RFP Writing Guidelines

Purpose: Brief guidelines for effective RFPs based on successful patterns.

Core Principles

1. Prefer brevity - Avoid AI-generated verbose content and repetition
2. Problem-first - Document problems clearly before jumping to solutions
3. Dual-purpose - Planning documents that become reference materials post-implementation
4. Complement codebase - RFPs provide context, code provides implementation details

Writing Guidelines

Do:

• Start with clear problem statements and concrete data points
• Briefly document rejected alternatives (provides context for new teammates)
• Include specific performance results and lessons learned
• Reference code files rather than duplicating implementation details
• Include Linear ticket references when relevant
• Update with actual results after implementation

Don't:

• Repeat the same concepts multiple times
• Speculate extensively about future possibilities
• Duplicate low-level details already visible in code
• Skip mentioning rejected alternatives

Length Guidelines

• Brief instructions: 4-10 lines (like RFP-02)
• Implementation results: 300-400 lines with concrete data (like RFP-13)
• Complex architecture: Up to 500 lines if truly necessary

RFP-Code Relationship

• RFP: Problem context, architecture decisions, trade-offs, performance characteristics, Linear ticket context
• Code: Implementation details, algorithms, data structures, optimizations
• Reader flow: RFP for context → code for details (or vice versa)

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Key insight: Transform verbose planning documents into focused reference materials through post-implementation editing.