Triage and the verdict

Review a tender pack

Add a tender pack, pasted terms of reference or a link, and Biddable reads it and runs the bid or no-bid triage on your rules.

Who can use it

Owners and writers. Reviewers can open the page, but the triage is refused for them.

Where it is

Review: Choose files or a zip, then Run bid / no-bid triage

In

The web app, and the phone, tablet and desktop app

What it does

Review is where a tender goes in before anyone decides to bid. You give it the pack as files, a zip, pasted text or a link, and Biddable reads every document, scores the tender against your rules and writes a brief. The decision stays with you on the next page.

Step by step

1. Open Review.
2. Under Review a tender pack., press Choose files or a zip and pick the pack. You can pick more than once; each file shows with its size and a ✕ to take it off.
3. If you cannot upload the documents, paste the text into Paste the TOR (optional), or put the address into Or a link to the TOR (optional). A link can be to a PDF, a Word file, a zip or the notice page.
4. If you like, give the pack a name in Name for this pack (optional). Without one, it is named after the first file, the pasted text or the link.
5. Add anything the agent should know in Notes for the agent (optional): a partner already lined up, who takes the lead seat, what the client said.
6. Press Run bid / no-bid triage. The tender's page opens and the triage starts.

What you see

• While the files go up the button reads Uploading…, or Fetching the link… when you gave only a link.
• The tender's page opens, titled Tender pack review, with the run box at the top saying WORKING (see Watching a triage run).
• The pack is listed under Reviewed packs. on Review with the badge Triage running… until the verdict arrives.

Good to know

• The triage never counts against your plan. Check as many tenders as you like.
• A zip is unpacked, and a zip inside the zip is unpacked too.
• A link is fetched at once. A notice page is saved with its text and the agent follows the links on it to the terms of reference and annexes. A page behind a portal login cannot be read: the agent says which portal and asks you for the documents.
• Your notes are read as your decisions. The triage applies them and says where; a note that contradicts the pack is raised for your call. They travel with the pack into the bid if you pursue it.
• Run bid / no-bid triage stays greyed out until there is a file, pasted text or a web link.
• In a paused space nothing new can be started.

Common questions

Can I add more documents after the triage has started?

Not to the pack on Review. Once you pursue the tender and create the bid, add them on the bid's Documents page with Add files, or drop them into the Build chat.

Does the name I give the pack matter?

It is the title the bid starts with if you pursue it. You can change the title later on the bid's Overview with Edit.

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Watching a triage run

Follow a triage while it works on the tender's page, stop it if you need to, and see how it ended.

Who can use it

Everyone can watch. Owners and writers can stop a run.

Where it is

The tender's page (Review, then Open): the run box at the top, Stop

In

The web app, and the phone, tablet and desktop app

What it does

While a triage runs, the tender's page shows a dark run box at the top. It says that the triage is working, then shows the results as they come. You can leave the page: the triage carries on and the verdict is there when you come back.

Step by step

1. Open the tender's page: press Run bid / no-bid triage on Review, or Open beside a pack under Reviewed packs.
2. Watch the run box at the top of the page.
3. To stop it, press Stop in the run box.
4. To start it again later, press Re-run triage (or Run triage if it never finished) under the tender's name.

What you see

• The run box's heading says how the run stands: QUEUED, WORKING, DONE, STOPPED, DID NOT FINISH or WAITING FOR YOU.
• Until the first result arrives the box says Working… (or Queued, runs next…).
• When it is done, the verdict card, the brief and the files pulled from the pack appear further down the page.
• A run that was stopped or did not finish keeps its box on the page, so you can see why.
• On Review, a pack whose triage is still going shows Triage running….

Good to know

• You see "Working" and then the results, not each step the agent takes.
• Re-run triage and Save and re-run triage are greyed out while a run is going.
• A triage that does not finish never counts against your plan; triage never does.
• Reviewers can watch the run, but Stop is refused for them.

Common questions

Do I have to keep the page open?

No. The triage runs on the server. Come back to Review and open the pack when it shows a verdict.

What happens if I stop it?

The box says STOPPED and the pack has no new verdict. Press Re-run triage when you are ready.

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Reviewed packs

Every tender pack you have reviewed, with its verdict, score and what you decided, in one list on the Review page.

Who can use it

Everyone in the space.

Where it is

Review: Reviewed packs, then Open

In

The web app, and the phone, tablet and desktop app

What it does

Reviewed packs. lists every tender pack added on Review, newest first, with its verdict. It is how you get back to a tender's page to read the reasons, correct the verdict or decide.

Step by step

1. Open Review and scroll to Reviewed packs. The number beside the heading is how many packs there are.
2. Press a pack's name (with ▸ beside it) to show its details; press again (▾) to hide them.
3. Press Open to go to the tender's page.

