# Rfp Clarification Q Optimizer

> Evaluates or generates RFP clarification questions. Produces a client-facing Query Log (Excel) and internal Question Assessment Report (HTML) with scoring across 5 dimensions.

- Skill: `navjyotnishant/rfp-clarification-q-optimizer` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add navjyotnishant/rfp-clarification-q-optimizer`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/navjyotnishant/rfp-clarification-q-optimizer/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Web & Frontend
- Author: navjyotnishant (https://skillmd.com/u/navjyotnishant)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/navjyotnishant/rfp-clarification-q-optimizer

---


# rfp-clarification-q-optimizer

## When to Use This Skill

Use this skill whenever you need to:
- Evaluate existing clarification questions for an RFP
- Generate clarification questions from scratch based on an RFP
- Review, deduplicate, and optimize draft Q&A questions
- Create a client-facing Query Log ready to send to the client
- Identify gaps in RFP coverage that have no clarification question

Always trigger when both an RFP and a list of clarification questions are present together.
Also trigger when the user says things like "generate clarification questions",
"what should I ask about this RFP", "draft my Q&A", "questions for the client",
"help me with clarifications", or uploads an RFP and asks anything about
questions, clarifications, or gaps.

Prompts that should reliably trigger this skill:
- "Run the clarification Q optimizer on this RFP"
- "Generate a Query Log for this RFP"
- "Generate RFP clarification questions and produce the Excel and HTML report"
- "Use the rfp-clarification-q-optimizer for this RFP"
- "Create the Q&A log for this RFP - Excel format with scoring"

---

## Overview

Produces two outputs from an RFP and optional draft clarification questions:
1. **{config.branding.excel_header_title}** - client-facing Excel in configured company-branded format
2. **Question Assessment Report** - internal interactive HTML report with PDF export,
   covering per-question scoring, deduplication log, gap coverage matrix, and priority
   classification

---

## Shared References

This skill uses shared logic from the plugin. Read these files before proceeding:

- `../../shared/output-directory.md` - config lookup, directory naming, user confirmation flow
- `../../shared/file-resolution.md` - folder scanning, file role inference, confirmation protocol
- `../../shared/relationship-modes.md` - relationship mode definitions, scoring adjustments, account document extraction, banner spec

Follow those files exactly for Step 0, Step 1, and relationship mode logic in Step 3.

---

## Step 0 - Read Config and Establish Output Directory

Follow `../../shared/output-directory.md` for the full protocol.

All company-specific values (branding, delivery model, frameworks, differentiators)
come from config.yaml loaded through that shared flow.

Skill name for output directory: `rfp-clarification-q-optimizer`

---

## Step 1 - File Resolution

Follow `../../shared/file-resolution.md` for the full protocol.

File roles relevant to this skill:

| Input | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| RFP document | Required | Source of requirements, ambiguities, and gap analysis |
| Draft clarification questions | Optional | If present, run Mode A evaluation and optimization |
| Win themes | Optional | Used for strategic reframing in dimension 18 |
| Account Plan | Optional | Existing Client modes only |
| QBR / MBR | Optional | Existing Client modes only |
| Client feedback / satisfaction document | Optional | Existing Client modes only; used for CFF blocklist logic |

### Determine operating mode

- **Mode A** - Draft questions file is present: evaluate, deduplicate, consolidate, rewrite
- **Mode B** - No draft questions file: generate questions from scratch

Announce the mode to the user before proceeding.

---

## Step 2 - Read and Analyze Inputs

### Read the RFP

Extract all text, tables, and structured content. Identify:
- All stated requirements, scope items, and evaluation criteria
- Ambiguities, missing definitions, and under-specified areas
- Mandatory vs. evaluated sections
- Any published evaluation weights or scoring criteria
- Commercial, technical, operational, and SLA-related gaps

### Read win themes (if provided)

Note the key themes. These inform:
- Strategic reframing of questions (dimension 18)
- Priority classification of gaps (dimension 20)

### Read account documents (Existing Client modes only)

Follow `../../shared/relationship-modes.md` account document extraction protocol.
Build the known scope list and CFF blocklist before scoring. These feed dimension
16 question-quality penalties and dimension 18 strategic-intent framing.

