Arc Skills / Requirements
Build a tender compliance matrix
Arc Skills turns tender clauses and offer evidence into a draft bidder compliance matrix. It preserves mandatory and optional clauses while exposing deviations and customer questions before submission.
Use this skill
Use Arc Skills to build a bidder compliance matrix for the supplied tender and offer.
Inputs:
- The tender revision, clause hierarchy, mandatory/optional flags, and required response vocabulary
- The exact offered configuration and its supporting data sheets, reports, and deviations
- Bid owner and any open customer clarifications
Return a clause-by-clause draft matrix with status, evidence locator, deviation, owner, and question.
Reconcile every in-scope clause. Do not claim full compliance from evidence for a different configurationWhat you provide and what you get
| What you have | How it is used | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Tender clauses | Preserves clause ID, exact duty, priority, and revision | Complete response register |
| Offered configuration | Limits claims to the actual item being bid | Status and deviations |
| Evidence and response rules | Locates support and uses customer vocabulary | Evidence reference and open question |
An input-voltage exception in a bid
Illustrative engineering example.
The illustrative tender defines Compliant, Partial, and No response statuses. Two clauses are mandatory and one is optional. The proposed offer is Controller C2 without a converter.
T-4.1 mandatory: The device shall operate from 18–32 VDC.
T-4.2 mandatory: The device shall log each power interruption.
T-4.3 optional: The device should provide remote log export.
DS-2 rev 3: C2 input 20–30 VDC. V-8: power interruption log on C2 firmware 2.0.| Tender clause | Draft status and evidence | Exception / next owner |
|---|---|---|
| T-4.1 | Partial; DS-2 rev 3, input rating | 18 to <20 VDC and >30 to 32 VDC unsupported. Bid owner asks whether converter can be offered. |
| T-4.2 | Compliant candidate; V-8 on C2 firmware 2.0 | Confirm offered firmware is 2.0 and report covers each interruption. |
| T-4.3 | No response yet; no evidence supplied | Optional clause remains explicit; product owner to confirm feature or deviation. |
All three clauses appear: two mandatory and one optional. One mandatory claim is conditional on configuration confirmation, and the other is a disclosed range deviation; neither should be rounded into a blanket compliant bid.
The matrix is a draft response artifact. The customer’s tender vocabulary and bid process decide what can be submitted, and the bid owner must resolve the converter question before an amended offer is asserted.
Build the response row by row
- Freeze the tender revision and extract every clause requiring a bidder answer.
- Check the exact offered variant, firmware, and optional equipment against each obligation.
- Attach evidence at a page, row, or report locator and record uncovered conditions as deviations.
- Reconcile mandatory and optional totals and route unanswered customer questions to an owner.
Questions about this task
Can a data sheet support a compliance claim?
Yes, for the configuration and characteristic it actually specifies. DS-2 supports 20–30 VDC, not the full 18–32 VDC tender range.
Is a planned fix compliant now?
Treat future development or a converter proposal according to the tender’s status definitions; do not represent planned work as delivered capability.
Sources and further reading
- NASA Systems Engineering Handbook: Lifecycle and requirements guidance; the example decisions are illustrative.