1. Developing Your Proposal
“Green Thumb”
Using the Best Software
Tools, Tricks, and Tips
Presented to APMP International
June 2010 Beth Wingate

2. Overview
• Review and demo 33 free and commercially available
applications useful at many proposal stages
• Online and computer-based applications
• Discuss:
– Type:
– Vendor:
– Website:
– Cost:
– Purposes:
– Templates:
– Similar tools:
– Proposal phase(s):
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3. Wordle
• Type: Graphics development
• Vendor: Jonathan Feinberg
• Website: www.wordle.net/create
• Cost: Free
• Purposes:
– Generates “word clouds” from provided text
– Gives greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in source text
– See how many times particular words appear in RFP or proposal
(Amy Barden – APMP-NCA Chapter)
• Proposal phase(s): Graphics development, review preparation
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4. Wordle
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5. MindManager
• Type: Mindmapping
• Vendor: MindJet
• Website: http://www.mindjet.com/products/mindmanager-8-win/overview
• Cost:
– $349/person
– Free 30-day trial
• Purposes:
– Visually organize and manage information, people and projects.
– Create graphical diagrams (mind maps) starting with a central theme and adding branches
with ideas, notes, images, tasks—even hyperlinks and attachments.
– Improve work processes, visually document and implement best practices
– Visually connect ideas and information to help save time, solve real business problems,
improve business processes, and drive innovation
– Brainstorm and document meeting minutes/actions
• Templates: included with product
• Similar tools: FreeMind, iMindMap, Inspiration, Compendium, Freeplane, XMind
• Proposal phase(s): Solutioning, RFP review, storyboarding, writing, planning meetings,
during meetings
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6. MindManager
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7. FreeMind
• Type: Mindmapping
• Author: Christian Foltin
• Website: http://sourceforge.net/projects/freemind/
• Cost: Free
• Purposes:
– Mindmapper and easy-to-operate hierarchical editor
with strong emphasis on folding
– Often used for knowledge and content management
(Kirste Webb, APMP President)
• Similar tools: MindManager, iMindMap, Inspiration,
Compendium, Freeplane, XMind
• Proposal phase(s): Solutioning, RFP review, storyboarding,
writing, planning meetings, during meetings
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8. FreeMind
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9. dtSearch (Desktop/Network)
• Type: Search tool
• Vendor: dtSearch
• Website: www.dtsearch.com
• Cost:
– Desktop version $199/single seat
– Free 30-day desktop version trial
– Network version $160/seat for 5 seats
• Purposes:
– Instantly search terabytes of text across a desktop, network, Internet, or Intranet site
– Scrolling word list for instant feedback as you type in a search
– Look-up word feature, detailing effect of fuzzy, phonic, wildcard, stemming, and thesaurus search
– Browse and customize thesaurus options
– Field button showing all indexed document fields
– Search history display
– Search reports showing hits in retrieved documents, along with requested amount of context
– Clipboard options, file launching, and other tools for working with retrieved data
– Exporting of search results in various data formats for easy use with other programs
• Similar tools: ISYS Personal Edition, Google Desktop, Windows Search 4.0
• Proposal phase(s): All
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10. dtSearch
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11. Dogpile
• Type: Meta-search tool/meta-crawler
• Vendor: Dogpile
• Website: www.dogpile.com
• Cost: Free
• Purposes: Searches multiple search engines
concurrently
• Similar tools: Mamma.com, SurfWax.com,
WebCrawler.com, metacrawler.com, search.com,
ICEROCKET.com (searches blogs, Twitter, etc.)
