A RFP typically contains background information and statement of needs. The statement of needs contains features or functional requirements in form of “shall statements” as well as nonfunctional requirements. There are problems. Although some users may know what they want, in most cases users do not know what they want. Also it is often not clear whether these shall statements are complete. The scope of the project is not stated. The problem affects interested vendors’ ability to author a quality response and the quality of subsequent development.

CbyP has a better solution to identify all relevant institutional facts and goals that communicates precisely and completely the business needs. What are presented in a RFP are all relevant facts and desired unknown rather than assumed guesses such as features. The statement of needs of a high quality RFP should answer the following questions:

1. What is the known as-is business and technical data?
2. What are the constraints (i.e. nonfunctional requirements)?
3. What is the desired unknown (characteristic of the system to be designed)?
4. What is the scope of the project (characterization of the application domain)?

The answers to the above questions are important in the following aspects:

• They are institutional facts out there to be discovered.
• They are not pejorative objects such as system features to be invented.
• They can be collected without difficulty.
• Clear and unambiguous communications among all parties.

It is important to differentiate three types of software described below:

  Three Kinds of Software

Each kind of software may involve elements of increasing complexity that originates from application domain. Mechanistic software performs its functions without human agents or social institutions performing sub-functions. Next we move up to a more complex type:  systems software such as accounting software where human agents perform sub-functions, but social institutions play no role. Human agents may be involved functionally in the sense that agents perform a sub-function, which is necessary for the functioning of the systems software as a whole. The software users or agents provide their services to their customers with the help of software.  If we then move up again to the third kind, enterprise software, we see that, apart from human agents, institutional elements fulfill sub-functions. The institutional elements consist of human and nonhuman agents that realize the institutional sub-functions. There are many interdependencies of a social kind, which determine the functionality of the enterprise. Enterprise software is an enterprise where institutional elements perform higher-level objectives. The answers to the four questions should clearly address the type of software to be developed.