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      PB System™ Project Evaluation Agency User Guide

      I. Logging In

        A. Enter Username

        B. Enter Password

          • Click on the eye to see keystrokes.
          • If password is unknown, click on Need Password Help?  to reset your password.

      II. Home

                  A. Daily Calendar

                        Daily Calendar contains a list of all of the Agency's important solicitation deadlines for the day. Users will see the Pre-Bid Meeting, Q&A, and Bid Deadlines. Click on any listing to open the solicitation. 

                 B. Stat Cards

                       Stat Cards contain statistical data on PlanetBids general overall usage by both the Agency and the public. Stat Cards can be configured for user preference. 

                     Configuring Stat Cards:

          • Select Edit.
          • Select the Delete icon within each card to remove.
          • Select the + bar to add in a new card type or select any existing card to edit.
            • Select Report Type to define the type of data to be shown
            • Select Timeframe for the frequency of data
            • Select the color bar to change the color of the card
            • Select Save, Cancel or Reset to Defaults.

           C.      News and Events can be found by clicking on the bell icon in the top right of the screen and contains important information PlanetBids needs to share with clients. It is highly recommended that users take a quick look when entering the PlanetBids system to view updates. The Line Item Import template and the Inside Scoop registration links have moved to the Help Center. The Import template can be filled out by the Agency's internal client and provided to the PlanetBids user to upload line items into the bid record quickly. 
      •   D. Left Side Navigation Menu

        • Navigation menu navigates the user to the different areas of PlanetBIds. Access to each area is based upon whether the module has been purchased and on user permission configurations.

          • The top right corner of the left side navigation menu will either be an > or X. This will toggle the menu open and closed to optimize screen space.
          • Home: Returns the user to the home page.
          • Bid Management: Allows the user to quickly manage the process of issuing, monitoring, conducting evaluations for, and awarding formal and informal bids.
          • Bid Spec Library: Gives the user access to PlanetBids' client solicitations to help users find piggy-backable, cooperative bids and build specifications using other agency bids as examples.  
          • Project Evaluation: This add-on allows users to manage the multi-evaluator and/or consensus evaluation process on solicitations. Project Evaluation allows users to use the RFP evaluation process on all solicitation types (Quotes, Bids, RFI, RFP, RFQual and IPWB).
          • Vendor Management: Access vendor records, run advanced searches on multiple sets of vendor data, add a vendor, perform real-time verification of provided information (i.e., certifications and licenses) against third-party databases, generate comprehensive reports with visual charts, and broadcast messages to selected vendors.
          • Contract Management: Maintain and retrieve up-to-date, relevant information regarding contracts.
          • Insurance Management: Enables risk managers, procurement, public works, and contract administrators to automate, maintain, and retrieve up-to-date, relevant information regarding vendor or contractor insurance certificates.
          • Emergency Operations: Enables the Agency to manage, maintain, and retrieve up-to-date information on vendors that provide specific goods and services in the event of an emergency, with an unlimited user count.
          • Business Certifications: Enables an Agency to manage its certification programs such as Small Business Enterprise, Minority Business Enterprise, or diversity initiatives as well as contractor pre-qualifications.
          •  Reports: Print or export comprehensive reports.
          • Calendar: Calendar view of Agency and any other selected PlanetBids agencies' bid dates/deadlines so users can plan solicitation dates to enhance vendor participation. Also provides a quick link to the Agency bid information.
          • Admin: Permission-based access to manage administrative areas of each module. (See Admin manual).
          •  Vendor Portal: Quick access to the public side of the PlanetBids system. 
          • User Settings: Reset user information (name, title, phone, email, login).
          • Help Center: Access Knowledge Base, read FAQs, create a support ticket, see the support phone number, and access the feedback section.
          • Log Out: Logs the user out of PlanetBids.

                  E. Dark Mode/Light Mode               

                      Found at the bottom right corner, Dark Mode/Light Mode allows the user to change                      the background setting colors from white to black.

       

      III.  Project Evaluation             

             Entering Project Evaluation, users can search for bids to view and manage the evaluation             process with unlimited evaluators.

