Your browser doesn't support SVG graphics. You can view a simplified version of the results here.
This project is an attempt to measure the problem. In November and December 2017, we presented information given by buyers on three weeks worth of opportunities, and asked people to vote on whether the information was easy to understand.
We've now analysed the votes and generated these statistics. If you'd like to know how these numbers were produced, you can read our methodology, which includes some information about the limitations of a study of this kind.
This question asks buyers to explain what problem they are trying to solve. Sellers must be confident that they can help the buyer to deliver the outcome they need, so understanding what the problem is is vital. However, this answer is often too vague, too complicated, or focussed on the process rather than the outcome.
This question asks buyers what user needs they're trying to meet. Suppliers following the service standard must take the user needs as the starting point for all work. But the user needs on opportunities are often absent, focussed on the buyer's needs or presented as lists of features.
This question asks buyers to summarise the work that needs to be completed, and the answer sets the rest of the opportunity in context. When the summary of the work is unclear, it can be hard to understand what the rest of the opportunity is about. Often, this field is filled with jargon, internal references and acronyms that no one but the buyer – and their incumbent suppliers – is likely to understand.
Understanding the motivation for a project is an important part of understanding its journey and story. Is there something wrong with a current solution that's underperforming? Is it a new project, part of a transformation strategy? Or just part of a regular iterative process? But often, this field says something equivalent to: "because we require it", which is not at all useful.