Review the business decision first
The first question is whether the proposal addresses the business problem. A detailed list of technologies does not explain why the investment is worthwhile. I compare the proposed outcome with your priorities, existing systems and constraints, then identify where a smaller change, clearer discovery or a different delivery route might be more appropriate.
This is a technical and commercial review. Legal interpretation of contracts requires an appropriately qualified legal adviser.
What I examine
- The deliverables, exclusions and assumptions behind the price.
- Requirements that can be demonstrated and tested.
- Dependencies on your content, data, staff or other suppliers.
- Integrations, migration, hosting and access requirements.
- Milestones, change control and what happens if scope changes.
- Source-code, account and data ownership arrangements.
- Testing, handover, ongoing support and recurring third-party costs.
I look for unanswered questions and practical consequences. I do not assume a low price is poor value or a higher price is evidence of quality.
A concrete example of an avoidable gap
“CRM integration included” could mean creating a contact record, synchronising updates, importing historical data or supporting a two-way workflow with error handling. Those are different jobs. A useful review turns that phrase into questions the supplier can answer before delivery starts.
Similarly, “SEO included” should specify the work and responsibilities. If URLs change during a rebuild, who prepares the redirect map, implements it and checks the live result? Those details matter more than an impressive phrase in a feature list.
What you receive
The agreed output is a written assessment of the material supplied: significant gaps, assumptions, dependencies and questions to resolve. Where useful, I suggest clearer wording for deliverables and acceptance criteria, or compare proposals against the same requirements.
I distinguish findings that can be supported from the documents from items that need supplier clarification or technical investigation. A document review cannot establish the quality of unseen code or prove how a supplier will perform in future.
How to prepare
Share the proposal, your original brief, the desired outcome, key constraints and relevant questions already answered by the supplier. If comparing bids, include the same supporting brief for each. Redact information that is unrelated to the decision.
Review scope and fees are agreed before work starts. Any later implementation or project oversight is scoped separately, so you can use the findings with your chosen supplier. A review is most useful while questions can still be resolved without disrupting a signed delivery plan.
Common questions
Can you compare different supplier proposals?
Yes, against a common brief and decision criteria. A feature-count comparison alone is usually misleading.
Will you certify that the price is fair?
I can explain scope, assumptions and apparent delivery effort. I cannot certify a universal market price or validate unseen supplier costs.
Can you review an existing project instead?
Yes. If delivery has already started and the issue is progress or completion, the Digital Project Health Check may be more appropriate.