Find the condition behind the promise
Mark every condition the proposal relies on: buyer access, supplier input, a decision, data, an external service, or a third party. Keep an assumption separate from a fact already evidenced. “A person expects access to be available” is different from “the authorised owner has confirmed access by a recorded date.”
For each material condition, record the outcome it affects. A missing data field may affect an import; an unavailable decision-maker may affect an acceptance milestone. This keeps a dependency connected to the actual proposal.
Give every material assumption a path
The register needs an accountable owner, proof or decision date, and a fallback
or stated consequence. Unknown is valid. It is more honest than assigning the
buyer a responsibility they have not accepted or assuming a supplier can
overcome a third-party boundary.
If a condition has no owner, proof path, or decision date, do not normalize the proposal as though it had the same scope as one without that gap. See Normalize Software Quotes Before Comparing Their Prices for that separate task. Once a buyer has accepted a proposal, move confirmed conditions into Record Software Implementation Prerequisites Before Start; that later page is the start gate, not an alternative proposal-comparison tool.
Do not convert a register into legal advice
This record is a commercial discussion aid. It does not say that any assumption is fair, enforceable, or a reason to accept or reject a supplier. A commercial buyer or procurement reviewer should apply it to a redacted real proposal and preserve unresolved items before using it in a decision.
Proposal assumption register
| Assumption | Affected outcome | Dependency type | Owner | Proof or decision date | Fallback or consequence | State |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
__________ |
__________ |
Buyer / supplier / third party / unknown | __________ |
__________ |
__________ |
Unknown / met / rejected |
__________ |
__________ |
Buyer / supplier / third party / unknown | __________ |
__________ |
__________ |
Unknown / met / rejected |
__________ |
__________ |
Buyer / supplier / third party / unknown | __________ |
__________ |
__________ |
Unknown / met / rejected |
Is every proposal detail an assumption?
No. Record a condition as an assumption when the proposal relies on it but the record does not yet show that it is true or available. Keep actual evidence and open conditions distinct.
Can an assumption register replace implementation prerequisites?
No. This register exposes dependencies in a proposal. Before work begins, use a separate prerequisite record to confirm whether access, data, decisions, and third-party work are actually ready.