### Read draft questions (Mode A only)

Extract all questions. Note:
- Original numbering and grouping
- Category and sub-category labels if present
- Any context or rationale provided alongside questions

---

## Step 3 - Analysis

### Relationship Mode Scoring Adjustments

Apply clarification-question scoring adjustments from
`../../shared/relationship-modes.md` throughout all dimension scoring.

In practice, this means the shared rules govern how D16 and D18 behave across
Prospect, Existing Client, and Existing Client New Scope modes.

---

### Mode A - Evaluate and Improve Draft Questions

#### Dimension 16 - Question Quality (per question)

| Score | What it looks like |
|---|---|
| 5 | Specific, unambiguous, uncovers a hidden requirement or shapes the deal |
| 4 | Relevant and specific, adds value but does not shape the deal |
| 3 | Relevant but generic - could apply to any RFP |
| 2 | Vague or obvious - client will find it low-value |
| 1 | Off-topic, already answered in RFP, harmful, or asks what {config.company.short_name} should already know |

Flag score 1 for removal. Flag score 2 for rewrite.

#### Dimension 17 - Deduplication and Consolidation (document level)

- Identify duplicate or substantially overlapping questions
- Consolidate into single sharper questions
- Record: original Q numbers merged, rationale, consolidated wording

#### Dimension 18 - Strategic Intent / Deal Shaping (per question)

| Score | What it looks like |
|---|---|
| 5 | Subtly reinforces a win theme or references existing partnership to deepen vs. discover |
| 4 | Proactive - opens a door but does not explicitly position |
| 3 | Neutral - purely clarification-seeking |
| 2 | Reactive, defensive, or reads like a cold pitch (Existing Client mode) |
| 1 | Could weaken {config.company.short_name}'s position or reopens a CFF-flagged concern |

For score 3 questions where a win theme is relevant, recommend a reframed version.

#### Dimension 19 - Coverage of Critical Gaps (document level)

- List all major ambiguities, risks, and missing information from the RFP
- For each gap: Covered / Partially Covered / Not Covered
- For Not Covered gaps, generate a recommended question

#### Dimension 20 - Prioritization (per question)

| Priority | What it means |
|---|---|
| Critical | Must be answered before solutioning or pricing is possible |
| High | Significantly affects scope or delivery model |
| Medium | Useful context, affects quality of response |
| Low | Nice to have - minimal impact if unanswered |

Derive from RFP signals where available. Apply generic logic as fallback.

---

### Mode B - Generate Questions from Scratch

1. Identify all RFP gaps, ambiguities, and missing specifications
2. Generate a question per gap
3. Apply relationship mode framing (deepen vs. discover, CFF blocklist, win themes)
4. Classify by priority (dimension 20)
5. Group by category and sub-category
6. Skip dimensions 16 and 17
7. Run dimension 19 as completeness check

---

## Step 4 - Build the Final Question Set

- Remove score 1 questions
- Rewrite score 2 questions
- Apply all dimension 17 consolidations
- Apply dimension 18 strategic reframing where recommended
- Assign final category, sub-category, priority
- Renumber sequentially from 1

### Default category taxonomy

| Category | Example Sub-Categories |
|---|---|
| General - RFP | NDA, Coverage, Eligibility |
| Scope | In-scope / out-of-scope, Locations, Asset inventory |
| Technical | Architecture, Toolchain, Integration, Security |
| Delivery Model | Onshore/offshore mix, SLA tiers, Escalation |
| Commercial | Pricing structure, Rate cards, Contract terms |
| Governance | Reporting cadence, RACI, Escalation paths |
| Transition | Timelines, Knowledge transfer, Incumbent handover |
| SLA | Response targets, Resolution targets, Penalty clauses |

Derive from RFP structure. Use defaults only where RFP provides no signals.

