Neutral next routes

Keep working from the decision, not the product.

Open the technology RFP release gate

Work the seven decisions that should be supported before a solicitation becomes the discovery process.

Continue →

Cut the scope first

Use the Scope Cutter when the pressure test reveals that the project is still too broad.

Continue →

Disclosed commercial route

If the gap is real, JSTK can help scope the smallest responsible response.

JS Technology Solutions publishes this free tool and also offers software. A request starts a separate scoping conversation. It does not enroll you in updates, and it does not authorize a product build. If an existing JSTK property does not fit honestly, we will say so.

Request a scoping conversation

Source record

Primary sources behind this pressure test

Last verified August 26, 2026

Capital Programming Guide, Version 3.1
Office of Management and Budget. Supplement to OMB Circular A-11, 2025. Supports: Disciplined portfolio planning, prioritization, life-cycle cost, risk, acquisition, and performance management.
Digital Services Playbook
U.S. DOGE Service. Current public edition. Supports: User needs, iterative delivery, accountable ownership, security and privacy, and decision-linked measurement.
Cybersecurity Guidance for K-12 Technology Acquisitions
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. August 2023. Supports: Security questions and secure-by-design considerations for K-12 technology purchasing.
AI Guide for Government
U.S. General Services Administration. Living public guide. Supports: Problem selection, organizational readiness, integrated teams, buy-versus-build decisions, testing, data rights, sustainable capability, and lessons learned.

These sources provide useful disciplines and risk frames. They do not make every cited rule applicable to every state, local, or K-12 organization.

Popular public technology guides

Technology RFP readiness Resolve the operating decision, evidence, ownership, cost, acceptance, and exit questions before release. Transportation invoice reconciliation Connect contracts, route assignments, service evidence, invoice lines, exceptions, credits, and approvals. AI procurement scoping Define the public decision, human authority, evaluation, contract, monitoring, and exit conditions.