What you see

• Under each name, one badge for the verdict, for example Solo bid, Conditional bid, Your call or No-bid, with the score beside it and Provisional where it applies.
• Not triaged or Triage running… when there is no verdict yet.
• The details show what has happened to it (Bid created or Declined by you) and when it was added, the reason it is provisional, and the first lines of the summary.
• A pack still waiting for its verdict shows its details open; the others start folded.

Good to know

• The list refreshes by itself every few seconds while the page is open.
• Only packs added on Review are listed here. A bid started with New bid is on the Bids list, not here.
• The front page shows a to triage chip when packs are waiting; pressing it opens Review.

Common questions

Why does a plain bid show as "Solo bid"?

A Bid verdict with no partner is shown as Solo bid. Where your rules say the work needs a partner, it reads Bid with a partner, with the partner's name where the triage gave one.

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Read the verdict

The verdict card on the tender's page: the verdict, the score, the summary, the deadline, the value, what disqualified it and the key risks.

Who can use it

Everyone in the space.

Where it is

The tender's page (Review, then Open): the verdict card

In

The web app, and the phone, tablet and desktop app

What it does

When the triage is done, the tender's page shows one card with the verdict and what it rests on. It tells you whether to bid, bid on conditions, bid with a partner, decide yourself, or pass, and why.

Step by step

1. Open Review and press Open beside the pack.
2. Read the badges at the top of the verdict card: the verdict, the score and, where it applies, Provisional.
3. Read the summary, then the facts underneath: Partner, Deadline, Value, Disqualified by and the key risks.
4. Press Read on The brief. for the full reasons (see The reasons and the brief).

What you see

• The verdict badge, coloured by the verdict: Solo bid, Bid with a partner, Conditional bid, Your call or No-bid.
• A longer heading when it says more than the badge, for example Your call — the rubric could not settle it, or the partner's name.
• Bidding as and the entity, where the triage named one.
• Provisional — and the reason, in amber, when the verdict stands on something the documents left open.
• Partner, with the rule that called for one; Deadline; Value, with its band; Disqualified by, naming your rule, when one fired; and the key risks as bullets.
• Under Your call, the buttons to decide: Pursue — set up the bid below and Pass — no-bid.

Good to know

• A disqualifier is one of your own rules. If one fires, the verdict is No-bid whatever the score.
• The same verdict appears on the bid's Overview under Where it stands. once you create the bid, and on the bid's card in the Bids list.
• Building a bid over a No-bid verdict asks you to confirm first.

Common questions

What does Provisional mean?

The verdict stands on something the documents did not settle, such as a date, a value or a requirement that may be clarified. The reason is shown beside it. Re-run the triage once you know more.

The verdict is wrong for us. What now?

Tell the agent why in Notes for the agent and press Save and re-run triage (see Correct a verdict: notes and re-run).

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The reasons and the brief

Open the triage brief on the tender's page to read the full reasons behind the verdict, the facts it found and what would change it.

Who can use it

Everyone in the space.

Where it is

The tender's page: The brief, Read, Minimise; and Files pulled

In

The web app, and the phone, tablet and desktop app

What it does

The triage writes a brief: the verdict in one line, then the reasons, the facts it took from the pack, the tests of your disqualifiers and partner rules, the scored criteria, the key risks and what would change the verdict. The verdict card gives the short answer; the brief is what you read before you decide.

Step by step

1. Open the tender's page from Review with Open.
2. Find The brief. below the verdict card. The brief's name is shown under the heading.
3. Press Read to open it on the page.
4. Press Minimise to fold it away again.
5. Scroll to Files pulled. to see which files from the pack were read.

What you see

• The brief. with Read, and once open, the brief itself with its headings, lists and tables.
• Files pulled. listing each file in the pack, or None yet. before anything has been read.

Good to know

• The brief appears once a triage has finished. Before that, only the run box and the files are shown.
• If you pursue the tender, the brief travels into the bid with the pack.
• Re-running the triage writes a fresh brief.
• Where a document is missing from the pack, such as an attachment behind a portal login, the brief says which one, and the verdict is marked Provisional.

Common questions

Can I change what the brief says?

Not directly. Add what you know under Notes for the agent and press Save and re-run triage; the new brief applies your note and says where.

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Correct a verdict: notes and re-run

Tell the agent what the pack does not say, then run the triage again so the verdict takes it into account.

Who can use it

Owners and writers. Reviewers can read the notes but not save them.

Where it is

The tender's page: Notes for the agent, Save notes, Save and re-run triage

In

The web app, and the phone, tablet and desktop app

What it does

Notes for the agent holds your decisions and facts for this tender. Every run reads them, applies them and says where. Saving them and running the triage again is how you correct a verdict that missed something you know.

