Breaking down a questions keywords – evidence & Experience episode

Understanding What Keywords Mean in the Question When Answer Planning – “Experience”

When planning your answer, start by identifying and interpreting the key words within the question. These often hold deeper meaning than they first appear to.

Take the word “Experience” as an example.

Ask yourself: What does this word really mean in the context of the question?

In every tender response, there are key terms that signal what the evaluator is truly looking for. These keywords should be separated, analysed, and understood before you begin drafting your answer.

In this guide, we’ll walk through how to use the platform to break down and interpret these keywords — in this case, “Experience” — and then use that understanding to build your Answer Plan.

At the end of this article, you’ll also find examples and inspiration from the built environment sector.

Step 1 – Understand the Question

Begin by breaking down and interpreting what the question is really asking. The question is for this article “Provide your experience of multi-site product and supply installation and provide a case study as reference”.

Identifying the keywords is an important part of this process, as they reveal what the evaluator wants to see in your response.

In the image below, we demonstrate two ways to identify and analyse these keywords — first manually, and then using the AI Helper.

Option 1 – Manual (Human) Approach
In this example, I’ve identified that the question contains two key elements: “experience” and “evidence”. These will form the basis of how I plan and structure my answer.

Option 2 – Using our AI Helper

Click on the Bid Bot logo in the bottom right hand side and input your text into the AI helper.

The output can be seen in the AI Helper panel on the right-hand side as seen in the image below. It has identified the experience overview, the approach to the multi-site product and supply installation, and the case study. This aligns with how I would have broken down the first “experience” stage myself – it’s great to see the AI Helper doing that automatically.

Insert the Suggested Structure Based on the Question’s Key Words

Using the AI Helper keyword breakdown, you can generate the basic structure for your answer plan. This forms the foundation of your answer planning and overall response structure.

From here, you should start considering your value adds, win themes, and any key compliance points that need to be incorporated into your answer plan.

This article is intended to demonstrate the fundamentals of breaking down a question and creating a clear starting point for your response.

Experience text examples

Below are some examples of what can be considered as “experience” within the built environment sector. These can help inspire how you demonstrate and evidence your organisation’s track record:

• Breadth and depth of workforce experience – skills, qualifications, and diversity of expertise across roles and functions.
• Continuity of senior leadership and workforce – stability, long-term management, and retention of key personnel.
• Industry and sector experience – years of operation, types of projects delivered, and relevance to the client’s environment.
• Tools, services, and solution methods experience – familiarity with specific technologies, systems, or delivery methodologies.
• Risk identification, mitigation, and lessons learnt – experience managing and reducing risk across similar projects.
• Integrating supply chain, subcontractors, and multi-disciplinary teams – collaboration and coordination experience.
• Cost control and financial management experience – proven ability to manage budgets, deliver value, and maintain profitability.
• Programme and project management experience – scheduling, phasing, and delivery of complex or concurrent projects.
• Health, safety, and quality performance – track record in compliance, incident prevention, and quality assurance.
• Client and stakeholder engagement experience – communication, collaboration, and customer satisfaction outcomes.
• Sustainability and social value experience – delivering environmental benefits and community impact.

Need help?

If you have a question that you’re unsure how to break down, or if you need help with anything platform- or bid-related, please contact us today.