---

## Step 5 - Generate Outputs

### Output A - {config.branding.excel_header_title} (Excel)

Generate using openpyxl. Single sheet, no internal scoring tab.

#### Layout

- Rows 1-3: merged header banner, dark navy (#1F2D3D), "{config.branding.excel_header_title}" centered
  white bold 16pt Calibri, tagline right-aligned white 9pt italic
- Row 4: column headers, fill #2E4057, white bold 10pt Calibri
- Row 5+: alternating #DCE6F1 / #FFFFFF, 10pt Calibri #2C2C2C, thin borders #BFBFBF

#### Columns

| Col | Label | Width |
|---|---|---|
| A | Query No. | 10 |
| B | Category | 20 |
| C | Sub-Category | 22 |
| D | {config.company.short_name} Query | 60 |
| E | Response to Query | 35 |

Col D: wrap text. Col E: blank, fill #F2F2F2.
Sort: Priority descending within each Category. Priority column NOT shown in client file.

```python
import openpyxl
from openpyxl.styles import PatternFill, Font, Alignment, Border, Side
from openpyxl.utils import get_column_letter

wb = openpyxl.Workbook()
ws = wb.active
ws.title = "{config.branding.excel_header_title}"

ws.merge_cells("A1:E3")
ws["A1"].value = "{config.branding.excel_header_title}"
ws["A1"].font = Font(name="Calibri", bold=True, size=16, color="FFFFFF")
ws["A1"].alignment = Alignment(horizontal="center", vertical="center")
ws["A1"].fill = PatternFill("solid", fgColor="1F2D3D")

col_headers = ["Query No.", "Category", "Sub-Category", "{config.company.short_name} Query", "Response to Query"]
col_widths = [10, 20, 22, 60, 35]
for i, (h, w) in enumerate(zip(col_headers, col_widths), 1):
    cell = ws.cell(row=4, column=i, value=h)
    cell.font = Font(name="Calibri", bold=True, size=10, color="FFFFFF")
    cell.fill = PatternFill("solid", fgColor="2E4057")
    cell.alignment = Alignment(horizontal="center" if i==1 else "left",
                               vertical="center", wrap_text=True)
    ws.column_dimensions[get_column_letter(i)].width = w

thin = Side(style="thin", color="BFBFBF")
border = Border(left=thin, right=thin, top=thin, bottom=thin)
for row_idx, q in enumerate(final_questions, start=5):
    fill = PatternFill("solid", fgColor="DCE6F1" if row_idx%2==1 else "FFFFFF")
    for col_idx, val in enumerate([q["number"],q["category"],q["sub_category"],q["question"],""], 1):
        cell = ws.cell(row=row_idx, column=col_idx, value=val)
        cell.font = Font(name="Calibri", size=10, color="2C2C2C")
        cell.fill = PatternFill("solid", fgColor="F2F2F2") if col_idx==5 else fill
        cell.border = border
        cell.alignment = Alignment(horizontal="center" if col_idx==1 else "left",
                                   vertical="top", wrap_text=True)
wb.save(output_path)
```

---

### Output B - Question Assessment Report (HTML)

Self-contained single HTML file. All CSS and JS inline. No external dependencies.

#### Color palette

| Token | Hex | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| Navy | #1F2D3D | Nav bar, headers |
| Teal | #1B7A8A | Accents, links, highlights |
| Red | #C0392B | Critical, score 1 |
| Amber | #E67E22 | High, score 2 |
| Blue | #2980B9 | Medium, score 3 |
| Green | #27AE60 | Low, score 4-5 |
| Light gray | #F4F6F8 | Page background |
| White | #FFFFFF | Card backgrounds |

#### Global layout

Fixed top nav bar (navy) containing:
- Left: "{config.company.short_name} | {Client} RFP - Question Assessment" in white
- Center: tab links - Overview | Questions | Gap Matrix | Dedup Log | Input Documents
- Right: "Export to PDF" button (teal background, white text)

Page background #F4F6F8. Content in white cards with subtle box-shadow.
Font: Inter or system-ui, 14px base.