Step by step

1. Open the tender's page from Review with Open.
2. Under Notes for the agent., type what the agent should know: a partner you have lined up, who takes the lead seat, what the client told you, a budget cap.
3. Press Save notes to keep them, or Save and re-run triage to keep them and run the triage again at once.
4. Watch the run box, then read the new verdict and brief.

What you see

• Save notes is greyed out until you change the text.
• Save and re-run triage appears once the tender has a verdict, and is greyed out while a run is going.
• After a re-run, a new verdict card and a new brief. Your note is applied and cited in the brief.

Good to know

• A note that contradicts the pack is raised for your call rather than applied without comment.
• The notes travel with the pack into the bid when you create it, and the bid's runs read them too. From then on you change them on the bid's Overview; the tender's page shows them read-only.
• Re-run triage under the tender's name runs it again without changing the notes.
• If the same correction would apply to every tender, it belongs in your space's rules rather than in one tender's notes.
• Re-running the triage is free, like every triage.

Common questions

Will the agent simply do what my note says?

It applies your note as your decision and says where it did. Where the note contradicts the tender documents, it raises the point for your call instead of quietly choosing one.

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Pursue a tender and create the bid

Decide to go for a tender and turn the reviewed pack into a bid, with the pack, the triage and your notes carried over.

Who can use it

Owners and writers. Reviewers can read the page but not create the bid.

Where it is

The tender's page: Pursue — set up the bid below, then Create the bid, then Open the bid

In

The web app, and the phone, tablet and desktop app

What it does

Create the bid turns a reviewed tender into a bid in your space. The whole tender pack, the triage, the brief and your notes for the agent move into it, and the bid opens ready to build from its Overview.

Step by step

1. On the tender's page, under Your call, press Pursue — set up the bid below to record your decision.
2. Scroll to Create the bid. The fields are filled in from the triage where it found them; check each one.
3. Client: the buyer's name. This one is required.
4. Client tag: a short code for the client, used in your document codes, for example PORT.
5. Currency and Ceiling: the tender's currency (the triage's reading, else your space's pricing policy) and the budget ceiling if there is one. Where your space bids in more than one currency, press one of the currency buttons.
6. Closing date and Tender reference.
7. Press Create the bid. When it has been made, press Open the bid.

What you see

• While it works the button reads Creating the bid…, with the line "Copying the tender pack into the bid folder. Leave it — pressing again does not make it faster."
• Enter the client name first. while Client is empty; the button stays greyed out.
• "The tender's currency, as the triage read it." under Currency when it came from the pack.
• Afterwards the card says Bid created. with Open the bid, and the verdict card shows the badge Bid created. On Review the pack shows Bid created · and when it was added.

Good to know

• Creating the bid does not build it and does not count against your plan. A bid counts the first time it is built in a calendar month (see Build the bid).
• The bid's title is the pack's name. Change it afterwards on the bid's Overview with Edit.
• What you type in a field is kept: a triage that finishes later does not overwrite it.
• Pressing Create the bid twice never makes two bids. If it is still working, the second press is turned away; if it has finished, you are taken to the bid that exists.
• You can fill in Create the bid. without pressing Pursue first; Pursue only records the decision.
• The bid starts at the stage triaged, in In draft on the Bids list.

Common questions

Can I create the bid before the triage has finished?

Yes, once you have typed the client's name. The triage's findings fill the empty fields when it finishes; anything you typed stays as you typed it.

The verdict was No-bid. Can I still go ahead?

Yes. Create the bid as usual. When you build it, you are asked "Triage said NO-BID. Build it anyway?" first.

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Pass on a tender, and reopen it

Mark a reviewed tender as a no-bid so it is out of the way, and bring it back later if things change.

Who can use it

Owners and writers. Reviewers can read the page but not decide.

Where it is

The tender's page: Pass — no-bid, and Reopen

In

The web app, and the phone, tablet and desktop app

What it does

Pass — no-bid records that you have decided not to bid. The pack stays on Review with its verdict and brief, marked as declined by you. Reopen undoes the decision.

Step by step

1. Open the tender's page from Review with Open.
2. Under Your call on the verdict card, press Pass — no-bid.
3. To change your mind later, open the tender's page again and press Reopen.

What you see

• After passing, the verdict card shows Declined by you with Reopen beside it, and the Create the bid. card is no longer shown.
• On Review, the pack's details start with Declined by you · and when it was added.
• After Reopen, Pursue — set up the bid below and Pass — no-bid are back, and so is Create the bid.

Good to know

• Passing deletes nothing. The pack, the verdict, the brief and your notes stay.
• Passing is your decision, whatever the verdict said. You can pass on a Bid verdict, and you can pursue a No-bid one.
• The buttons appear once the triage has given a verdict.
• A tender that has become a bid shows Bid created instead; passing then is done on the bid itself, by setting its stage to no-bid on Overview.

Common questions

Does passing tell the buyer anything?

No. Nothing is ever sent from your space by passing. It is a record for your team.

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