Understanding and specifying the Requirement

3.4  The key risk in this area was that the project requirement would be underestimated and that the resultant solution would prove to be not deliverable to the required timescale and level of functionality. This risk was managed mainly through a structured procurement process, in which the purchasers' joint procurement authority issued a statement of requirements, which was subject to quality management and change management processes. Also to test the three shortlisted bidders' understanding of the requirement, the authority evaluated demonstration systems developed by the bidders in response to the statement of requirements. The authority then acted as an interface between the shortlisted bidders and users representatives in the Department and Post Office Counters Ltd during subsequent negotiations up to the submission of priced bids.