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How to read a PWS in 15 minutes

A repeatable triage method for performance work statements

Minutes 0–3 — Find the scope sentence

Every PWS has one or two sentences that summarize what the contractor will actually do. Find them. Highlight them. Everything else is supporting structure.

Minutes 3–6 — Find the deliverables list

Look for the deliverable schedule (often Section 5 or an exhibit). Count the deliverables. Note the cadence. This tells you the real workload.

Minutes 6–9 — Find the personnel and security requirements

Key personnel, required clearances, citizenship requirements, location of performance. These determine whether you can staff the work at all.

Minutes 9–12 — Find the period of performance and ceiling

Base + option years. Estimated total contract value. This sizes the opportunity.

Minutes 12–15 — Make the bid call

One sentence: do we have the past performance, the staff, the security posture, and the bid-and-proposal capacity to win this? If yes, escalate to the full SourceDeck workflow. If no, log the decision with the rationale.

Turn this into a working capture deck.

SourceDeck takes the structure on this page and applies it to a specific opportunity in your pipeline. Output: deck, matrix, capture plan, draft.

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