Build past performance narratives around relevance

A past performance narrative needs to help a reader understand what work was performed, how it relates to the new requirement, and what the record shows about execution. It is not a company biography. Start by selecting examples against the solicitation’s criteria, then build a factual record for each one. Relevant detail is more useful than a dramatic success story that leaves the evaluator guessing about scope, responsibility, or results.

Read the selection rules first

Capture the requested number of examples, recency period, contract types, forms, references, and permitted sources of experience. The solicitation may distinguish corporate experience from past performance, or request separate responses for each. Maintain that distinction in the outline. Do not assume a project counts simply because it sounds similar or because another procurement accepted it.

FAR 15.305 discusses the relevance and context of performance information and addresses offerors without relevant performance history. Read the actual solicitation’s evaluation approach before deciding how to present a new company’s record. A lack of one category of evidence is not a reason to relabel another company’s work as your own.

Build a project fact sheet

Collect the customer name, contract or project identifier where appropriate, period, scope, role, relevant work, and authorized reference information. Confirm which details may be disclosed. Track the source for each result and who verified it. This preparation saves time when several narratives use related facts, and it reduces accidental differences between a past performance form and the main proposal.

Keep scale in context. A project value may help describe size, but it does not explain complexity by itself. Consider service locations, staffing, work volume, technical environment, schedule pressure, interfaces, and acceptance demands. Include the dimensions that matter to the new requirement rather than filling space with every metric available.

Explain the relevance directly

Use a short relevance statement before the project story. Name the new requirement’s feature and show the connection. Fictional example: “This project required coordinating service across three occupied facilities, which is relevant to the multi-location scheduling described in the current work statement.” The next paragraph should provide the facts behind that connection. Do not rely on an evaluator to infer relevance from a customer name or industry label.

Describe your organization’s specific role. If the company was a subcontractor, identify its contribution accurately. If an example belongs to a teammate or key person, label it clearly and use it only as permitted. An individual’s experience can be valuable without becoming a corporate award. Accurate attribution protects credibility and helps the reader assess the proposed team.

Use supported outcomes and candid context

Prefer observable outcomes over broad claims. A verified on-time delivery record, a documented corrective action, or an accepted deliverable tells a clearer story than “excellent customer satisfaction.” Do not manufacture numbers to make the narrative more impressive. If a result is qualitative, explain the basis for it and obtain permission before using a customer quotation.

Where the response calls for problems and corrective actions, explain what occurred, what the team changed, and what evidence shows the change worked. Avoid assigning blame or suggesting every project was flawless. Keep the discussion relevant and factual. Have someone who knows the project review it for accuracy, especially when the proposal writer did not participate in delivery.

Coordinate reference requests early

Confirm that proposed references are current and permitted to provide information. Send only the material needed for the stated process, using approved business communication channels. Track questionnaires and deadlines without implying that you control a customer’s response. Recheck contact details before submission, and keep unnecessary personal information out of widely circulated drafts.

Finish with a consistency review across every place the project appears. Dates, values, role descriptions, and results should agree. A narrative earns its space when it gives the evaluator a credible basis to understand the proposed team’s relevance. If the example does not do that, consider a different example or a clearer explanation rather than more promotional language.