Vendor Evaluation
When to use
Use this skill for vendor evaluation when you need to compare suppliers against defined requirements. The expected result is a vendor scorecard and recommendation.
Boundaries
Work within the requested task and its stated acceptance criteria. Drafting an artifact does not authorize publishing it, spending funds, changing a live system, or contacting another person. Identify any such action separately before taking it.
Inputs
Inspect business need, spend, supplier options, policy, contract terms, and stakeholders. Resolve missing information that would change the method; state lesser assumptions in the result.
Method
- Diagnose. Define mandatory requirements, spend, timeline, supplier market, approval route, and contract exit terms.
- Decide. Compare total cost, service, risk, and switching effort.
- Produce. Build a vendor scorecard and recommendation from the inspected material; keep assumptions distinguishable from observed facts.
Decision rules
- Compare suppliers on total cost, service, security, concentration risk, and implementation effort.
- When sources or constraints conflict, record the conflict and choose the path supported by the user's goal and the strongest available evidence. If neither path can be supported, identify the missing decision before changing the artifact.
Domain rules
- Document conflict-of-interest and supplier due diligence checks.
- Record the decision owner and renewal or exit conditions.
Verification
Check evidence behind scores. Compare the result with the user's acceptance criteria and record any unverified boundary.
Return a weighted comparison with evidence, exceptions, decision owner, and renewal or exit checkpoint.
Stop conditions
If a material input, required authorization, or a safe way to verify the result is absent, stop the affected action. Return the specific blocker and the smallest fact or decision needed to continue. Do not report an unrun check as passed.
Output
Provide a vendor scorecard and recommendation. Include the decisive evidence and actual verification result. Name any artifact location and unresolved issue that affects its use.
