Define the problem and test their understanding
Describe the users, current workflow, business impact, constraints, and evidence of success before discussing a feature list. Give each candidate the same brief and ask them to identify unanswered questions, risks, and assumptions.
A capable partner may challenge the requested solution or suggest a smaller way to validate it. Look for specific reasoning about your context rather than a proposal that could have been sent to any company.
Look for engineering judgment, not just a technology list
Ask how the team will model data, define permissions, integrate existing systems, handle failures, test critical workflows, deploy changes, and monitor production. The answers should connect architecture choices to your requirements and the skills of the people who will maintain the system.
Request examples of comparable work and ask what tradeoffs the team made. A useful case study explains the problem, constraints, delivery decisions, and lessons without overstating results or exposing another client’s confidential details.
Check how delivery and quality are managed
Ask who owns product decisions, technical leadership, design, testing, and communication. Agree how often you will see working software, how requirements can change, how defects are prioritized, and what evidence is required for acceptance.
Quality should include automated and manual testing, code review, security checks, accessibility where relevant, backups, deployment and rollback plans, and clear documentation. Confirm which of these are included rather than assuming they arrive automatically.
Evaluate security, ownership, and support
Clarify who owns the source code, designs, domains, cloud accounts, data, and deployment credentials. Confirm how access is controlled, secrets are managed, data is backed up, and production incidents are handled.
Ask what happens after launch: warranty period, maintenance options, response expectations, handover, documentation, dependency updates, and the process for transferring work to another team. A system is only useful if your organization can operate and change it.
Compare proposals on the same basis
Compare scope, assumptions, exclusions, milestones, team roles, client responsibilities, dependencies, payment terms, third-party fees, and change control. If estimates differ substantially, ask what work or risk each one includes rather than assuming one number is automatically better.
A strong proposal names the first measurable outcome, the evidence needed to accept it, and what will be deferred. Avoid committing to a long fixed feature list before discovery has resolved major technical or operational uncertainty.