Review questions — Need definition and market preparation

Need definition and market preparation

Start from the user's outcome, not a requested quantity or preferred vendor. The need card records volume, period, baseline, evidence, gaps, and decision owner. A specification converts need into use, performance, and test conditions, distinguishing an essential condition from a weighted preference. Acceptance is defined before inviting suppliers so that what is priced can later be checked. Market scanning identifies alternatives, capacity, and service coverage; a website price or a name on a list proves neither eligibility nor a binding price. The risk record separates missing buyer inputs from supplier capability and names an early signal, action, and owner. In the container case, the initial 12,000-unit request changes under demand calculation, while source eligibility still depends on testing and storage. The unit's output is a comparable request, not an award or a claim that urgency gives exception authority.