My firm does a significant number of requests for proposals for clients and
a version of what Mr. Harvey has commented on is occasionally part of the
RFP (depends on the thing being procured).  Where reasonable, the initial
RFP will reference SSAE16 or the like but I prefer a list of questions for
the same reasons Mark McCul articulated previously in this thread.  When
doing a large procurement and particularly a competitive procurement for a
public institution, accepting your standard document may not allow for
acceptable (to the procurement office) as it doesn't allow easily for
"apples to apples" comparisons.  When doing these procurements we realize
how much of a pain the response process is and try to keep the effort as
much in check as possible while balancing the due diligence and procurement
requirements.
One part of the balancing act that may not be entirely obvious is the need
to ease the proposal review process both for us, and more importantly, for
the client who doesn't tend to have the same experience in analyzing
proposals.   Putting the RFP respondent through extra effort is preferable
to putting the client through that effort.

Jon


On Wed, Oct 30, 2013 at 5:54 PM, Warner <[email protected]> wrote:

> On Wed, Oct 30, 2013 at 04:47:45PM -0400, Mark McCul([email protected])
> wrote:
> <snip>
> > The yes/no nature is specifically to reduce confusion and minimize
> "answering a different question."  It also serves as a point for vendors,
> many of whom want to know your security policies to influence their future
> product design.  Sometimes, it's the little changes that make a big
> difference.
> <snip>
>
> Yes/no often ties to a risk model and enables easier summary reporting.
>
>
> Warner
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