Proposal Reflections :: IP&T 564
This semester I’m taking an Instructional Design class at BYU. As part of the class we had to create a proposal for an ID project and write a reflection on the process. Even though I still have a lot to learn about creating proposals, the following are some reflections I’ve had about the process…
First of all, I’ve found, after receiving comments, that there were many more details that I needed to include in my proposal than I had originaly thought. I’m guessing though, that proposals, like other tasks, have a learning curve. I hope that as I prepare more proposals I will be able to do them in less time.
As I worked on the proposal, I tried to keep a couple of things in mine. My feeling is that it is important when creating a proposal tolet my style show through. In addition to talking about the project, the proposal is, in a sense, a resume. I’d like the people I’m going to be working for to see what I’m like right off the bat. If they don’t like my style I’d rather know right from the beginning rather than after the project is under way. There were three things that I tried to make specific effort to address when creating the proposal.
1.) Design is VERY important. When I’m hiring graphic designers for my projects, I’m always surprised at how many resumes come across my desk with terrible formatting. In fact, I’ve started automatically eliminating any design resume I see that is done in “Times New Roman”. I feel the same way about the proposals I create. Even though they are not a final product, they should show my concern with design.
2.) Getting right to the point. Some proposals I’ve read are verbose and confusing. As much as I can, I try to explain a project in as few words as possible (although in this case I may have gone overboard and not included enough details).
3.) Under promise and over deliver. I’ve found that people are always very happy if they feel they get more than they expected, but very upset if they don’t think they’ve gotten enough. For this reason, I tried to give myself a pad by overestimating my hours and budget (slightly), so that I could come in before deadline and under budget.
The only other thing that I’ve found was helpful was to write the proposal and let it sit for a day or so and then re-read it. I found myself saying, “I can’t believe I explained it like that”. Then there is still time to fix it before it goes out the door.