A cover page will often include the title of the proposal, the date, any contributors’ names, and team name (if applicable).

Like an abstract, this is a one or two paragraph summary of your product, idea, or service, how it meets your intended requirements, and how it will meet expectations.

Think of this as a very brief overview that contains the most pertinent information about your proposal such as a high-level summary of your idea, what audience it is targeting, the problem it is solving, and the overall goal of your proposal. You will expand on this information in the sections below. Think of your PD3 Assignment: Preliminary Idea for SI Challenge as similar to an executive summary.

This is where you will discuss the history of your idea, product, or service; consider how your proposal relates to your client, company, and team; and reflect on how other proposals are similar or different.

This is also where you will outline how the product relates to your client’s needs and why this is relevant to them. Once again, think back to your PD3 Assignment: Preliminary Idea for SI Challenge; what information there provides necessary context for a proposal? This portion of a proposal may also connect to content from the PD3 module about Design Thinking, such as the Empathy Maps component of the Design Thinking Package Assignment; in a Background section, you can include observations you captured about users who would be affected by your idea, product, or service. It would also be beneficial to reflect the PD3 module about Universal Design and the steps required to complete the User Impact Profile Assignment; how can the principles of universal design provide further context to the proposal?

This section of a proposal is where you can explain why you are proposing your idea in the first place.

Think back to the SDGs covered in the Sustainable Development module; SDGs are a great example of providing a rationale within a proposal. This section could cover a problem you are trying to address, and how your idea, product, or service is relevant to addressing that problem. 

Think back to Part 3 of the User Impact Profile Assignment as well; why is it important that users’ needs are addressed? Another useful concept to revisit in developing rationales are the As-Is Scenarios from the Design Thinking module; what points of inefficiency, confusion, or pain are being addressed in your proposal, and why is it important that you are addressing these user concerns?

This is where you will introduce your main idea. Typically, this will cover the who, what, where, when, why, and how.

Make this section clear and concise and do not exaggerate. Try to use clear reasoning and factual information to demonstrate why your proposal is meaningful and realistic. You can provide additional information related to implications that may be caused by the problem you are addressing as well as the importance of your plan to address them.

This is where you will outline what currently exists in the marketplace, your company, other companies, etc., and how your current proposal compares to these ideas. As you will almost always require an audience for success, considering a marketing plan is a significant part of a proposal.

As a starting point, it is useful to think of 3-4 potential areas of consideration when beginning to brainstorm how you would market your idea, mediums that would work well to market your idea, and potential competitors.

This is where you will outline the immediate, short-term, and long-term benefits of your proposal for your project’s stakeholders. How will your company, clients, or team gain positive results from the idea, product, or service proposed?

Think back to the Design Thinking module and specifically Practicting the Loop: Make section where we discussed Big Idea Vignettes and Hills Statements. How are you addressing points of inefficiency, confusion, and pain? Who will be positively affected by your proposal? What are the intended results? Think about the Wow factor; what is the ideal end state of your idea, product, or service?

What risks may you encounter when beginning to implement your proposal? What problems would arise because of these risks?

Think back to the Workplace Project Management module series, specifically the discussion of Risk Assessment and Risk Management Plans in the Flexibility, Problem Solving, and Critical Thinking lesson. In this section of a proposal, you would include an overview of the problem steps involved with the risks you have identified, and the steps you would take to mitigate or resolve the problems that come with those risks.

This will entail a clear presentation of how you will implement your proposal from start to finish with specific dated benchmarks. This section often uses visual aids such as tables and/or diagrams to show the timeline of your proposal and its deliverables.

For more information related to timelines, refer to the Workplace Project Management module series, specifically Planning and Scheduling (including Gantt Charts). Remember to consider the scope and schedule of your project.

This is where you will restate your main points clearly and concisely. Tie them together with a common theme and make your proposal memorable.