• Proposal phase(s): Solutioning, storyboarding,
writing, graphics development, research
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12. Dogpile
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13. GanntProject
• Type: Project manager, graphics development
• Vendor: GanttProject (collaborative development effort)
• Website: www.ganttproject.biz
• Cost: Free
• Purposes:
– Cross-platform, open-source desktop tool for project scheduling and management
– Runs on Windows, Linux, and Mac OSX
– Create work breakdown structure, draw dependencies, define milestones
– Assign human resources to work on tasks, see allocation on Resource Load chart
– Generate PERT chart from Gantt chart
– Save charts as PNG images and generate PDF and HTML reports
– Import projects from and export them to Microsoft Project formats
– Export to spreadsheets with CSV
– Share projects with colleagues using WebDAV
• Similar tools: Dia for Windows, MS Project
• Proposal phase(s): Solutioning, storyboarding, writing, graphics development
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14. GanntProject
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15. Dia for Windows
• Type: Graphics development
• Vendor: The Free Software Foundation and authors
• Website: http://dia-installer.de/index_en.html
• Cost: Free
• Purposes: Draw structured diagrams
• Templates:
• Similar tools: MS Visio, Open Office Draw, GE’s
Imagination Cubed online whiteboard , MS Paint
• Proposal phase(s): Solutioning, storyboarding, writing,
graphics development, reviews
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16. Dia for Windows
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17. ColorPix
• Type: Color picking utility
• Vendor: Color Schemer
• Website: http://www.colorschemer.com/colorpix_info.php
• Cost: Free
• Purposes:
– Color picker grabs the pixel under your mouse and transforms it into
multiple color formats (RGB, CMYK, others)
– Use built-in magnifier to zoom in on screen and click on a color
value to copy it directly to clipboard
– Can keep ColorPix on top of other applications
• Similar tools: Instant Eyedropper
• Proposal phase(s): Graphics development
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18. ColorPix
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19. ColorSchemer/Adobe Kuler
• Type: Color scheme development websites
• Vendors: Color Schemer; Adobe
• Websites:
– http://www.colorschemer.com/online.html
– http://kuler.adobe.com
• Cost: Free online ($49 for PC copy of ColorSchemer)
• Purposes:
– Color picker grabs the pixel under your mouse and transforms it into
multiple color formats (RGB, CMYK, others)
– Use built-in magnifier to zoom in on screen and click on a color
value to copy it directly to clipboard
• Similar tools: Instant Eyedropper
• Proposal phase(s): Graphics development
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20. ColorSchemer/Adobe Kuler
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21. Periodic Table of
Visualization Methods
• Type: Graphics development
• Vendor: Visual-Literacy.org
• Website:
– www.visual-literacy.org
– www.visual-literacy.org/periodic_table/periodic_table.html
• Cost: Free
• Purposes:
– e-learning tutorial on visualization for communication,
engineering, and business
– Focuses on visual literacy or ability to evaluate, apply, or create
conceptual visual representations
• Proposal phase(s): Storyboarding, graphics development
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22. Periodic Table of
Visualization Methods
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23. Google Earth
• Type: Graphics development
• Vendor: Google
• Website: http://earth.google.com
• Cost: Free
• Purposes:
– Get views of where work will be done (Kirste Webb, APMP
President)
– Fly anywhere on Earth to view satellite imagery, maps, terrain, 3D
buildings, from galaxies in outer space to canyons in the ocean
– Explore geographical content, save toured places, and share with
others
• Similar tools: NASA World Wind
• Proposal phase(s): Solutioning, storyboard development,
graphics development
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24. Google Earth
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25. Billion Dollar Graphics
• Type: Graphics development
• Vendor: Billion Dollar Graphics
• Website:
www.billiondollargraphics.com/businessgraphiclibrary.html
• Cost: Free
• Purposes:
– Free library of business and information visual solutions
– Search for graphic solutions (sample graphics/styles online)
– Save time and money when developing presentations, proposals,
marketing materials, business documents, white papers, or
educational materials
• Similar tools: Information graphics article on Wikipedia
• Proposal phase(s): Solutioning, storyboarding, graphics
development
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26. Billion Dollar Graphics
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27. Magnifier
• Type: Magnifier
• Vendor: Microsoft (already on your PC)
• Location:
– Start Button >All Programs>Accessories>Ease of
Access>Magnifier
• Cost: Already on PC
• Purposes: See small details in graphics
and on screen
• Similar tools: ZoomIt v4.1
• Proposal phase(s): All
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28. Magnifier
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29. Snagit
• Type: Screen capture utility
• Vendor: TechSmith
• Website: www.techsmith.com/screen-capture.asp
• Cost:
– $49.95/person
– 30-day free trial version
• Purposes:
– Screen capture utility
– Edit and combine captures (entire screen, window, active window, region, fixed region,
object, menu, web page with links, sequential captures)
– Share them via favorite applications
– Organize and find them again later
– Grab and mark up screen shots to help guide teams through using new technology
(Amy McGeady, APMP Regional Director and Wendy Frieman, APMP-NCA Chapter)
• Similar tools: Snipping Tool
• Proposal phase(s): Solutioning, storyboarding, writing, graphics development
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30. Snagit
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31. Snipping Tool
• Type: Screen capture tool
• Vendor: Microsoft (already on your PC)
• Location: Start Button>All
Programs>Accessories>Snipping Tool
• Cost: Already on PC
• Purposes: Capture images from screen and
use in documents, presentations, user guides
• Similar tools: MWSnap, Snagit
• Proposal phase(s): Solutioning, storyboarding,
writing, graphics development
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32. Snipping Tool
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33. AcroWizard 2.1
• Type: Acronym manager/finder/list generator
• Vendor: Anvil Logic, Inc.
