Predictika · IT services labor-hour quotes

An AI sales agent's IT services quote, checked before it goes out

An AI sales agent prepares a labor-hour quote for IT professional services priced from a published government schedule, with a labor category, a work site, a rate period, hours and an hourly rate. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of the price list's published terms and returns a verdict, every reason and the figures it computed.

Scope: IT professional services (SIN 54151S) priced from the ICF GSA schedule price list: 44 labor categories, contractor or customer site, five rate periods, experience and degree requirements, minimum and maximum order. See everything this validator covers

This validator models quotes built from the ICF Incorporated, LLC GSA Federal Supply Schedule price list for IT professional services (SIN 54151S), not just the scenarios shown below.

  • Hourly rate — the price list gives a net hourly rate (including the GSA industrial funding fee) for each of 44 labor categories, at a contractor site or a customer site, for each of five rate periods; a quoted rate above the published rate is blocked, a rate at or below it is fine.
  • Experience and degree — each labor category states a minimum number of years of relevant experience and a Bachelor's degree (the clerical support category I asks only for a high school diploma); the price list accepts any combination of additional experience plus full-time college study totaling four years in place of the degree.
  • Order size and totals — the price list states a minimum order of $100 and a maximum order of $500,000 for this SIN; an order below the minimum is blocked, an order above the maximum goes to a person, and the quote's stated total is compared with people times hours times the quoted hourly rate.

Any quote built from this price list that touches these rules is in scope — not only the scenarios pictured here. Not covered: ICF's other schedule SINs and contracts, other direct costs, travel, the quantity discount that applies to orders of $1 million or more across the schedule, and quotes with several labor categories on separate lines (this validator checks one labor category per quote).

The AI sales agentBuilds the labor-hour quote from the conversation and says it is ready.
Predictika validatorChecks every rule at once and returns the verdict, each finding, and the computed figures.

7 scenarios in 3 groups · each group runs from the agent’s first attempt to the outcome · click one to switch

What the agent proposes

The AI sales agent says

Illustrative agent statement. The validator receives the structured request below.

Proposing agent: AI sales agent (scripted)

Before sending, the agent must call Recorded run

Predictika validator


      

        
        
        
      

      
Waiting for the call.

      
    

  

  
  

    
Where rules-based CPQ gets it wrong
Click to expand
    
Our assessment of what a typical rules-based CPQ (product rules, price rules and validation rules, as in Salesforce CPQ) does with the same cases. It is a judgment about effort and reliability, not a claim that nothing can be built.

    
What the validator caughtTypical rules-based CPQPredictika
An hourly rate above the published schedule rateOnly with care
The price list has 440 hourly rates (44 labor categories, two sites, five rate periods); a price rule or lookup table has to hold all of them and the rep must pick the right one for the order.		The category, site and rate period select the published rate, and every quoted rate is compared with it on every call.
Experience and degree requirements that differ by labor categoryOnly with care
Each category has its own minimum years, a degree rule and a four-year substitute; these usually sit in a description a rep has to read rather than in a rule that fires.		Years of experience, education and substitute years are fields in the request and are checked with everything else.
A stated total that does not equal people times hours times rateOnly with care
The typed total is a free-entry field; checking it takes an extra formula that has to be kept in step with the line.		The stated total is a field in the request and is compared with the computed one.
An order below the minimum, and an order above the maximum that needs a personOnly with workarounds
The minimum is a hard stop and the maximum is a review, so one order total has to drive two different outcomes through a validation rule and an approval route.		The minimum comes back as a blocking finding and the maximum as an approval finding, with the reason, alongside any other findings.
Every problem returned in one answerOnly with workarounds
Rules tend to fire as the quote is saved or a step is completed, so a rep often fixes one error and meets the next.		All findings come back together, whatever order the choices arrived in.

  

  

    
What this validator catches: findings from its test cases
Click to expand
    
Every rule is checked on every call, in any order the choices arrive; one problem never hides another. Blocking findings stop the quote; approval findings need a person to sign off; everything else is computed.

    
1The quote prices an hour at $200.83, above the schedule rate of $200.82 for this labor category, site and rate period.
2The quote prices an hour at $200.82, above the schedule rate of $181.22 for this labor category, site and rate period.
3The quote prices an hour at $200.82, above the schedule rate of $151.09 for this labor category, site and rate period.
4This labor category requires at least 6 years of relevant experience; the proposed person has 5.
5This labor category requires at least 12 years of relevant experience; the proposed person has 11.
6This labor category requires at least 15 years of relevant experience; the proposed person has 14.
7This labor category requires a Bachelor’s degree; the proposed person has a high school diploma and 3 years of extra experience plus college study, short of the four years the schedule accepts as a substitute.
8This labor category requires a Bachelor’s degree; the proposed person has a high school diploma and 0 years of extra experience plus college study, short of the four years the schedule accepts as a substitute.
9The quote totals $62.49, below the schedule minimum order of $100.00.
10The quote totals $99.98, below the schedule minimum order of $100.00.
11The quote totals $500,025.00, above the schedule maximum order of $500,000.00 for IT professional services; a person should review it before it is sent.
12The quote states a total of $64,000.00, but the staff, hours and hourly rate give $64,262.40.

  

  

    
Scenarios and results
Click to expand
    
The recorded result of the validator for each scenario on this page: the request the AI agent sent, the verdict, and every finding, in the order they appear above.

