Scope control
How are included clients, users, tenants, devices, work categories, and exclusions recorded? What stops an undefined request?
Evaluate the operating system before you evaluate the sales promise.
A credible delivery partner should help make responsibilities, limits, exceptions, and dependencies more explicit. Vague confidence is not a substitute for an inspectable operating boundary.
Use the same questions for every candidate.
Decision rights
Which actions may delivery take, which require approval, and who resolves ambiguous authority?
Access practice
How are access boundaries, privileged work, credential handling, removal, and changes addressed in the operating agreement?
Escalation
What information returns with an exception? Who owns technical, relationship, and commercial decisions?
Client experience
Which identity, channels, update language, and client-facing roles are intended—and where must disclosure occur?
Commercial inputs
Which conditions affect the reference price: coverage, tools, applications, projects, geography, taxes, and third-party costs?
Review and exit
How do recurring issues change scope? What information and access need an orderly transition if the arrangement ends?
Record answers as decisions, evidence, and open questions.
Decision: commercial scope changes return to the selling practice.
Evidence to inspect: proposed responsibility language and an example exception path.
Open question: who is available to approve change for this client group?
Repeat that structure for intake, identity, access, coverage, tools, reporting, and transition. It prevents a polished presentation from hiding unresolved operating work.
Listen for precise limits and useful uncertainty.
- What work would you decline or return?A credible answer names boundaries rather than claiming universal capability.
- What must we continue to own?The answer should include relationship, commercial, and exception decisions.
- What changes after the first client group?Scaling should still require explicit client and service acceptance.
- How would a failed handoff be handled?Look for a safe stop, preserved context, named owner, and review path.
- Which claims become contractual?Marketing language should not silently become an SLA or universal commitment.
A good evaluation also tests whether your practice is ready.
Bring a high-level client profile, recurring work lane, retained duties, and first constraint. Do not bring credentials or private client records.