• Website: www.anvillogic.com/products/
• Cost: $79.99/person (Free fully functional evaluation version)
• Purpose:
– Analyze document and build accurate table of acronyms in
seconds
– Find acronym definitions
– Show if acronym is defined in document and defined at first use
• Include this information in resulting table of acronyms
• Similar tools:
• Proposal phase(s): All
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34. AcroWizard 2.1
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35. Acronym Finder
• Type: Acronym manager/finder
• Vendor:
• Website: http://www.acronymfinder.com/
• Cost: Free
• Purposes:
– Online tool to find out what any acronym, abbreviation, or
initialism stands for
– World’s largest, most comprehensive dictionary of acronyms,
abbreviations, and initialisms
– Combined with Acronym Attic, contains more than 4 million
acronyms and abbreviations
– Has more than 900,000 human-edited definitions
• Similar tools: Free Dictionary.com, DoD Dictionary
• Proposal phase(s): All
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36. Acronym Finder
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37. Computer Desktop Encyclopedia
• Type: Dictionary/encyclopedia
• Vendor: Computer Language Company
• Website: www.computerlanguage.com/
• Cost
– $44/yearly subscription of 4 CDs (moving to $10/year web-based updates)
– Free download demo version with 250 terms
– $4.99 from iTunes Store for iPod Touch/iPhone
• Purposes:
– Straightforward definitions of all major hardware and software technologies
– More than 25,000 definitions of hardware, software, IT, and consumer electronics
– More than 3,000 noteworthy illustrations, photos, charts, and diagrams
– Explains correct/incorrect use of terms and includes synonyms
• Similar tools: Free Dictionary.com, DoD Dictionary,
Merriam-Webster Dictionary online
• Proposal phase(s): All
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38. Computer Desktop Encyclopedia
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39. Merriam-Webster Dictionary
• Type: Dictionary
• Vendor: Merriam-Webster
• Website: www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary
• Cost:
– Free online dictionary and thesaurus
– $29.95 – annual subscription to unabridged dictionary/thesaurus
– $25 – hardcopy with CD to take anywhere on your computer
• Purposes:
– Easier than carrying heavy dictionary around
– Better word choice than MS Word’s dictionary
• Similar tools: Free Dictionary.com, DoD Dictionary
• Proposal phase(s): All
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40. Merriam-Webster Dictionary
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41. DoD Dictionary of Military Terms
• Type: dictionary
• Website: www.dtic.mil/doctrine/dod_dictionary
• Cost: Free
• Purposes:
– Browse DoD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms
and Joint Acronyms and Abbreviations master database
• Managed by Joint Doctrine Division, J-7, Joint Staff,
as amended through 10/31/09
– Download PDF of JP 1-02, DOD Dictionary of Military and
Associated Terms, as amended through 10/31/09
• Similar tools:
• Proposal phase(s): All
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42. DoD Dictionary of Military Terms
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43. Free Dictionary
• Type: Dictionary
• Website: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/dictionary.htm
• Cost: Free
• Purposes:
– Contains English dictionary, medical dictionary, legal dictionary, financial
dictionary, acronym listing, idiom listing, encyclopedia, and Wikipedia
encyclopedia link
– Contains over 200,000 boldface terms and over 33,000 written examples
– Augmented with Collins Essential English Dictionary and 30,000
