A go/no-go decision matrix scores a pursuit on a fixed set of weighted criteria, rated 1 to 5 each, and turns the total into a Go, Conditional, or No-go call before anyone opens the proposal template. This one has six criteria written for architecture, engineering, and construction firms, default weights with the reasoning behind each, a rubric so two principals score alike, a worked example, and a template for Excel or Google Sheets.
The formula
Each criterion is rated 1 to 5. Dividing by five times the total weight puts the result on a 0 to 100 scale whatever your weights add up to.
Each criterion earns a share of its weight in proportion to how well the pursuit rates on it; the total is the share of a perfect score it earned. A 5 on a 25-point criterion earns all 25, a 2 earns 10. The call is a threshold on that total, set once by the firm. It's a filter for proposal hours, not a forecast of the award.
The six criteria and their default weights
| Criterion | Weight | Why it carries that weight |
|---|---|---|
| Client relationship | 25 | The one thing you can't build between the RFP and the due date. |
| Competitive position | 20 | Sets how far a strong proposal can move the result at all. |
| Capacity | 15 | Real, but fixable in weeks by teaming, hiring, or shifting staff. |
| Strategic fit | 15 | A tiebreaker between good pursuits, not a veto. |
| Profitability | 15 | Enough to matter, too small to argue up to fit the fee. |
| Risk (5 is low risk) | 10 | Most risk is negotiable after selection. Terms you'd never sign are a gate, not a low score. |
The pattern: the less you can change a criterion after the RFP lands, the more it should weigh. Relationship and competitive position are fixed by the time the solicitation posts, so together they carry 45 of the 100 points; the three you can move with a teaming call or a scope conversation share the middle. Change them if your firm wins differently, but change them once.
A 1 to 5 rubric so two principals score alike
Weights don't help if one principal's 4 is another's 2. Write down what 1, 3, and 5 mean; 2 and 4 are between. Replace any anchor that doesn't match how your firm talks.
| Criterion | A 1 means | A 3 means | A 5 means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Client relationship | Never met the decision-makers; the RFP found us. | Past meetings or one old project, nothing current. | A repeat client who told us it was coming or shaped the scope with us. |
| Competitive position | Ten or more firms, a satisfied incumbent, nothing that sets us apart. | A short list of three to five with comparable experience. | The presumed front-runner; no incumbent, or a weak one. |
| Capacity | No PM free at kickoff; the proposal team has two due the same week. | Staffable by shifting one role or making one hire. | Project team free at kickoff, proposal calendar clear. |
| Strategic fit | Outside our target markets; we wouldn't want a second one. | An adjacent market or a type we're growing into. | Squarely in a target market; a featured reference project. |
| Profitability | Low-price selection, or a fee below what the scope costs to deliver. | Our normal margin with real scope uncertainty still open. | Qualifications-based or negotiated fee at target margin. |
| Risk (5 is low) | Onerous terms, an unrealistic schedule, or scope nobody can define. | Standard terms with a compressed schedule or one open scope question. | Familiar contract, achievable schedule, well-defined scope. |
A worked example: one Go, one No-go
Two pursuits from the scorecard's sample data at the default weights. The names, fees, and ratings are stand-ins for your own.
- Client relationship
- 5 × 25 = 125
- Competitive position
- 4 × 20 = 80
- Capacity
- 4 × 15 = 60
- Strategic fit
- 5 × 15 = 75
- Profitability
- 4 × 15 = 60
- Risk
- 4 × 10 = 40
- Weighted score
- 440 ÷ (5 × 100) × 100 = 88
A repeat municipal client, a short list we lead, a project we'd feature. 88 is a Go. Score the easy ones anyway; they calibrate your threshold.
- Client relationship
- 3 × 25 = 75
- Competitive position
- 2 × 20 = 40
- Capacity
- 2 × 15 = 30
- Strategic fit
- 2 × 15 = 30
- Profitability
- 3 × 15 = 45
- Risk
- 2 × 10 = 20
- Weighted score
- 240 ÷ 500 × 100 = 48
Known to the agency but not favored, a crowded field, a PM shortage the week it's due. 48 is a No-go. The fee alone would have kept it alive on a Monday; the matrix shows five of six criteria pulling against it.
