Twelve Questions Before You Sign
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The four that matter most
- How will we know it is working? A good answer describes an evaluation set with real cases.
- What happens when it is wrong? A good answer describes confidence routing and a review interface.
- Who owns the code and credentials? The answer should be you, in your accounts.
- What will it cost to run at our volume? A modelled figure, with the assumptions stated.
A supplier who cannot answer the first two has built demonstrations, not systems. That is worth knowing before rather than after.
Eight more worth asking
- Which model provider, and can we change it later?
- Where is our data processed, and is it used for training?
- What is retained, by you and by the provider, and for how long?
- How do we turn it off in an emergency?
- What does maintenance cost annually?
- Can we speak to a client running something similar?
- What is not included in this price?
- What happens if accuracy is below what we agreed?
Warning signs
Accuracy promised as a number before anyone has seen your data. No mention of review or correction anywhere in the proposal. Credentials held in the supplier's accounts. Vague language about the model doing the work.
None of those is necessarily disqualifying on its own. Two or more together usually is.
What a good proposal contains
| Section | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Scope | What is in and explicitly what is out |
| Success measure | A number agreed before the build starts |
| Evaluation | How correctness will be established |
| Failure handling | What happens on outage, error and low confidence |
| Running cost | Modelled at your volume, with assumptions |
| Maintenance | A yearly figure, not a footnote |
| Handover | Code, credentials, documentation, all yours |
Ask for a small first phase
A proof of feasibility on your real data, priced separately, before a full build. Any competent supplier will suggest it themselves.
It de-risks the decision for both sides and it makes the eventual estimate considerably more accurate.
Frequently asked questions
Should we get three quotes?
Is the cheapest quote usually the problem?
What if a supplier will not answer these?
Can you review a proposal from someone else?
Holding a proposal you are not sure about?
Send it over. We will tell you what is missing, whether or not you work with us.