The Outline step of the proposal wizard plans the whole proposal before anything is written: its sections, the pages each may use, how much each volume counts in the evaluation, and who owns each section.
It is the fourth step under Configure, after Pricing. When you promote a go/no-go decision to a proposal, Propivix creates the proposal and opens the wizard on this step, showing the sections it created from the RFP's structure. See Go/No-Go Decisions.
Where the outline comes from
When the RFP's analysis recorded a proposal structure, the outline follows it:
- Each volume the RFP describes becomes a group, with its own header.
- When a volume's name lists its parts in parentheses, such as "Volume II - Technical (Technical Approach, Key Personnel)", each part becomes a section. A volume with no list becomes one section with the volume's own title.
- A title that appears twice is kept once.
- Sections the RFP asks for show Required by RFP. Sections it does not ask for show Not in RFP.
When the RFP has no recorded structure, the outline is a standard list of eight sections, all selected, starting with Executive Summary and ending with Pricing. Choosing a template on the Assets & Team step changes the list to the template's sections.
You can change the list:
- Clear a section's checkbox to leave it out, or type over its title to rename it.
- Use the up and down arrows to reorder sections, or the cross to remove one. The order here is the order the proposal is written and exported in.
- Select Add Custom Section, type a title and select Add.
Page budgets and word limits
A volume's page limit is split evenly across its sections and rounded to the nearest half page. A single section takes the whole limit, and no section gets less than half a page. You can type a different figure in the Page budget field. The bar beside it shows that section's share of the volume's limit.
Each volume header shows only the limits the RFP stated: pages planned against the page limit (for example "12 / 15 pages"), a word limit (for example "5000w") and an evaluation weight. A volume with no stated limits shows "No limits stated": the RFP gave none for that volume, which is worth checking in the solicitation.
A volume's word limit applies to each of its sections in full. It is not divided between them.
The footer compares the selected sections' budgets with the whole-book page limit, or with the sum of the volume limits when the RFP states no book limit. It turns amber at 90% and red once over. With no limits at all, it reads "No book page limit stated".
Page budgets are a planning aid, saved with each new section. Generation takes its word target from the RFP's stated limits instead; see AI Proposal Generation. Regenerating a section keeps its page budget, weight and volume. On a proposal that already has sections, such as a promoted one, this step saves owners only; budgets and weights stay as set from the RFP.
Evaluation weights
The Weight column shows the volume's evaluation weight as a percentage, repeated on each of its sections. It is how much of the evaluation the RFP says that volume carries, not a score for your content.
A weight the RFP did not state reads "not stated", never 0. So does a weight stated in points, such as "Technical - 600 points", because Propivix does not convert points into percentages.
Assigning owners
Each section has an Owner picker listing your team members. Choose a person, or leave it at Unassigned. The footer counts the selected sections that still have no owner.
Owners are saved when the wizard writes the sections: on Generate Proposal for a new proposal, or when you continue to the Responses step for one that already has sections. If the team list cannot load, the picker offers only Unassigned.
Requirement and evidence counts
The Reqs column counts the RFP's requirements mapped to each section, by category or by the section title appearing in the requirement's text. The footer shows how many are mapped and unassigned. When no requirement maps to any section, the column instead counts the required sections in the same volume and labels the figure "from RFP structure".
The Evidence column counts the assets listed on the Assets & Team step whose type suits the section, whether or not you selected them. CVs count for team sections, project sheets and past proposals for experience sections, and certificates for capability or qualification sections. It is a rough count, not a claim that the proposal cites them. For per-requirement evidence, see Requirement evidence on assets.
Optional sections
When the RFP has a recorded structure, the standard sections it did not ask for appear in a last group, "Optional sections not required by the RFP". The group starts collapsed with none selected, and its header shows how many are selected, such as "0 of 6 selected". Select the header to open it, then tick any section you want. A go/no-go promotion creates only the sections the RFP asks for, so this group does not appear after a promotion.