illustrations, audio pronunciation feature, etymologies, abbreviations,
biographical entries, and usage examples from classic works of literature
– Provides translations to Spanish, French, German, and Italian—including
everyday business, computing, current events, and tourism terms
• Similar tools: Merriam-Webster Dictionary
• Proposal phase(s): All
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44. Free Dictionary
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45. ABBYY PDF Transformer 3.0
• Type: PDF converter
• Vendor: ABBYY
• Website: http://pdftransformer.abbyy.com/
• Cost:
– $79.99/person
– 15-day/50-page free trial
• Purposes:
– Intuitive, versatile, multilingual tool converts any type of PDF into editable formats with
original layout and formatting retained
– Create PDFs directly from MS Office applications with one click
– Combine multiple files from different sources into one PDF
– Adjust PDF, redact sensitive information, add stamps, turn files to searchable and
protected PDF documents, or turn them into PDF/A format
• Similar tools: PrimoPDF Converter
• Proposal phase(s): Solutioning, research, RFP review, storyboarding, writing
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46. ABBYY PDF Transformer 3.0
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47. PrimoPDF Converter
• Type: PDF converter
• Vendor: Nitro PDF, Inc.
• Website: www.primopdf.com/index.aspx
• Cost: Free
• Purposes:
– CNET® Download.com "Top 30,” #1 ranked "PDF Software" utility on Download.com
– PDF creation utility that enables printing to PDF from virtually any Windows
application
– World's most widely-used free PDF creation tool
– One-click, drag-and-drop PDF creation
– Create PDF files that can be opened in any PDF viewer
– Convert 300+ file types to PDF
– Protect and encrypt information with strong password-based PDF security
– Set PDF metadata
• Similar tools: ABBYY PDF Transformer 3.0
• Proposal phase(s): Solutioning, research, RFP review, storyboarding, writing
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48. PrimoPDF Converter
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49. Chicago Manual of Style
• Type: Style manual
• Vendor: The University of Chicago Press
• Website: www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/contents.html
• Cost:
– $35/year for a 1-year individual subscription
– Free 30-day trial
• Purposes:
– Classic style guide for writers and editors available from any
computer to answer style-related questions
– 15th Edition available in book form and as subscription Web site
(same content in both)
– Substantial sections discussing electronic publishing, editing for
online publications, and citing electronic sources
– Includes chapter on grammar and usage by Bryan A. Garner
(A Dictionary of Modern Usage)
• Similar tools: AP StyleBook Online
• Proposal phase(s): Writing, editing
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50. Chicago Manual of Style
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51. Google Translate
• Type: Language translation
• Vendor: Google
• Website: http://translate.google.com/#
• Cost: Free
• Purposes: For quick, short translations to
common languages (Kirste Webb, APMP
President)
• Similar tools: Babelfish
• Proposal phase(s): Writing, editing
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52. Google Translate
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53. What time is it?
• Type: Time zone manager
• Website: http://whattimeisit.com/
• Cost: Free
• Purposes: Helps determine time in another
city/continent (Kirste Webb, APMP President)
• Similar tools: Time Zone Converter,
The World Clock
• Proposal phase(s): All!
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54. What time is it?
