PROPOSALS

The proposal is one of the most important forms of writing engineers do. Successful
proposals lead to jobs, products and profit. Unsuccessful proposals lead nowhere. This
document presents the basics of proposals:

• The goal
• The audience
• The structure
• The use of research

The Goal

While style and structure of proposals vary, successful proposals require Attitude.
A successful proposal convinces the reader that:

• The proposal is good (scientifically, economically)

• The writers are qualified to accomplish the task.

"Convincing" makes many engineers uncomfortable because they think good science
should convince by itself; however, you must still persuade the reader that your science is
good. Convince the reader that you have thought through the problem and have a
workable solution.

The Audience

No one ever paid a consultant to tell him what he already knew. Your audience needs to
know something. You need to explain the problem clearly, and to provide full
background to give context to your solution. Remember the readers need

• to know that you know what you are doing

• to understand your approach

Structure of the Proposal

Six Basic Elements:

1. Executive Summary
2. Introduction
3. Project Description or Program
4. Timeline and Milestones
5. Budget
6. Qualifications

The Executive Summary

The executive summary is a short, information-packed summary of the proposal. In one

or two paragraphs, state the purpose of the proposal, the essentials of the program and the
total expense of the budget. This should not exceed one page. A reader should finish the
summary knowing the basic information. Only an interested reader needs to read more.
Write the executive summary after you have finished the rest of the report.

Purpose ÷ The purpose can be described any number of ways. Here are two:

 State the problem or need you are prepared to address. Many proposals are
responding to problems that need to be solved. e.g. A part of a product wears out too
soon. How can we make the product work better?
 Explain the goal of the proposal. Sometimes a proposal is to develop a new
product or idea. In this case, you are not solving a problem. Still you need to explain
why you want to develop the proposal. (See the sample below for an example of this).

However you describe it, you need to clearly and simply explain what the proposal is for.
The executive summary needs to be aimed at a general audience ÷ typically managers ÷
so this is not the place for technical detail. It is the place, however, for considering the
company and its requirements

Program ÷ At the proposal stage, students will rarely have a fully-worked out solution.
That is expected for research-based projects. (Many proposals in industry will be able to
present a full solution because the proposal is to implement previously developed
technology.) Regardless, the executive summary needs to include a brief statement of
what you think you will do. In one or two sentences state at least one of these:

o what will take place

o benefit of the project
o how and where it will operate
Funding requirements ÷ State the bottom line. If an explanation of the figure is
required, make that as concisely as possible.
Qualifications ÷ Briefly state your name, history, purpose, and activities, emphasizing
your capacity to carry out this proposal.
Sample of an Executive Summary (Slightly modified from the original)
Executive summary
(1) Memory management is a crucial factor
in operating system and application
performance. (2) The purpose of this
project is to study of the relative merits of
the best fit and worst fit selection
algorithms used in memory management.
(3) the first goal of the project is to produce
a reference table with the test sets and
results for software developers using
algorithms. (4) The second goal is to
develop a very specific set of rules for
when to use each algorithm. (5) the results
will be valuable to software developers
when choosing between the best fit and
worst fit selection algorithms. (6) while the
first goal can be attained in the ten week
period, attaining the second goal will
depend on the results of the data. (7)
consequently, the second goal may be
unreachable, or require further research. (8)
the cost for the ten week period is $7500.
Notes
1. The first sentence gives some
context by defining terms. it could
be improved by adding the simple
word "computer" to separate this
study from something in cognitive
ergonomics.
2. The project's goals are clearly
stated in the second, third and
fourth sentences.
3. The value of the project is outlined
in sentence five.
4. the limitation or scope of the work
is presented in sentences six and
seven.
5. the cost is explained in the last
sentence. note that the cost is for
ten weeks regardless of whether the
second goal is attained.
6. this summary does not include the
writer's qualifications, presumably
 because the writer is a student who
has no experience in this kind of
work.

