Get the Measure of the Work

The bid specification may define the tasks to be undertaken, the inputs to be applied, the way the contract is to be structured into blocks of work or stages, the timetable of the work and the outputs and deliverables that are required. Even so, you need to consider whether the client's perception of the work offers the most practical and cost-effective route to the results intended. Clients may underestimate the amount of professional effort that will be required, with implications for the budget, and they may specify a pace of delivery that cannot be sustained either technically or logistically in the particular work environment.

Make sure you feel secure about the structure of the work programme and the resources that will be needed both to administer it and to perform efficiently the technical side of the contract. It is important to think about the detailed requirements of the work, not simply its broad outlines. But remember that these requirements are certain to alter as the contract takes shape: your approach will need to show adaptability and responsiveness to changes in the client's priorities.

Some further questions to consider:

• What are the options for structuring the contract work programme? If the client has indicated a particular approach and the bid specification allows variant solutions, are there reasons for suggesting an alternative work structure - for example, if you believe this can achieve results more cost-effectively, rapidly and dependably?

• What range of options do you have in terms of technical methods and procedures? What are their resource implications? Are there aspects of the contract to which you can bring an innovative and distinctive approach?

• What tasks are likely to be central to the success of the project, and what are the critical links between tasks and inputs?

• What assumptions are you making about the validity of the data that will be available or the conditions in which the work will have to be done?

• Are there constraints that determine the way the contract will have to be performed - for example, environmental requirements or health and safety procedures?

• Will the contract require the input of a team working closely together at a central site, either long-term or in the initial stages? Can parts of the contract be delivered successfully by people working remotely?

• If the client has not indicated where the work is to be done, what are your views on this point? Are there methods or processes that would be hard to apply in a particular location or cause problems of logistics?