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55. GoToMeeting
• Type: Online collaboration Vendor:
• Vendor: Citrix
• Website: www.gotomeeting.com
• Cost:
– $49/month
– $468/year (20% saving)
• Purposes:
– Online meeting solution
– Hold on-the-fly or scheduled presentations, perform live demos, and collaborate on
documents in real time
– Participants don't need your application to view your files
– Takes 2 minutes to set up and a few seconds to start a meeting
– Unlimited use for same monthly fee
• Similar tools: WebEx, Skype, DimDim
• Proposal phase(s): Solutioning, RFP review, storyboarding, writing, planning
meetings, during meetings
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56. GoToMeeting
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57. Skype
• Type: Online collaboration
• Vendor: Skype
• Website: www.skype.com
• Cost: Free
• Purposes:
– Free, face-to-face, internet-based communication versus using a telephone
– Can show desktop
– Can send text messages while talking
– Requires a headset (or use computer’s built-in microphone and speakers) to talk to each other
– Requires web camera to make free video calls
– Secure, encrypted Skype-to-Skype (computer-to-computer) calls
– Calls to standard telephone or mobile numbers are encrypted until they reach public switched
telephone network (PSTN)
– Easiest and cheapest way to talk to international folks. Particularly with the video conferencing –
easy to read people’s facial expressions and to literally hold up pieces of paper or whiteboards to
say “is this what you mean?” I find it essential when dealing with different cultures to see the people
I’m talking to. A lot gets lost in translation in email or even in words over a telephone. (Colleen Jolly,
APMP-NCA Secretary)
• Similar tools: WebEx, GoToMeeting
• Proposal phase(s): All
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58. Skype
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59. Philips 660 Digital Voice Tracer with
Dragon Naturally Speaking v10
• Type: Document dictation and speech recognition
• Vendor: Phillips/Nuance
• Website: www.consumer.philips.com/c/dictaphone/speech-recognition-edition-
lfh0660_10/prd/us/
• Cost: $140
• Purposes:
– Dictate documents and notes on the move
– Back in the office, plug recorder into PC, transfer file, and let Dragon NaturallySpeaking
automatically transcribe dictation
– 99% speech to text accuracy
– 140 hours recording, 1 GB storage w/ MP3/WMA player and USB mass storage device
functionality, 5 MP3 format recording modes
– Alarm clock with voice play, user configured timed recording, file split, auto divide, and time
stamp insertion
– Voice activated recording - automatically records only when sound is detected, no wasted
memory when operated hands free
– Extra large screen provides at-a-glance overview and extra large speaker reproduces quality
sound
• Proposal phase(s): All
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60. Philips 660 Digital Voice Tracer with
Dragon Naturally Speaking v10
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61. Sony eReader/Reader Library/
Overdrive Media Console
• Type: eBook and software
• Vendor: Sony (Sony Reader and Reader Library)
• Overdrive (Overdrive Media Console)
• Website:
– Sony eReader: www.sonystyle.com
– Reader Library: http://ebookstore.sony.com/download/
– Overdrive Media Console: www.overdrive.com/software/omc/
• Cost:
– Sony eReader: $169-$399
– Reader Library: free
– Overdrive Media Console: free
• Purposes: Store/search RFPs in meeting, borrow reference books from
library, carry favorite reference books with you (style guide, dictionary,
APMP articles/body of knowledge papers)
• Similar tools: Kindle, Nook
• Proposal phase(s): Pre-RFP research, solutioning, storyboarding, writing,
reviews, editing
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62. Sony eReader/Reader Library/
Overdrive Media Console
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63. Morale booster
• Type: Online pizza ordering!
• Vendor: Papa John’s, Dominos, Pizza Hut
• Website:
– www.papajohns.com
– www.dominos.com
– www.pizzahut.com
• Cost: Free (minor charge for pizzas and other items)
• Purposes:
– Vital tool to support the health and well-being of your proposal
teams at all hours of the day and night
– Also useful for providing support in home-based situations while
developing proposal-based materials
• Proposal phase(s): All!
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64. Conclusion
• Bonus – LifeHacker.com
• Questions?
• Your favorites?
Beth Wingate, AM.APMP
APMP International Director of Education
Managing Director
Lohfeld Consulting Group, Inc.
12202 Fox Hunter Place, Fairfax, Virginia 22030
Office: 703.266.2653 Cell: 703.638.2433
BWingate@LohfeldConsulting.com
Beth.Wingate@APMP.org
www.LohfeldConsulting.com
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