Tender Preparation Tool Basics

The User Interface

The user interface of the Tender Preparation Tool application is designed with usability in mind. A presentation of the layout used in the system is available hereunder.

Figure 1 : Tender Preparation Tool GUI layout

The Tender Preparation Tool's GUI comprises of three main areas, as displayed in Figure 1 :

  1. The Menu area: This area is reserved for the menu buttons of the application, from where all provided functionalities can be accessed.
  2. The Tree Structure View area: This panel presents the Tender structure in a Tree format. The user can navigate to a specific Envelope/Section/Subsection by simply clicking on its name. Clicking on the Expand or Collapse icons next to an Envelope/Section/Subsection expands or collapses the respective area.
  3. The Work area: This panel displays the contents of the selected node (Envelope/Section/Subsection) and allows the user to fill in the required information.

The Menu Items

The menu bar (Fig.2) contains the buttons that allow the user to access the provided functionalities.

Figure 2 : Menu Bar

The following table provides the description of each button's function:
Open: Open a Tender file. If a valid tender file, provided from the eProcurement system, is provided, the Tender Preparation Tool will display to the user the tender structure and prompt the user to to fill in all the required information. In case a tender file not following the eProcurement system standard is opened, the tool allows the user to create a Digital Print for it. The same button allows users to open draft (incomplete) tenders.
Save: Save the current tender file .
Save As: Save the current tender file under a new name.
Validate: Check the current tender file for any validation errors (e.g. a mandatory criterion is not completed by the user ).
Pack: Create a Tender Package and its Digital Print from the current Tender, in order to submit it to the eProcurement System.
Export to PDF: Create a printable PDF file containing all the information of the current Tender.
Help: Present this help system.
About: Display information about the Tender Preparation Tool.

The Tree Structure View Area

The tree structure view area (Fig.3) provides an overview of the tender structure in a tree format. The root of the tree is the Tender, directly beneath it lie the Envelopes (Legibility Criteria, Technical Envelope, Financial Envelope), and within the Envelopes exist the Sections and Subsections (Fig. 3).

If the CfT contains lots, the hierarchy changes. The root of the tree is again the Tender, but beneath it now lie the Legibility Criteria Envelope, and the Lots. Within each Lot, the Technical and Financial Envelopes can be found, and within these envelopes their Sections and Subsections (Fig. 4)

Figure 3 : Tree Structure View Area

Figure 4 : Tree Structure View Area for a CfT with Lots

In the following table you can find the description of the icons used in the Tree Structure View area:

Root of the Tree : The root of the tree is the Tender. When the Validation button is clicked, selecting this node will show the Validation results in the Work area. Also, if lots are included in the current Tender, selecting this node will allow the user to select which Lots will be included in her Tender Package. (providing such option is given by the conditions of the CfT)
Expand: Signifies that more levels are included within the node. Clicking it will reveal the next level (Section/Subsection).
Collapse: Clicking it will hide the internal levels of this node.
Caution mark: Information is missing or incorrect in this node, or one of the nodes below it.
OK mark: This node and all nodes below it are complete.
Years: Within the Financial Envelope, each separate year is depicted by a different node.

The Work Area

The Work Area contains the elements of the selected node in the Tree Structure View area. Depending on the type of the selected node, different kind of information is shown.

Root of the tree

Selecting the root of a tree when Lots are contained, allows the user to select the Lots that will be included in his Tender Package. In case the CfT terms specify that a tenderer must submit a tender for all Lots, no selection will be allowed.

Figure 5 : Work Area when the Root of the tree is selected, and the Tender contains Lots

Envelope/Section/Subsection

When an Envelope or a Section is selected in the Tree Structure View Area, its contents will appear in the work Area (Fig. 6). The upper line is the current node name. Any included Sections/Subsections are shown as yellow lines with a link to open them.

Figure 6 : Work Area contents when a Section is selected

The icons and buttons used in this area are described in the following table:

Go Up: Clicking on this button will navigate the user to the upper level
Go In : Clicking on this button will open the selected node
Pass sign: The Criterion passed the validation
Fail sign: The Criterion failed the validation

If the selected node Criteria are mandatory, they are shown in red background. Otherwise, for optional fields, white background, is used. Criteria can be of any of the following types: Text fields, Text areas, Numbers, Dates, Date Ranges, Files or Lists.

Financial Envelope

When a Financial Envelope is selected in the Tree Structure View Area, the Work Area presents an overview of the currently set Financial information (Fig. 7).

Figure 7 : Work Area contents when a Financial Envelope is selected

The information shown comprises of:

Year in Financial Envelope

If a specific Year in a Financial Envelope is selected in the Tree Structure View Area, the Work Area contains a table with all the financial values that should be filled in (Fig. 8).

Figure 8 : Work Area contents when a Year in a Financial Envelope is selected

The contents of this table include the name of each specific Financial Criterion in the selected year, and a field for the tenderer to enter the offer. If the terms of the Call for Tenders allow it, the tenderer can also specify an Overall Discount. The Present Value and the Discounted Present Value will be calculated and shown in the corresponding columns.