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G-Cloud Clarification Questions

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Command

arckit gcloud-clarify "<service name>"

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Description

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Arguments

• Service name: Name of the service to analyze (e.g., ‘Salesforce CRM Lot 2’)

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When to Use

• After running arckit gcloud-search
• Before making procurement decisions
• When service descriptions are vague
• To validate technical capabilities
• For due diligence on shortlisted services

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Required Context

• Requirements (ARC--REQ-.md) - MANDATORY
• G-Cloud Search Results (ARC--GCLD-.md) - MANDATORY
• Architecture Principles (ARC-000-PRIN-*.md) - Recommended

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Features

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Gap Analysis

• ✅ CONFIRMED: Explicitly mentioned with specifics
• ⚠️ AMBIGUOUS: Mentioned vaguely, needs clarification
• ❌ NOT MENTIONED: Not addressed in service description

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Ambiguous Claims Detection

• “Industry-standard” → Which specific standards?
• “High availability” → What specific SLA percentage?
• “Scalable” → To what capacity? Limits?
• “Secure” → Which security certifications?
• “Fast” → What specific performance metrics?

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Question Prioritization

• MUST requirement not confirmed
• Compliance requirement without evidence
• Blocker for procurement

• MUST requirement ambiguous
• Integration unclear
• SLA not specified

• SHOULD requirement missing
• Pricing details incomplete
• Data residency not confirmed

• Nice-to-have features
• Future roadmap questions

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Output

• Gap summary for each service
• Structured clarification questions by priority
• Risk assessment matrix
• Email templates for suppliers
• Service comparison - risk summary

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Example Output

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Question Format

#### Q1: Prometheus Metric Export
**Requirement**: NFR-005 (MUST) - Export metrics in Prometheus format

**Gap**: Service mentions "industry-standard monitoring" but 
Prometheus not explicitly mentioned.

**Question**:
> Does the service support Prometheus metric export?
> - Which Prometheus versions are supported?
> - What is the export format and endpoint?
> - Are custom metrics supported?

**Evidence Needed**:
- API documentation showing /metrics endpoint
- Example Prometheus configuration

**Priority**: 🔴 CRITICAL

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Risk Assessment

• 🔴 CRITICAL: 1+ MUST requirements not confirmed → DO NOT PROCEED
• 🟠 HIGH: 2+ MUST requirements ambiguous → CLARIFY FIRST
• 🔵 MEDIUM: 1 MUST ambiguous OR 3+ SHOULD missing
• 🟢 LOW: All MUST confirmed, few SHOULD missing

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Email Templates

Subject: Technical Clarification Required - [Service Name]

Dear [Supplier] Team,

We are evaluating [Service Name] for procurement via the 
Digital Marketplace. Before proceeding, we need clarification 
on several technical requirements:

**Critical Requirements (Blocking)**:
[List Q-numbers for critical questions]

**High Priority Requirements**:
[List Q-numbers for high priority questions]

Could you please provide:
- Written responses to questions [Q1-QN]
- Supporting documentation
- Access to demo/trial environment

We aim to make a procurement decision by [DATE + 2 weeks].

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Related Commands

• arckit gcloud-search - Find services (run this first)
• arckit evaluate - Score suppliers after receiving responses
• arckit requirements - Define requirements for gap analysis

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Next Steps

1. Review questions with technical team
2. Send emails to suppliers using provided templates
3. Set response deadline (typically 1 week)
4. Schedule follow-up to review responses
5. Run arckit evaluate after receiving responses
6. Schedule technical demos for top candidates
7. Make procurement decision