Clear and verifiable requirements

How can you turn a purchasing need into requirements that suppliers can work with, using AI?

1250 € per session, excl. VAT

In short

In a half-day session of 3 hours you turn an internal request into a structured invitation to tender document. Generative AI helps clarify the need, formulate requirements and identify inconsistencies. You produce an operational document pack, accompanied by acceptance criteria and a quality checklist.

Why this training?

An imprecise internal request results in quotations that are difficult to compare: differing scopes, omitted services and divergent interpretations of the expected performance. Formalising the need before approaching suppliers makes trade-offs and acceptance conditions explicit. AI can suggest a structure and rephrase requirements, but it can also invent a technical constraint or conceal uncertainty. The work therefore focuses as much on information traceability and approval by the relevant managers as on drafting. Running case study: The fictitious organisation Tervanel Assemblage wants to purchase order-picking workstations for its workshop. The initial request mixes ergonomics, capacity, layout and maintenance. Participants have a simplified plan, operational constraints and user notes containing contradictions to resolve. Transfer to the workplace: For an upcoming purchase, reuse the template, have the requester approve the scope and apply the quality checklist before inviting quotations. Compare versions by counting ambiguous requirements, information without a source and missing acceptance criteria.

Objectives of this training

  • Define the scope, exclusions and stakeholders for a purchase
  • Distinguish between functional needs, constraints and mandated technical solutions
  • Use AI to draft numbered, prioritised and verifiable requirements
  • Link critical requirements to evidence and an acceptance method
  • Assess the quality of the document pack and correct ambiguities before approval

Who is it for and what are the prerequisites?

Roles and tasks concerned

  • Buyers and supply officers preparing invitations to tender for suppliers
  • Operations managers and technical specifiers responsible for formalising a need for equipment or services

Prior skills

  • Have already used a generative AI assistant to draft or rephrase a text.
  • Know the main stages of a supplier tendering process and the role of the person specifying the requirements.

What you will work on

  1. Clarify the internal request

    Objective: Establish a stable definition of the need before any detailed drafting. Intended use, users, scope, exclusions and sources; distinction between fact, assumption and decision.

  2. Develop verifiable requirements

    Objective: Turn vague wording into expectations that can be checked. Functional and technical requirements; identifiers, priorities, units and acceptance criteria; neutrality towards suppliers.

  3. Assemble the tender document pack

    Objective: Produce a coherent version for suppliers. Context, scope, requirements, deliverables, constraints on execution, acceptance and response framework; distinction between acceptance and bid selection.

  4. Check and prepare for approval

    Objective: Measure shortcomings in the document pack and organise their correction. Contradictions, non-measurable requirements, missing information and necessary technical or legal approvals.

What you take away

  • Scoping sheet with scope, exclusions and open questions
  • Structured draft specification for an invitation to tender
  • Matrix of requirements, priorities and acceptance procedures
  • Completed quality checklist and list of outstanding approvals

Method and assessment

  • Short instructional sessions followed by immediate practice using the running case study.
  • Individual work followed by work in pairs, with peer review of the outputs.
  • Guided group discussion: what works, what needs correcting and what remains a human decision.
  • Preparation: Prepare a fictitious or anonymised statement of need, without confidential prices or information that could identify a supplier. Check access to an AI tool authorised by the organisation; a fictitious document pack is provided for the exercises.

Observable criteria: The scope and exclusions distinguish the expected services from optional items. ; Each requirement has an identifier and an explicit priority. ; Each critical requirement includes a verification method and a threshold that is either specified or flagged as still requiring approval. ; Assumptions and missing data are separated from confirmed information. ; The final check counts the remaining ambiguities and identifies who is responsible for resolving them..

Frequently asked questions

Does AI choose the technical specifications?

No. It helps formulate them; the person specifying the requirements validates their relevance and the expected thresholds.

Can we work on an actual purchase?

Yes, but only with anonymised data and an authorised tool; otherwise, the fictitious case study is used.

Is the document pack ready to send?

It provides an operational basis, to be submitted for the necessary internal technical, procurement and legal approvals.

Is the method suitable for services?

Yes, by adapting the requirements to the deliverables, responsibilities, service levels and acceptance procedures.

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