The two in between are where the matrix earns its keep. In the same sample, Bridgeview Medical Office Building scores 57 (new client, crowded field, but the team is free) and the NKU residence hall renovation scores 71 (known client, real short list, thin capacity). Both are Conditional, and each names the criterion that would move it: a relationship visit for Bridgeview, a teaming partner for NKU.
Setting the Go, Conditional, and No-go thresholds
The template puts the thresholds in two cells you can change. What matters is how you pick them. Score the last ten or twelve pursuits your firm actually decided, wins and losses included, and sort them. The Go line sits where wins separate from losses. The Conditional band is the range just below it where a realistic move on one or two criteria would cross the line. Then hold the line: a Conditional is a Go with a named condition and a date, and if the condition doesn't happen, it becomes a No-go without another meeting.
Fix the weights before the RFP lands
This is the step every template skips. If the weights are open for debate while a live RFP is on the table, the room will argue the weights to fit the fee. Take the Lakota East STEM addition in the sample pipeline, a $420,000 fee with a 2 on relationship: someone says relationship shouldn't count for that much on a job this size, the weight drops to 15, and the matrix is a calculator for a decision already made. Set the weights with no pursuit on the agenda, write the reasoning next to each, and revisit them once or twice a year against outcomes. Same rule for the anchors and thresholds.
Red flags a score can't fix
Some pursuits shouldn't reach the matrix at all. OST Global Solutions' undated "Seven Signs an RFP is Wired" and a 2017 Public Spend Forum piece by Karl Walinskas list the signs an RFP was written with one firm in mind:
- A response window too short for what's requested. Walinskas puts the alarm at ten days or less from release to due date.
- Past-performance or key-personnel requirements so specific that only one firm qualifies.
- Specifications that describe one vendor's product, or scope language that's vague exactly where an insider would already know the answer.
- A contracting officer who won't address challenges to restrictive requirements or grant a reasonable extension.
Two or more is a gate, not a score: log a No-go with the reason and move on.
The pre-meeting checklist
Score after the homework, not instead of it. The pursuit lead brings one page:
- The client and the field: who selects, when we last spoke to them, who else is proposing, and who the incumbent is.
- The scope and fee: what's actually asked for, the selection method, and the fee we'd need to deliver it at margin.
- The team: the PM and key staff we'd name, their availability at kickoff, and the proposal team's other due dates that month.
- A draft rating on each criterion with the fact behind it, so the meeting argues facts instead of numbers.
How to run yours
- Set the weights and rubric anchors in a meeting with no live RFP on the agenda, starting from the six criteria above, and write the reasoning next to each weight.
- Score your last ten or twelve decided pursuits with that rubric and sort them. Put the Go line where wins separate from losses and the Conditional band just below it.
- For each new RFP, have the pursuit lead bring the pre-meeting checklist and screen for wired-RFP red flags. Two or more is a No-go before anyone scores.
- Rate each criterion 1 to 5 against the written anchors and read the call off your thresholds. Record the decision, the date, and any condition on a Conditional.
- Keep every decision in one log and compare scores with outcomes twice a year; if high scores keep losing on one criterion, move that weight in a separate meeting.
- Run it in the CSV template below, or start in the free go/no-go scorecard: open Weights to enter your six weights, rate each criterion with its slider, and save the decision to the log.
Questions people ask
What is a go/no-go decision matrix?
A scoring sheet that rates a pursuit on a fixed set of weighted criteria and turns the total into a Go, Conditional, or No-go call. Because the weights and rubric are set in advance, the decision comes from the pursuit's facts rather than from whoever argues hardest.
How many criteria should a go/no-go matrix have?
Enough to cover relationship, competition, capacity, fit, profit, and risk, and no more than the room can score with a fact behind each number. Past eight or nine, each weight gets so small that no single criterion can move the call.
How do you set the go/no-go threshold for your firm?
Score your last ten or twelve decided pursuits with your rubric and sort them. The Go line belongs where wins separate from losses; the Conditional band is the range just below it where one or two fixable criteria could cross the line. Revisit it once or twice a year, never during a live decision.
What is the difference between a go/no-go matrix and a bid/no-bid checklist?
A checklist is pass or fail: licensed in the state, able to bond, meets the minimum experience. It tells you whether you can bid. A matrix weighs the criteria that are matters of degree and tells you whether you should. Run the checklist first; anything that fails a gate never reaches the matrix.