Introduction

One major problem students have is blurring Executive Summaries and Introductions.
NEVER assume that the reader of the introduction has already read the executive
summary. In other words, the executive summary just repeats

1. State the purpose (make it clear that you are proposing something).

Define the opportunity or problem. Usually, you need to begin by explaining the
situation: what circumstances led to the proposal (e.g. an industrial sponsor's problem)?
Consider the following:

o Decide what facts best support the project.

o Determine whether it is reasonable to portray the need as acute.
o Explain how your project relates to similar projects that preceded it.
o Avoid circular reasoning.

2. Explain useful background. e.g. What engineering principles will guide your
solution? Even if you think your reader knows this information, show the reader that you
understand it too. (Sometimes, background is separated into a separate section. If you do
this, put the background after the overview.)

3. Give a brief overview of the contents of the whole proposal. (For example, in
the introduction to the "structure of the proposal" here, six basic elements are listed.
These are then elaborated in later sections. A similar kind of brief sketch will help a
proposal reader.)

This is what a first draft of an introduction might look like Notice that there are a number
of questions whose answers might help develop really good opening context.
 The market for backpacks is huge. Students throughout North America from ages 5-25
carry backpacks to school. [find out sales figures?] Many need to replace their
backpacks each year due to frayed straps or broken zippers. [survey users to discover
complaints about existing backpacks?] Therefore, any company that can produce and
market a product that is cheap and/or high quality will be able to find a market niche.
[analyze what determines cost? materials? place of manufacture? distance to market?]
This proposal will outline a product that will fill the need for a high quality yet affordable
product appropriate for university students.

The Project Description or Program

State explicitly what you propose to do. Some also include a "scope" statement ÷ an
explicit statement of what you will not be doing to help limit the task. Explain your
approach to the problem in detail. Some of the following questions might be useful:

• What are the technical specifications for the proposed piece of work?
• How will current research ÷ such as recent articles on the subject or other
projects of a similar kind ÷ be used to help solve the problem?
• How does your work fit into a larger project?

Included in your program you should have three subsections: objectives, methods, and
evaluation. You do not need to use these sections as subheadings, but you do need to
clearly explain all three aspects of the project.

OBJECTIVES

Your objectives must be tangible, specific, concrete, measurable, and achievable in a

specified time period.

Currently, software developers have only a general description and understanding of

how the algorithms work in deciding which algorithm is more appropriate for their
application. I propose to quantify the performance of each algorithm given varying sets
of memory requests. This data will allow developers to compare the performance trade
off of each algorithm based on the expected memory request set for their application.
Objectives can come in several varieties:

1. Behavioral ÷ A human action is anticipated.

Software developers will be able to compare the performance trade off of each
algorithm based on the expected memory request set for their application.

2. Performance ÷ A specific time frame within which a behavior will occur, at an

expected proficiency level, is expected.

Software developers will be able to compare the performance trade off of each
algorithm based on the expected memory request set for their application.
This efficiency will cut the time for testing new applications by 40%.
3. Process ÷ The manner in which something occurs is an end in itself.

4. Product ÷ A tangible item results.

The first goal of the project is to produce a reference table with the test sets
and results for software developers using algorithms. The second goal is the
development of a very specific set of rules for when to use each algorithm.
While the first goal can be attained in the ten week period, attaining the second
goal will depend on the results of the data.

METHODS

In your program, you need to do the following:

• Describe the specific activities that will take place to achieve the objectives, that
is what will occur from the time the project begins until it is completed.
• Enable the reader to visualize the implementation of the project.
• Match the previously stated objectives.
• Provide the order and timing for the tasks.
• Defend your chosen methods, especially if they are new or unorthodox.
EVALUATION

Building evaluation into a project is an important part of engineering design. You need
to consider how you will evaluate whether the project is successful. How will you
measure whether the project meets its goal? By including a mechanism for evaluation in
your proposal, you indicate that achieving objective is a serious goal. You also provide
the best means for others to learn from your experience. Two types of Formal Evaluation
are common

1. Measuring the product (e.g. test a computer program's performance under various
conditions for versatility, accuracy, speed, etc.)
2. Analyzing the process (e.g. analyze the milestones such as the ability of a
prototype to integrate with other components of a project)

Either or both might be appropriate