Next steps
Choose the next action that fits your current decision and evidence.
Which route fits your situation?
Is there a named recruitment problem, decision owner and deadline?
- If yes
- Write a one-page brief.
- If no
- Pause supplier selection and define the problem.
Can the current stack answer the question with existing rights and reasonable effort?
- If yes
- Test better configuration, training or workflow first.
- If no
- Specify the missing evidence or capability.
Can the candidate demonstrate the required coverage and authorise the intended trial?
- If yes
- Run a controlled comparison.
- If no
- Seek clarification; do not assume access means permission.
Does the tested configuration add useful evidence, better analysis or a worthwhile reduction in work?
- If yes
- Complete technical, contractual and cost diligence.
- If no
- Retain the incumbent or investigate a different solution.
Are essential rights, identity accuracy and operational ownership resolved?
- If yes
- Approve a bounded purchase with acceptance criteria.
- If no
- Hold, narrow or reject the purchase.
Does live use reproduce the trial’s benefits?
- If yes
- Retain and monitor.
- If no
- Remediate, reduce scope or execute the agreed exit.
Bring in a specialist at the first unresolved, consequential gate—not after the contract or database design is fixed.
Stage 1: What should the club decide before contacting suppliers?
Write the purchasing question in football terms, then translate it into evidence requirements.
Stage 2: How should a club audit overlapping scouting subscriptions?
Compare recruitment tasks and entitlements, not product names.
Stage 3: How do you verify MLS and NWSL scouting coverage?
Request a dated competition-and-season inventory, then inspect authorised examples against the club’s requirements.
Stage 4: How should a same-shortlist supplier trial work?
Compare complete purchasing configurations on identical questions.
Stage 5: What must pass technical, licensing and AI review?
Run three separate checks: can it work, may the club use it that way, and can its outputs be trusted?
Stage 6: How much should the purchase really cost?
Compare written quotes for equivalent scope, then separate cash expenditure from staff capacity.
Stage 7: What should the final purchasing decision say?
Produce a short decision memo with an evidence appendix, not a feature-ranking presentation.
In this section
What is the shortest useful decision path?
Use this sequence before arranging sales meetings.
Stage 1: What should the club decide before contacting suppliers?
Write the purchasing question in football terms, then translate it into evidence requirements.
Stage 2: How should a club audit overlapping scouting subscriptions?
Compare recruitment tasks and entitlements, not product names.
Stage 3: How do you verify MLS and NWSL scouting coverage?
Request a dated competition-and-season inventory, then inspect authorised examples against the club’s requirements.
Stage 4: How should a same-shortlist supplier trial work?
Compare complete purchasing configurations on identical questions.
Stage 5: What must pass technical, licensing and AI review?
Run three separate checks: can it work, may the club use it that way, and can its outputs be trusted?
Stage 6: How much should the purchase really cost?
Compare written quotes for equivalent scope, then separate cash expenditure from staff capacity.
Stage 7: What should the final purchasing decision say?
Produce a short decision memo with an evidence appendix, not a feature-ranking presentation.
When does bringing in a specialist save time or money?
The strongest intervention point is before an irreversible commitment, when a specific unanswered question exceeds the club’s available expertise or evaluation capacity.
What should the buyer do today?
Complete this brief and choose one first-stage artifact—not all seven.