                  F.  Searching for Bids       

                      PlanetBids has default fields to search for Bids. Select the + to add more fields.                                Fields with a black square allows the User to choose multiple criteria within the field.  

                     Located in front of the Clear button will either be an > or X. This will toggle the search                   criteria open and closed to optimize screen space.

        • Entering a multi-chooser box:
          • In the Search box, search list by code, number, description.
          • Select all that apply.
          • Select Show Only Selected Vendor Types to see selections.
          • Select Save.
          • Select Search.
        • Searching by Buyer: PlanetBids' default is to search by the current user. To search for all users, move the mouse over the blue circle, which will then change to an X.
          • Select X.
          • Select Search.
        • Evaluation in Progress: The default is to display bids that are currently under evaluation. Uncheck and redefine the search to find new bids to begin evaluating. You may begin setting up the evaluation process while a project is in the Planning or Bidding stages.

        G. Managing Display Results
        • Select the cog icon located at the far right.
        • Check or uncheck an item to hide or add to the search display.
        • Drag the up/down arrow to change the display column order.
        • Place curser between columns to resize, similar to Excel.

             H. To Set Up Evaluation

        • Select the bid.
        • Select Edit. 

              I. Bid Details Tab

                 Displays the following information from Bid Management:

        • Bid Detail: Project Title, Invitation #, Posting Date, Project Stage, Due Date, Response Format, Reference ID, Project Type, Response Types, Type of Award
        • Bid Results: VBID#, Bidder’s Company Name, Bid Amount (when released by the Agency), Format (submitted via paper or electronic), Submit Date/Time, Responsiveness (determined by Agency)
          • Select any bidder to expand and view respondee information.
            • View submitted documents.
              • Cost File or Line Items will not be accessible unless released by the Agency in Bid Management in the Bid Results tab.
              • Go to Full Details: displays Bid Results as it appears in Bid Management, Costs will be hidden if not released.

                Note: Evaluators will not see any bid result information unless the vendor has passed on the Technical Qualification tab.

              • Bid Information, Contact Information, Description, Documents, Line Items, Addenda, Q&A Released Questions, Email History
                •  Select ˄ or ˅ arrow to expand and collapse the section. Sections will appear empty until the section is expanded 

        J. Evaluation Admin Tab

          • Scoring Method: per project, Agency can set the desired method of scoring.
            • Weighted: Evaluator must enter a score between 0-10 with up to two decimal places. PlanetBids will calculate the weighted score of this number.
              • Example: Weight is set at 20, evaluator scores an 7. The weighted score is 140.
            • Rubric: Evaluator must enter a score between 0-100 with up to two decimal places.
          • Evaluators: List of evaluators on the project.
            • Select Add New.
            • To find an existing evaluator, type in the evaluator’s name.
              • If they do not exist, select Create User.
              • Complete the New User Form and select Submit.
              • Unselect Round 1 or Round 2 if the evaluator will not be scoring that round. Additional rounds may be added on the Criteria tab. After adding, return to this section to configure appropriately for each evaluator.
            • Remove: Removes the evaluator completely from the project.
              • Deactivate: Once saved to the project, Remove will become Deactivate. The evaluator will no longer be able to make entries. Already submitted entries will be ignored.
              • *Deactivating an evaluator AFTER scores have been submitted: When deactivating an evaluator, check the Evaluations tab. If the evaluator has already submitted scores, the user must uncheck the submitted round for the evaluator to not include their scores.
                • Expand Evaluator
                • Uncheck Round #
                • Select Deactivate
            • Expand All: View full evaluator contact information.
            • Collapse All: Hide full evaluator contact information.
            • Send Email: Send a custom email to the evaluation team.
            • Unlock Round # Scores: Available once evaluators have submitted. Allows Agency to set evaluator back to Draft. 

