This workflow outlines the steps for creating and reviewing a Request for Information (RFI), as well as a step for PM review and approval should the RFI need to become an Issue for pricing.  It includes roles such as Contractor, Professional Services Consultant (PSC), and Project Manager (PM).  The workflow has various steps, color-coded to represent Automation, Initiation/Edit, Review, and Approval steps. 

Workflow Participants:

1. Author/Contractor – The person initiating the RFI.
2. Primary Responder – The person named by the Author as the person responsible for the final response to the RFI, typically, the PSC on the project.
3. Reviewers - The CWA/CM assigned in the Project Details.
4. Secondary Responder – A person included in the process by the Author, Primary Responder, or another Secondary Responder. Secondary Responders reply to the Primary Responder, not to the Author—usually an Engineer or other Consultant.
5. Project Manager - The final approver of the RFI.

Steps in the Workflow:

Start (S) (Black – Automation)

• The process begins with the creation of an RFI.

Create RFI (Green – Initiation/Edit)

• The contractor will create an RFI and send it for review.

Decision Point (Black – Automation)

• If there is a Contractor with Assigned (CWA) or Construction Manager (CM) on the project, the RFI will first go to them for review.
• If there is no CWA or CM on the project or the RFI was created by a CWA or CM, then the RFI will first go to the PSC for a response.

Review RFI (Blue – Review)

• If there is a CWA or CM on the project, the RFI will first go to them for review.
• Once the CWA or CM reviews, they can either send the RFI back to the author for more information or mark the RFI reviewed and send it to the PSC for response.

RFI Response (Green – Initiation/Edit)

• The PSC will provide a response to the RFI and send it to the author for review.

Confirm RFI (Green – Initiation/Edit)

• The author of the RFI will review the response and mark the RFI confirmed.

Decision Point (Black – Automation)

• If the author noted that the RFI will result in a cost or schedule impact or a potential cost or schedule impact, the RFI will go to the PM for review.
• If the author noted that the RFI will not result in a cost or schedule impact, then the RFI process will be complete.

Approval (Orange – Approve)

• If the author noted that the RFI will result in a cost or schedule impact or a potential cost or schedule impact, the RFI will go to the PM for review.
• The PM will review. 
  • If the PM agrees that the RFI should become an Issue for pricing, they will approve it. 
  • If they disagree, the PM will send it back to the author for revision.

Issue Created from RFI (Black – Automation)

• If the PM approved to create an Issue from the RFI, they can notify the PSC to process the RFI to an Issue.
• The project team can then use the Issues App to complete pricing, reviews, and approvals.

Finish (F) (Black – Automation)

• If the RFI had no cost or schedule impact, then the RFI process is complete, and the process ends here.
• If the PM approved the RFI to become an Issue, the PSC can click Process so that Kahua will automatically create an Issue record, and the RFI process ends here.

1. As the Author of the RFI, navigate to the appropriate project using the Project Finder located in the left side menu.
2. Select Document Management.
3. Select RFIs, then select Official RFIs.
4. Once in the RFI application, click New located at the top to create a new RFI.
5. Fill out the RFI form noting the following:
   1. Required fields are marked with red text.
   2. The PSC should be selected as the Primary Responder.
   3. Provide any other information that will be helpful for the PSC to provide a complete and detailed response. 
6. Attach reference documents at the bottom of the form, if applicable.
7. Use the options on the Save menu at any time during editing by choosing:
   1. Save - Saves the RFI that you are editing while allowing you to continue editing.
   2. Save/New - Saves and closes the RFI you are editing and opens a new RFI form.
   3. Save/Close - Saves the RFI you are editing and closes the RFI Edit window.
8. After you have finished editing the RFI, click Submit.
   1. This saves the RFI and sends the RFI into workflow.
   2. The Status will update to In Review.
9. At this point, the Author can only Recall the RFI to make edits or if it needs to be deleted.
10. The RFI is first sent to the person assigned to the CWA/CM role in the Project Details for Review.
    1. The CWA/CM receives a Kahua task and an email message about the RFI.
    2. The RFI can be sent back for revision by the CWA/CM or the review can be marked as completed.
    3. If there is not a CWA or CM on the project, the RFI will be sent directly to the PSC.
11. Once the RFI has been reviewed by the CWA or CM, the RFI will advance to the Primary Responder/PSC.  The PSC will receive a new message and task in Kahua.