---

#### Tab 1 - Overview

**3 stat cards (side by side):**

- **Overall Quality Score** - large number color coded (green ≥80, amber 60-79, red <60),
  sub-label "Question Quality Score", small "Based on {N} questions evaluated"
- **Critical Priority Questions** - large count in red, sub-label "Critical Priority
  Questions", clickable - filters Questions tab to Critical
- **Uncovered Gaps** - large count in amber, sub-label "RFP Gaps Without a Question",
  clickable - filters Gap Matrix to Not Covered

**2-panel row below cards:**

Left (50%) - Critical Questions list: Q# | Category | first 80 chars of question.
Each row clickable - jumps to that question expanded in Questions tab.
If none: green checkmark "No critical gaps identified."

Right (50%) - Uncovered Gaps list: gap description truncated.
Each row clickable - jumps to that row in Gap Matrix.
If none: green checkmark "All identified gaps have coverage."

**Relationship context banner** (full width, below 2-panel row):

Render this as a structured status block, not a single strip. Follow the banner
spec in `../../shared/relationship-modes.md` for warning rules and banner states.

---

#### Tab 2 - Questions

**Sticky filter bar:**
Dropdowns for Priority | Action | Category | D16 Score | D18 Score.
Active filter badge count. "Clear all" link.

**Collapsed rows (default):**
```
[Q#] [Category] [Sub-Category] [Priority badge] [D16 ●●●○○] [D18 ●●●●○] [Action badge] [▼]
```

Priority badges: color coded pills.
Action badges: Kept (green) | Rewritten (teal) | Removed (red) | Consolidated (gray).

**Expanded row:**
```
Original Question:
"{full text}"

Dimension 16 - Question Quality    ●●●○○  3/5  Adequate
{rationale}

Dimension 18 - Strategic Intent    ●●●●○  4/5  Strong
{rationale}

Action: Rewritten
Rewritten version:
"{rewritten text}"
```

Consolidated: "Merged into Q{X}" with link.
Removed: reason in red text.
Mode B: show D18 and Priority only, skip D16/D17.

---

#### Tab 3 - Gap Matrix

**Summary bar:** "{N} gaps - {X} Covered | {Y} Partially Covered | {Z} Not Covered"

**Filter:** All | Covered | Partially Covered | Not Covered

**Table columns:** # | RFP Gap / Ambiguity | Coverage | Question(s) | Recommended Question

Row left-border color: green (Covered) | amber (Partially Covered) | red (Not Covered).
Coverage cell: colored pill badge.
Questions cell: clickable Q# badges linking to Tab 2.
Recommended Question: shown only for Not Covered rows, italic text.

---

#### Tab 4 - Dedup Log

Mode B: "Not applicable - questions were generated, not deduplicated."

**Summary:** "Original: {N} → After consolidation: {M} ({X} merged, {Y} removed)"

**Consolidation cards:**
```
Merged: Q3 + Q7 + Q11
Reason: {rationale}
Consolidated Question: "{text}"
```

**Removed questions section:**
List of Q# with removal reason (score 1 - off-topic / already in RFP / harmful / known scope).

---

#### Tab 5 - Input Documents

Header: "Input Documents & Impact on Scoring"
Sub-header: "Upload missing documents and rerun to improve question quality and scoring accuracy."

**Section 1 - Documents Provided** (green checkmark per row)

Table columns: Document | Type | Mandatory | What it contributed

Example rows:
- Marco_RFP_v2.pdf | RFP | Required | Source of all gaps, requirements, and priority signals
- Win_Themes.pdf | Win Themes | Recommended | Enabled D18 strategic framing across 12 questions

**Section 2 - Documents Missing** (color coded by mandatory status)

Table columns: Document | Type | Mandatory | Impact of Missing | Action

Mandatory status is dynamic based on relationship mode:

| Document | Prospect | Existing Client | Existing Client New Scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| RFP | Required | Required | Required |
| Draft Questions | Recommended | Recommended | Recommended |
| Win Themes | Recommended | Required | Required |
| Account Plan | Not applicable | Required | Required |
| QBR / MBR | Not applicable | Required | Required |
| CFF Form | Not applicable | Recommended | Recommended |

