The needs assessment phase allows for the qualitative and quantitative determination of the nature of the need. The purpose of this assessment is to establish a set of specifications that will be submitted to the suppliers consulted.
The specifications will vary in complexity depending on the following parameters:
• Short lead time (generally a consultation) or long lead time (possibility of developing a full tender);
• Stakes (high or low);
• Available resources (sufficient, limited, or even nonexistent);
• Objectives (ambitious or in line with past performance);
• Risks (novelty, quality issues, etc.)
Stakeholders in expressing needs
The expression of needs is based on an inseparable “quartet”:
1. The user, based on their field experience,
2. The prescriber, for their technical knowledge,
3. The supplier for their offer,
4. The buyer being the lead project manager.
The buyer, always at the heart of this group, ensures a delicate balance between stakeholders:
• internally, they define the company’s needs with their contacts,
• externally, they select suppliers and deal with those who best meet these needs.
Ideally, we should define the need as precisely as possible, which in reality is complicated because we never have all the necessary information. The balance between over-quality and under-quality is delicate.
The 2 types of specifications
The specifications document used for consulting the supplier market can be:
• fixed (generally a precise reference);
Of course, the choice between these two types of specifications is defined based on the strategy put in place.
The specifications are fixed
It is expressed in terms of “the fact of”, meaning that a solution is imposed without necessarily explaining what it will be used for or the level of useful performance.
This is therefore a document that brings together all the characteristics that are imposed on suppliers.
Depending on the stakes, the technical specifications can take a simplified form based on a definition plan and a number of commercial criteria, or a more elaborate form including:
• an introduction containing general information,
• the subject of the contract, specific to the consultation and defining the context, the contract duration, the associated contract, the environment and its regulations…
• the description of the need, including the characteristics of the equipment or service expected, the desired level of quality, the standards to be met…
• the contract price, which specifies to suppliers the procedures for responding to the price,
• the organization of the procedure, which includes a description of the obligations to be met, such as the date of receipt of bids, the person in charge of the file…
• the award criteria, which present the procedure for selecting suppliers.
The functional specifications
This type of specification is expressed in terms of “made for,” meaning the search for a result derived from a supplier’s solution. The constituent elements of a functional specification are:
1. The general presentation of the need, which describes the main needs that the product or service must satisfy, information on volumes and their distribution over time and the general context of the project (the situation, the parties involved in the project and the objectives, the nature of the service requested, the confidentiality and the desired environment),
2. The functional expression of the need, which is the result of a functional analysis of the product or service, which reveals the different levels of detail in the expression of the demand.
Service functions and constraints: A constraint is defined as a limitation on the designer’s creativity and innovation. These constraints can be:
• Regulatory: safety, environment.
• Qualitative: standards, labels.
• Environmental: available energy, surrounding facilities, handling equipment.
3. Evaluation criteria: For each function, evaluation criteria must be defined to determine whether the function is fulfilled or the constraint is met. For example: capacity, temperature, troubleshooting time, flame length, etc.
The essential clauses of a specifications document
Regardless of the format of the specifications document, the following elements constitute the standard basis for the clauses that must be included in the tender:
• Purpose of the specifications
• Scope of the tender
• Duration and associated schedule of the project
• Technical or functional description of the requirement
• Possibility or not of technical alternatives
• Mandatory procedures to be followed (non-negotiable clauses)
• Structure and monitoring of the contract with the supplier
• Confidentiality
• Contact persons
• Main evaluation criteria
• Technical appendices