Conducting Market Research

Modified on Thu, 7 Nov at 1:39 PM

The steps for conducting Market Research, including a Request for Information (RFI), require these details.

1. Start the Request

Figure 1. Quick Actions may use different terms based on the program's configuration requests.

From Quick Actions, click Conduct Market Research (see Figure 1).

2. Enter the Title

Enter a Market Research title and save (see Figure 2). This step must be completed before the rest of the process can be done.

The title can only be changed before the order is released.
Contact the Program Office outside Symphony to request a Scope Review.

Follow the left navigation menu from the top-down to complete the request.

Figure 2. The Title screen may look different for each contract vehicle and is based on the program's configuration requests.

3. Add Points of Contact

Add the contact information for the managing ordering activities (see Figure 3). Save or Cancel the changes.

Users can only assign registered users to the Points of Contact (POCs).
Entering the name of the person in the suggestion box searches for a user with each character (minimum is 3).
Ask users to register for Symphony if they are not found. All they need is the website link.

Figure 3. The POCs may have different options and requirements based on the program's configuration requests.

Important
Users can add or remove the POCs before the market research is released.
After release, the POCs are updated through an Amendment (see Issuing Amendments).

4. Configure the Request

Figure 4. Contract Types may be different based on the program's configuration requests.

Contract Types

Select the Contract Type(s) that may apply to the market research (see Figure 4).

Symphony presents the Contract Types available.
A contract type is not required.

Order Processing Schedule

Set the parameters for the Symphony scheduler. Parameters are:

Release Date (if supported by the configuration).
The request may be released immediately after submission or through program approval.
Questions supports a Question and Answer Period and the Q&A deadline.
Submission deadline for responses
(see Figure 5).
- Users enter their local time and Symphony displays the deadline in Eastern Time for consistency.

Figure 5. Symphony enforces the Schedule as it is configured by the Program Office.

Figure 6. Fair Opportunity requirements are configured by the Program Office and can allow multiple categories.

Fair Opportunity

Users are required to choose at least one category (pool/domain) (see Figure 6). Deselecting companies within that category will require the user to provide a Fair Opportunity Exception.

Attachments

Upload documents or add files to the appropriate document types listed in the drop-down. Users are required to include at least one attachment.

Figure 7. The attachment options may be different due the Program's requirements.

Documents

The assigned Points of Contact can access the document library at any time and confirm that all files are in the appropriate folders for visibility.

Users that are not a Point of Contact will not have access to the request.

Some folders are visible to contract holders and others are for internal use only. Return to the attachments tab to make changes.

5. Release Request

When the assigned Contracting Officer (CO) is ready to post the request, they must Submit it for approval or release it, depending on the configuration.

Figure 8. The CO must have a valid request before submission.

Symphony will display validation messages when a request is incomplete and prevent it from being posted.
Symphony prevents submission from unauthorized users.
If a request is posted immediately after submission, notifications are immediately sent to the eligible contract holders (see Figure 8).

Canceling a Request

A user can cancel a request if they do not want to proceed and do not want to make changes to the current draft (see Figure 9).

Figure 9. Users may be required to provide a reason (up to 2500 characters) before canceling a request.

View History

After a request is posted, users can see the "order's" status, changes over time, and any available comments in the History tab.

Next Steps:

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