Scoring and review

Compare vendors side by side, override AI scores, and use the review dashboard to pick a winner.

The review dashboard is where you evaluate vendor responses, compare scores, and decide on a winner. Strutter gives you both AI-powered scoring and manual control.

Review dashboard

Access the review dashboard from any RFP's Review tab. It brings together everything you need to evaluate vendors:

  • Overall rankings with weighted averages
  • Per-question score breakdown
  • AI recommendation (when generated)
  • Quick access to full vendor responses

Comparison matrix

The comparison matrix shows every vendor's scores side by side in a grid:

  • Rows represent questions, grouped by section
  • Columns represent vendors
  • Cells show the score (1 to 5) for each vendor's answer to each question

Interacting with the matrix

  • Click any score to expand the vendor's full response for that question
  • Section headers group related questions for organized review
  • Overall averages appear at the top, showing each vendor's weighted total

The comparison matrix makes it easy to spot patterns: which vendor excels at technical questions, who falls short on pricing, and where vendors are closely matched.

Vendor visibility limits

The number of visible vendor responses depends on your plan. See plans and pricing for details.

AI scoring

When a vendor submits their response, each answer is automatically scored on a 1 to 5 scale. Scores appear on the review dashboard immediately.

See AI features for full details on how auto-scoring works, including the scoring rubric and weighted calculations.

Understanding AI reasoning

Every AI score includes a written explanation of why the vendor received that rating. Click any score badge to open a detail popover showing:

  • The current score (AI or human override)
  • The original AI score if a human override was applied
  • A "Why this score" section with the AI's reasoning
  • An option to override the score (available on select plans)

In the comparison matrix, expanding a response also shows the AI reasoning above the vendor's answer, making it easy to compare how the AI evaluated each vendor on the same question.

Manual score overrides

AI scoring is a starting point. You can override any score with your own assessment:

  1. Find the score you want to change in the comparison matrix or vendor detail view
  2. Click the score badge to open the detail popover
  3. Click Override score and select your manual score (1 to 5)
  4. The override replaces the AI score in all calculations

Manual overrides affect:

  • Section averages
  • Overall vendor rankings
  • AI recommendations (if regenerated after overrides)

Manual overrides are available on select plans. See plans and pricing for details.

AI recommendations

After vendors have submitted responses, click Get Recommendation to have AI analyze the field:

  • The AI compares all submitted responses
  • It identifies a recommended vendor with a rationale
  • Strengths and weaknesses are listed for each vendor
  • A confidence level reflects how clearly one vendor stands out

If no vendor scores above 3.0 overall, Strutter returns a "no strong candidates" advisory instead of forcing a recommendation. This helps you decide whether to re-open the RFP, adjust requirements, or invite additional vendors.

Regenerating after overrides

On select plans, you can regenerate the recommendation after making manual score overrides. The AI re-evaluates using your updated scores, giving you a recommendation that reflects both AI and human judgment. See plans and pricing for details.

Close and award workflow

Once you've reviewed scores and recommendations:

  1. Click Close & Award to open the award modal
  2. Review the vendor rankings
  3. Select a winner, or close the RFP without selecting one
  4. Confirm your decision

Closing and awarding happen in a single step. The Awarded status is final and cannot be changed. If you close without a winner, you can re-open the RFP later to accept more responses.

Next steps

Scoring and review | Strutter AI