              Note: Once all changes in the project have been Saved, all evaluators will receive an email notifying them of their participation in the project and their login information.
          • Schedule: List of dates and events for the evaluation team to be aware of.
            • Select Add.
            • Complete Meeting Detail form and select Done.
            • Edit: User can edit meeting information.
            • Remove: User can remove meeting information.
          • Evaluation Forms: Additional documents beyond the submitted documents to be given to evaluators.
            • Select Document Library File to attach documents from Admin, Bid Management (See Admin Manual).
              • Select Remove to remove the file prior to save.
              • Once saved,
                • Select Recall to deactivate the file.
                • Select Download or View to open the file.
            • Select Drag and drop a file here or Browse Files to attach one or more documents from the User’s computer directory.
              • Select the Title field to change the file title, if needed.
              • Select Remove to remove the file prior to save.
              • Once saved,
                • Select Recall to deactivate the file.
                • Select Download or View to open the file.
            • Evaluator Attachments: Evaluators may attach documents to be returned to the Agency here. Documents are kept confidential between the Agency and the evaluator. Each evaluator will only see their attachments. They cannot see any other evaluator attachments. The Agency will see all evaluator attachments.
            • Email History: Any emails sent to the evaluation team will appear in this section.
              • Select ˄ or ˅ arrow to expand and collapse the section.
              • Select the email title to expand to view the message.

        K. Technical Qualifications Tab

        Initial review by the Agency to determine which bidder will be evaluated. At a minimum, each bidder must have an Overall Grade: Pass to be evaluated.

            1. Manage Qualifications: Bidders must be marked Pass or Fail under Qualification Scores in order to move on. Agency can decide to list the different qualifications required to move on or simply give an overall pass-fail grade.

            Steps A and B are both optional.

            • To create a new qualification:
              • Select Add. 
              • Complete the form and select Done. If an item is marked "Mandatory," bidders must receive a passing grade to qualify to be evaluated.
            • To select from existing set of qualifications:
              • Select Choose from Library. Library is configured in Admin, Bid Management. (See Admin Manual).
              • Select all that apply and select Save.
              • User may edit or remove qualifications.

                Note: If you wish to start recording each Bidder’s qualifications in the next step below, select Submit, reopen the project and select Edit. Now you can record the individual bidder qualification status.

          • Qualification Scores: This step is mandatory and is only accessible once the bid is no longer in Bidding.
            • Select the vendor to expand qualifications fields.
              • Select Pass or Fail for each qualification listed. Only bidders with an Overall Grade: Pass will move to the next step.
              • Select Save and return to the project for Bidders with an Overall Grade: Pass to appear on the Criteria Tab.
          • Export: Allows user to export Technical Qualifications and pass/fail scores.

        L. Criteria Tab

        Agency configures criteria for Preference, Round 1, Round 2 and Cost. Additional Rounds may be added by the Agency. Each round can be completed by the evaluators or by the Agency by using Consensus Score for that round. The Agency can opt to do one or the other or both scoring methods. PlanetBids will score cost and the user will score preferences. Agency may opt to make cost an Evaluator Criteria (subjective) or not use thePlanetBids cost. Preference is optional.

          • Cost: This is optional; if selected, PlanetBids will calculate the cost score based upon the amount entered in Bid Management, Bid Results. Cost evaluation scores are displayed after release by the Agency user.

            How cost is calculated:

            The proposal with the lowest cost receives the maximum points available. The remaining proposals are scored based on the lowest proposal cost. The price of the lowest proposal cost is divided by the cost of the proposal being evaluated, then multiplied by the maximum points available.