The Primary Responder (PSC) can solicit responses from secondary responders and add the secondary response to the Primary (official) Response as required.

1. As the Primary Responder, access the RFI task notification by one of the following:
   1. Click the link in the email and auto-navigate to Kahua.
   2. Sign into Kahua and click on your Task icon located at the top right, then select the RFI task.
2. To solicit additional responses, click Insert in the Secondary Responders grid.
3. Click Send to Secondary Responders.
   1. Secondary Responders receive a task and message alert.
   2. Secondary Responders enter a response in the Response field, then click Respond.
   3. The Date Responded will auto populate when the Secondary Responder responds.
4. As the Primary Responder, click the More Detail icon to the left of the Secondary Responder in the grid to see their response.
5. To add secondary responses to the Primary response, select the Add to Response checkbox.
6. Click Add Responses to primary response.
7. Edit primary response as required.
8. As the Primary Responder, click Respond.
   1. A task is sent to the Author to either complete or request clarification.   

NOTE: The responses from the secondary responders will not show in the RFI log unless they are selected to be added to the Primary Response.  

1. The author of the RFI will receive a task.
2. As the Author, open the RFI app and note that the log reflects: 
   1. Status is Responded.
   2. The Assigned To column indicated the RFI is outstanding with the Author.
3. If the RFI response is sufficient, click one of the options to close and lock the RFI:
   1. Mark Complete - Saves and locks the RFI.
   2. Distribute & Mark Complete - Saves and locks the RFI and sends a notification to all contacts in the Response Distribution list.
4. If the RFI response is insufficient, click Return to Primary Responder to request clarification.

Conditional Workflow of an RFI

1. Once the Author marks the RFI as complete, the conditional workflow will check if either:
   1. The Potential Cost Impact is marked as Yes OR Unknown.
   2. The Potential Time Impact is marked as Yes OR Unknown.
2. If either of these fields are marked as Yes OR Unknown, the workflow will send the RFI to the Project Manager assigned in the Project Details.
3. The Project Manager will then Review the RFI and either:
   1. Approve the Potential Cost AND/OR Potential Time impact.
   2. Reject the Potential Cost AND/OR Potential Time impact.
      1. This will send it back to the Author to change the value in those fields to remove the requested cost/time impacts.
      2. The Author can then Submit again, and as there is no cost or time impact, the RFI will be marked as Complete, which will close the RFI.
4. If the RFI with the Cost/Time impact is approved by the Project Manager, Kahua should automatically create the Issue.  The PM can then notify the PSC so that the PSC can fill out the remaining information in the Issue.
5. To Notify the PSC, navigate to the Approved RFI in the specific Project.
6. Select the Approved RFI and click Send.
7. Add the PSC in the To field and let them know that this RFI has been processed to an Issue.
8. Click Send.

Manual Process of an RFI to Issue by PSC

1. If the Issue is not automatically created from the Issue, the PSC or PM can process it to one manually.
2. When the Project Manager notifies the PSC on an Approved RFI with Cost/Time impact, the PSC will receive an email and a message in Kahua.
3. Using the link in the email, navigate to the RFI application in the specific Project in Kahua.
4. Click on the RFI record that was Approved by the Project Manager.
5. Click Process located at the top of the record.
6. Ensure the Target Application is set to Issues.
7. Click Start Processing. This will navigate you, the PSC, to the Issue Application where the RFI will be converted to an Issue in Draft state.
8. Fill out the Issue/RFP as per the [Link for document 136331 is unavailable at this time] or the [Link for document 136331 is unavailable at this time] job aid.