Drafting specifications and tender text

Why this matters

A good specification says what is needed, not who should supply it. A weak one is vague, copies a supplier's brochure or asks for features that only one product has. All three lead to complaints, poor bids or a failed tender. AI can speed up the writing. It can also quietly make these faults worse.

A safe way to draft

1. Write the need first, in your own words. What problem is the department solving, for whom and by when? Do this before opening any tool.
2. Use AI for structure and clarity. Ask it to turn your notes into a draft with headings, to find vague wording or to suggest a clearer sentence.
3. Ask for performance, not brand. Describe what the item must do, not the make or model. If a brand is unavoidable, check what your rules require.
4. Check every number and requirement against your own needs and the rules. Tools invent standards, thresholds and clause numbers.
5. Have the legal and rule-bound parts written or checked by people. Eligibility, evaluation criteria, bid security, penalties and dispute terms are for authorised officers and the legal adviser.
6. Record that AI was used. A short note on the file is enough.

Avoiding a biased specification

• Do not paste a supplier's brochure into the tool and ask for "a specification like this".
• Ask the tool to point out requirements that only one product or brand could meet.
• Ask a colleague who did not write it to read it and say which supplier they think it was written for.
• Compare the draft with your last specification for a similar purchase to check that it still asks for the same things.

Confidentiality before the tender is issued

Plans, budgets and timelines are often sensitive before a tender is published. Early knowledge gives a supplier an unfair advantage. Use only a tool your department has approved for this kind of material. If you are not sure, use invented figures and a general description. See AI and your privacy for the habits that apply.

Two languages

If a tender goes out in English and Urdu, both versions must say the same thing. AI can help with a draft translation, but a person who reads both languages must check that nothing has been added, dropped or shifted. See translation.

Try it

Take a short specification you have written. Ask an approved AI tool to list any requirement that only one brand could meet. Check its list against your own judgement, then rewrite one requirement in terms of what the item must do.

Check yourself

1. Why should you write the need before opening an AI tool?
2. What should you do with standards, thresholds and clause numbers in an AI draft?
3. Why must someone check both language versions of a tender?

Answers: (1) So the need comes from you and not from whatever the tool suggests. (2) Check every one against the rules and your own needs, because tools can invent them. (3) The two versions must say exactly the same thing, and translation can add, drop or shift meaning.