PROJECT MANAGEMENT 101 AT WESTON & SAMPSON
MODULE 1 · WEEK 4
Build the Proposal Schedule
The Millbrook response is due Tuesday 29 September at 2:00 P.M. The solicitation gave 21 days. The kickoff meeting was held Wednesday 16 September.
How many working days does the technical team have to write?
What is given
- Solicitation advertised
- Tuesday 8 September 2026
- Pre-proposal conference
- Tuesday 15 September 2026
- Proposal kickoff meeting
- Wednesday 16 September 2026
- Written questions close
- Friday 18 September 2026
- Marketing starts production
- Friday 25 September 2026
- Proposal due
- Tuesday 29 September 2026, 2:00 P.M.
- The Technical Lead is out
- Tuesday 22 September 2026
- Working days
- Monday through Friday. No holiday falls in this window.
Answer Steps 1 and 2 with the day of the month in September. Answer Step 3 with a whole number of working days.
Step 1Fixing the end, working backward from the deadline
Written Lesson, Section 1.4.5
Build the proposal schedule backward from the due date. Two rules set the end of technical writing, and both come from our firm rather than the solicitation.
| Solicitation | 26-014, CRA Infrastructure Improvements, Cypress Landing East (CLE) Public Utilities Renewal (TownPUR) Project, RFP (CCNA) |
|---|---|
| Notification date | 08 September 2026 |
| Pre-proposal conference | 15 September 2026, 10:00 A.M. |
| Written questions close | 18 September 2026, 5:00 P.M. |
| Opening date and time | 29 September 2026, 2:00 P.M. |
A non-mandatory pre-proposal conference will be held September 15, 2026 at 10:00 A.M. local time.
Package an electronic submission 24 hours before the deadline. The deadline is Tuesday 29 September, so packaging happens Monday 28 September.
All technical components are complete 24 hours before Marketing starts production. Marketing starts production Friday 25 September.
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 15 conference | 16 kickoff | 17 | 18 questions close |
| 21 | 22 Technical Lead out | 23 | 24 | 25 production starts |
| 28 package | 29 due 2:00 P.M. |
On which September date must the technical components be complete?
Two tries. After the second the page shows the worked solution and carries the correct value forward.
Marketing starts production Friday 25 September. Technical components are complete 24 hours before that.
Thursday 24 September
Packaging on Monday 28 September is Marketing's deadline, not the technical team's.
Step 2Fixing the start, working forward from the kickoff
Written Lesson, Sections 1.4.2.1 and 1.4.5
Writing cannot begin before the team is known. Marketing sets that date at the kickoff meeting.
The Go/No-Go form complete in Deltek Vantagepoint two weeks before the deadline, with the Technical Lead's commitment line signed. That was Tuesday 15 September.
The team confirmed within 48 hours of the kickoff meeting. The kickoff was Wednesday 16 September, so the team was confirmed Friday 18 September.
Subconsultants introduced to Marketing within 24 hours of the kickoff.
Technical writing starts the first working day after the team is confirmed.
On which September date does technical writing start?
Two tries. After the second the page shows the worked solution and carries the correct value forward.
The team is confirmed Friday 18 September. The first working day after that is Monday 21 September.
Monday 21 September
Friday 18 September is the confirmation day, not a writing day.
Step 3Counting the working days
Written Lesson, Section 1.4.5, and the TIP on building backward
Build the schedule around the holidays and the vacations of the people the team depends on. A day the Technical Lead is out is not a writing day for the technical team.
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 writing starts | 22 Technical Lead out | 23 | 24 technical complete | 25 production starts |
How many working days does the technical team have to write?
Two tries. After the second the page shows the worked solution and carries the correct value forward.
Monday 21 September through Thursday 24 September is four working days. The Technical Lead is out on Tuesday 22 September.
4 − 1 = 3 working days
A 21 day window produced three days of technical writing. The rest of the window went to the Go decision, the conference, the kickoff, team confirmation, production and packaging.
The writing window
Three working days. One of them would disappear entirely if the kickoff slipped by 48 hours, and two would disappear if Marketing needed production a day early.
Nothing here was a surprise. Every date came from the solicitation or from a standing rule our firm already had.
Build the schedule backward from the due date, around the holidays and vacations of the people the team depends on.
A 21 day window is not 21 days of writing. Fix the end first, fix the start second, then count what is actually left.