          • Preference: Optional; additional points to be awarded to bidders who qualify based upon Agency requirements for Vendor Classification Types (SBE, DVBE, etc.). Scores are shown once the Agency user has scored all qualifying bidders on the Evaluations Tab.
            • Select Library.
            • Select all that apply and select Save. This list is managed in Admin, Vendor Management. (See Admin Manual).
            • User may edit or remove preference criteria.
          • Round 1 Criteria: The criteria evaluators will score in the initial round of evaluations.
            • Adding criteria manually:
              • Select Add.
              • Enter Criteria Title, Detail, and Points Available and select Done.
              • User may edit or remove cost criteria.
            • Adding criteria from the library:
              • Select Library.
              • Select all that apply and select Save.
              • User may edit or remove cost criteria.
            • Enable Round 1 Scorecard: Select when evaluators may begin entering scores for this round. Best practice is to send an email to your evaluation team when completing this action.
          • Round 2 Criteria: The criteria evaluators will score in the next round of evaluations. This step can be configured now or after Round 1 scoring has been completed. See Round 1 instruction. Evaluators will not be able to score Round 2 until Round 1 has been submitted by all evaluators and Agency user has enabled the Round 2 scorecard.
          • Add Additional Round: If needed, the Agency may add up to two additional rounds at any time. Remember to return to the Evaluation Admin tab to select which evaluator will score the additional round.
          • Release Cost to Evaluators: Select when evaluators can view cost and download cost file or view line items.
          • Release Results to Evaluators: Evaluators can now see scoring on the Results tab.
          • Bidders: Select any bidder from Round 1 to move forward to each consecutive round of evaluations. Round 1 must be complete to select bidders for Round 2.

            Note: if after scoring from round 2 short list is complete, the Agency may return to select more bidders if needed.

        M. Evaluations Tab

        Expand All/Collapse All will expand and collapse evaluation criteria fields.

          • Preferences: This field will be blank unless preferences were selected on the Criteria tab.
            • To score Preferences: The Agency user completes this task.
              • Select Bidder and the field will expand/collapse.
              • Awarded Points: Enter in value. Value must be 0-10 and may include up to two decimal points to the right.
              • Select anywhere in the field to open Comments tab.
              • Select Submit Preference Scores to finalize scores. You do not need to select this box if you wish to return and edit your entry later.
          • Consensus Score, Round 1: This step is optional and can be completed after evaluators have scored or in lieu of individual evaluator scoring.
            • To enable Consensus Scoring:
              • Select Consensus Score.
              • Select a bidder to expand criteria options..
              • Select Criteria to expand the criteria box.
              • Awarded Points: Enter in value. Value must be 0-10 and may include up to two decimal points to the right.
              • Strengths: Enter comments.
              • Weakness: Enter comments.
              • Comment: Enter general comments.
          • Cost Evaluation: Displays the cost calculations for each bidder. If this field is 0, return to the bid and enter in amounts for each bidder on the Bid Results tab. If you have not already released the cost file, you will need to do so on the Bid Results tab.
          • Progress Evaluations: Allows the Agency user to track evaluator progress and enter in consensus and preference scores. 
            • Select any bidder to expand the details.
              • If an evaluator has submitted their scores but needs to make corrections, return to the Evaluation Admin tab and select Unlock Scorecard for the evaluator. The evaluator will now be in draft mode.
          • Export: Exports all criteria, scores and comments.


        N. Results Tab

        Scores for Cost, Preferences, Round # - Evaluator and Round # - Consensus will not show until the scoring has been submitted for those sections.

        By default, all scores are displayed. Select and unselect to configure the scoring value desired.

          • Individual Evaluator Scores: Exact score value per evaluator.
            • Round #: Select ^ or ⱽ arrow to expand/collapse breakdown by criteria.
          • Evaluator Aggregate Scores: Exact total of combined evaluator scores for all criteria per bidder.
            • Round #: Select ^ or ⱽ arrow to expand/collapse breakdown by criteria.
          • Evaluator Average Scores: Average total of combined evaluator scores for all criteria per bidder.
            • Round #: Select ^ or ⱽ arrow to expand/collapse breakdown by criteria.
          • Consensus Scores: Exact total for all criteria per bidder.
            • Round #: Select ^ or ⱽ arrow to expand/collapse breakdown by criteria.
          •  Preference: exact total for all preferences per bidder. 
            • Select ^ or ⱽ arrow to expand/collapse breakdown by preference type.
          • Cost Scores: Point calculations per bidder.
          • Export: Exports all score values in Excel.

        O. Notes Tab

        Agency User and Evaluation Team may enter any additional notes.