I have spent my last work week sequestered with 14 mid level/senior level IT managers from our current client reviewing the results of a significant RFP (Request for Proposal). The ‘winner’ of this RFP will be awarded a multi-million dollar contract to provide services province-wide. The participants have all analyzed the responses from the qualified Vendors in detail, and we’re now meeting to establish consensus. My role is to monitor the ‘fairness’ of the process, and not really to provide opinions. This stuff is really interesting… seriously. I’m listening to this group rationalize their scoring for questions such as “Supplier should describe its approach to disentangling the Services from other service providers without interrupting any services to End Users.” Huh? You’d have to have been involved in the entire process to get it… My assignment to monitor the fairness of the evaluation of the RFP responses is a continuation of the work I was doing before my ‘hiatus’. It is actually quite interesting to see what they did with the strategy that I helped define when they finalized the RFP.

This evaluation process is not something that you would normally find in the private sector. Yes, this is public sector stuff… This evaluation process has been going on since September 24th… and will continue on into January. The level of detail they are going into is gratifying… at least we know that at least the public sector IT teams are being very careful with how they spend tax dollars. I’m not convinced that the private sector would expend this kind of energy analyzing the RFP bids. But by the same token, I’m also not sure that the private sector would write such detailed RFPs…

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I did take some time out of the evaluation process to get a cracked filling fixed; the filling was cracked as part of the surgery last year.

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And I was supposed to meet with my speech/swallow therapist; the receptionist at iRSM screwed up the appointment, however. It was clearly marked on my chart, but the digital appointment system showed other people in my time slot. I was very annoyed, mostly ’cause I couldn’t justify not going back to work…

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Today is our 20th wedding anniversary.