    
1. Hourly rate: A senior software engineer quoted above the published hourly rate

    
The agent's request. Please quote three people in the Senior Software Engineer labor category at the customer site, 400 hours each, at $160.00 an hour, under the rate period 12/24/2023 to 12/24/2024. Each has 7 years of relevant experience and a Bachelor’s degree. The quote states a total of $192,000.00. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Hourly rate above the schedule rate. The quote prices an hour at $160.00, above the schedule rate of $151.09 for this labor category, site and rate period.
    • 
    

    
2. Hourly rate: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote three people in the Senior Software Engineer labor category at the customer site, 400 hours each, at $151.09 an hour, under the rate period 12/24/2023 to 12/24/2024. Each has 7 years of relevant experience and a Bachelor’s degree. The quote states a total of $181,308.00. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Order summary. 3 people for 400 hours each; the schedule rate is $151.09 an hour, $181,308.00 in total; the quote totals $181,308.00.
    • 
    

    
3. Experience and degree: A principal cyber security specialist without the experience or degree

    
The agent's request. Please quote two people in the Principal Cyber Security Specialist labor category at the contractor site, 300 hours each, at $280.57 an hour, under the rate period 12/24/2022 to 12/24/2023. Each has 6 years of relevant experience, a high school diploma, and 2 years of extra experience plus college study. The quote states a total of $168,342.00. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Experience below the category minimum. This labor category requires at least 8 years of relevant experience; the proposed person has 6.
    • 
      
  • Degree requirement not met. This labor category requires a Bachelor’s degree; the proposed person has a high school diploma and 2 years of extra experience plus college study, short of the four years the schedule accepts as a substitute.
    • 
    

    
4. Experience and degree: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote two people in the Principal Cyber Security Specialist labor category at the contractor site, 300 hours each, at $280.57 an hour, under the rate period 12/24/2022 to 12/24/2023. Each has 8 years of relevant experience and a Bachelor’s degree. The quote states a total of $168,342.00. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Order summary. 2 people for 300 hours each; the schedule rate is $280.57 an hour, $168,342.00 in total; the quote totals $168,342.00.
    • 
    

    
5. Order size and total: A large order with a wrong stated total

    
The agent's request. Please quote six people in the Senior Data Specialist/Informaticist labor category at the contractor site, 600 hours each, at $205.60 an hour, under the rate period 12/24/2023 to 12/24/2024. Each has 8 years of relevant experience and a Bachelor’s degree. The quote states a total of $740,000.00. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Stated total does not match. The quote states a total of $740,000.00, but the staff, hours and hourly rate give $740,160.00.
    • 
      
  • Order above the maximum order. The quote totals $740,160.00, above the schedule maximum order of $500,000.00 for IT professional services; a person should review it before it is sent.
    • 
    

    
6. Order size and total: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote six people in the Senior Data Specialist/Informaticist labor category at the contractor site, 600 hours each, at $205.60 an hour, under the rate period 12/24/2023 to 12/24/2024. Each has 8 years of relevant experience and a Bachelor’s degree. The quote states a total of $740,160.00. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Needs approval.

    
    
      
  • Order above the maximum order. The quote totals $740,160.00, above the schedule maximum order of $500,000.00 for IT professional services; a person should review it before it is sent.
    • 
      
  • Order summary. 6 people for 600 hours each; the schedule rate is $205.82 an hour, $740,952.00 in total; the quote totals $740,160.00.
    • 
    

    
7. Order size and total: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote six people in the Senior Data Specialist/Informaticist labor category at the contractor site, 400 hours each, at $205.60 an hour, under the rate period 12/24/2023 to 12/24/2024. Each has 8 years of relevant experience and a Bachelor’s degree. The quote states a total of $493,440.00. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Order summary. 6 people for 400 hours each; the schedule rate is $205.82 an hour, $493,968.00 in total; the quote totals $493,440.00.
    • 
    

  

  

    
Narration transcript
Click to expand
    
The text of the narrated walkthrough, step by step.

    
    
      
  1. Welcome to a demo of Predictika's Validator. An AI sales agent prepares a labor-hour quote for IT professional services priced from a published government schedule, with a labor category. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of the price list's published terms and returns a verdict, every reason and the figures it computed.
    2. 
      
  2. I will start with the first request by the agent.
    3. 
      
  3. The agent says. Please quote two people in the Principal Cyber Security Specialist labor category at the contractor site, 300 hours each, at $280.57 an hour, under the rate period 12/24/2022 to 12/24/2023. Each has 6 years of relevant experience, a high school diploma, and 2 years of extra experience plus college study. The rest of the request is on screen. The quote states a total of $168,342.00.
    4. 
      
  4. Before it goes out, the agent calls the validator.
    5. 
      
  5. Blocked, with two findings, all in one answer. This labor category requires at least 8 years of relevant experience; the proposed person has 6. This labor category requires a Bachelor’s degree; the proposed person has a high school diploma and 2 years of extra experience plus college study, short of the four years the schedule accepts as a substitute.
    6. 
      
  6. The validator returned two blocking findings in one answer. A check that reads one field at a time would pass most of this; it shows only when the choices in the quote are checked against each other.
    7. 
      
  7. What this shows: for experience and degree requirements that differ by labor category, a rules-based CPQ is error-prone for this.
    8. 
      
  8. Now the agent resubmits.
    9. 
      
  9. The corrected request. It changes the years of experience to 8 and the education to bachelor’s degree. It removes the extra experience plus college study.
    10. 
      
  10. It calls the validator again.
    11. 
      
  11. This time the validator clears it.
    12. 
      
  12. Both earlier findings are cleared, and the validator's total, $168,342.00, matches the quote.
    13. 
      
  13. Two problems caught in one call, fixed in one pass, and a clean $168,342.00 quote. That is the value of Predictika's validator: catching mistakes before they reach the customer. Now you can try the other scenarios yourself.
    14.