Row color coding in missing table:
- Required (red): light red background #FFDCE1
- Recommended (amber): light amber background #FFF2CC
- Not applicable: not shown

Impact of missing - per document:
- Draft Questions: "Running in Mode B - questions generated from scratch, not evaluated against existing draft"
- Win Themes (Prospect): "D18 strategic framing using {config.company.short_name} delivery positioning as fallback - less targeted"
- Win Themes (Existing Client): "D18 strategic scoring degraded - win theme reinforcement not possible"
- Account Plan: "Known scope list could not be compiled - D16 relationship scoring limited"
- QBR / MBR: "Recent delivery metrics unavailable - D18 partnership framing weakened"
- CFF Form: "CFF blocklist unavailable - risk of inadvertently reopening client concerns"

Action column: "Upload and rerun" (static text, not a button)

**Call to action bar** (teal background, bottom of tab):

```
To improve your score:
1. Upload the missing documents listed above to your working folder
2. Return to Claude and say: "Rerun rfp-clarification-q-optimizer with updated documents"
3. The skill will detect the new files and regenerate both outputs
```

---

#### PDF Export

"Export to PDF" triggers `window.print()` with print CSS:

```css
@media print {
  nav, .filter-bar, .export-btn { display: none; }
  .tab-content { display: block !important; page-break-before: always; }
  .question-detail { display: block !important; }
  body { background: white; }
  .card { box-shadow: none; border: 1px solid #ddd; }
  tr { page-break-inside: avoid; }
  .tab-content::before {
    content: attr(data-title);
    display: block;
    font-size: 18px;
    font-weight: bold;
    color: #1F2D3D;
    margin-bottom: 16px;
    padding-bottom: 8px;
    border-bottom: 2px solid #1B7A8A;
  }
}
```

All 5 tabs print in sequence. All question rows fully expanded. Page breaks between tabs.

---

## Step 6 - Save Outputs and Confirm

```
workspace/rfp-pursuits/{client}_{rfp}_{date}/rfp-clarification-q-optimizer/
  {config.company.short_name}_Query_Log_{client}_{date}.xlsx
  Question_Assessment_Report_{client}_{date}.html
```

Confirm to user:
```
Done. Two files saved:

  Client deliverable : {config.company.short_name}_Query_Log_{client}_{date}.xlsx
  Internal report    : Question_Assessment_Report_{client}_{date}.html
                       (open in browser - use Export to PDF button to save as PDF)

Final question count  : {N} across {X} categories
Questions removed     : {N}
Questions rewritten   : {N}
Questions consolidated: {N} pairs merged
Uncovered RFP gaps    : {N} (see Gap Matrix tab)
```

---

## Recommendations Quality Standard

Each recommendation must be specific, actionable, and framed as suggested language.

Good: "Q4 and Q7 both ask about offshore delivery from different angles. Consolidate
into: 'Are there restrictions or preferences regarding delivery from {config.company.short_name} offshore
locations (India) or nearshore (Toronto, Poland, Brazil)?'"

Bad: "Some questions could be more specific."

---

## Edge Cases

- **Image-heavy RFP PDF**: Note unreadable sections in Gap Matrix, flag for manual review
- **No category labels on draft questions**: Infer from content using default taxonomy
- **Win themes not provided**: D18 runs using {config.company.short_name} delivery positioning as fallback (rightshore model, AI-native SDLC, delivery maturity). Show amber warning (Prospect) or red warning (Existing Client modes) in Overview banner and Input Documents tab.
- **No account docs in Existing Client mode**: Apply Existing Client thresholds but note
  that known scope list could not be compiled - flag in Overview tab
- **All questions score 4-5**: Note as strong quality signal in Overview. Still run D17 and D19
- **Short or high-level RFP**: Flag lack of specificity as a gap in Gap Matrix