Requirement Extraction
How Cothon's AI extracts and categorizes requirements from procurement documents
Requirement Extraction
Cothon uses advanced AI to automatically extract, categorize, and prioritize requirements from RFPs and procurement documents. This page explains how the extraction works and how to get the best results.
How It Works
When you upload a document, Cothon's AI pipeline:
- Parses the document - Extracts text while preserving structure and formatting
- Identifies requirements - Distinguishes actual requirements from background information
- Categorizes each requirement - Groups by type (technical, compliance, experience, etc.)
- Assigns priority - Determines mandatory vs. nice-to-have requirements
- Extracts key details - Captures quantities, dates, certifications, and specifications
Note
The AI is trained on thousands of government procurement documents and understands common RFP structures and terminology.
Requirement Categories
Extracted requirements are organized into these categories:
| Category | Description | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Technical | Product/service specifications | Performance specs, features, standards |
| Compliance | Regulatory and legal requirements | Certifications, licenses, security clearances |
| Experience | Past performance requirements | Years in business, similar contracts, references |
| Personnel | Staffing requirements | Key personnel, qualifications, certifications |
| Financial | Cost and pricing requirements | Budget limits, pricing format, payment terms |
| Delivery | Timeline and logistics | Deadlines, milestones, delivery locations |
| Administrative | Process requirements | Submission format, page limits, required forms |
Priority Levels
Each requirement is assigned a priority:
- Mandatory - Must be met to be considered compliant (indicated by "shall", "must", "required")
- Evaluated - Scored during evaluation (indicated by "should", "preferably", "desirable")
- Informational - Context or background (no compliance impact)
Warning
Pay special attention to mandatory requirements. Missing even one can disqualify your proposal.
Improving Extraction Quality
Get better results with these tips:
Document Quality
- Use searchable PDFs - Scanned images require OCR which reduces accuracy
- Avoid password protection - Remove passwords before uploading
- Include all appendices - Requirements often hide in attachments
Review and Refine
After extraction, you can:
- Split compound requirements - Click to break multi-part requirements into separate items
- Merge duplicates - Combine requirements that appear multiple times
- Adjust categories - Drag requirements to different categories if miscategorized
- Change priority - Override AI-assigned priorities when needed
Handling Complex Documents
For large or complex RFPs:
Extraction Confidence
Each requirement shows a confidence score indicating how certain the AI is:
- High (90%+) - Clear requirement language, unambiguous
- Medium (70-89%) - Likely a requirement but may need verification
- Low (<70%) - Uncertain, review the source text carefully
Tip
Focus your review time on medium and low confidence items. High confidence extractions are usually accurate.
Next Steps
- Capability Matching - Match requirements against your capabilities
- Views & Modes - Different ways to view extracted requirements
- Sharing Analyses - Collaborate with your team
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