Predictika · Consulting rate card quotes

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

An AI sales agent prepares a quote for consultants priced from a published day-rate card, with a job category, an SFIA level, a number of days and a day rate. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of the rate card's published terms and returns a verdict, every reason and the figures it computed.

Scope: Consulting engagements priced from the Sopra Steria SFIA rate card (six job categories, seven SFIA levels): maximum day rates, day length, working week and travel. See everything this validator covers

This validator models quotes built from the Sopra Steria SFIA (Skills for the Information Age) rate card, not just the scenarios shown below.

  • Day rate — the card publishes a maximum day rate for each of six categories (Strategy and Architecture, Change and Transformation, Development and Implementation, Delivery and Operation, People and Skills, Relationships and Engagement) at each of seven SFIA levels; a quoted rate above the maximum is blocked, a rate at or below it is fine.
  • Day and week — a rate card day is 7.5 hours excluding travel and lunch, and the working week is Monday to Friday excluding national holidays; days outside the working week are not priced by the card and go to a person.
  • Travel and totals — the card excludes travel and expenses, which are agreed in the Order Form when the work is delivered from a location the customer specifies; the quote's stated total is compared with staff times days times the quoted day rate.

Any quote built from this rate card that touches these rules is in scope — not only the scenarios pictured here. Not covered: other Sopra Steria services and rate cards, managed services bundles, discounts, the travel and expense amounts themselves, and quotes with several roles on separate lines (this validator checks one category and level per quote).

The AI sales agentBuilds the consulting 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
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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
A day rate above the published maximumOnly with care
The card has 42 maximum rates (six categories by seven levels); a price rule or lookup table has to hold all of them and compare each typed rate with the right one.		The category and level are looked up and every quoted rate is compared with its maximum on every call.
A stated total that does not equal staff times days 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.
A day longer than the card's 7.5 hoursOnly with care
A validation rule on a hours field, easy to leave out because the hours rarely appear on the quote.		The day length is in the request and checked with everything else.
Days outside the working week, and customer-site work that needs agreed travel termsOnly with workarounds
Neither is a hard error; each needs a person to agree terms, so the quote needs an approval route driven by several fields at once.		Both come back as approval findings with the reason, alongside any blocking 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
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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 a day at £1,001, above the rate card maximum of £1,000 for this category and level.
2The rate card has SFIA levels 1 to 7; the quote uses level 8.
3The rate card has SFIA levels 1 to 7; the quote uses level 0.
4A rate card day is 7.5 hours excluding travel and lunch; the quote assumes a longer day.
5The quote states a total of £59,000, but the staff, days and day rate give £60,000.
62 days fall outside the rate card working week (Monday to Friday, excluding national holidays), which the card does not price; a person should agree the terms.
7The work is delivered from a location the customer specifies; the rate card excludes travel and expenses, which are agreed in the Order Form; a person should confirm those terms.
8The quote prices a day at £1,100, above the rate card maximum of £1,000 for this category and level.
9The quote prices a day at £1,791, above the rate card maximum of £1,790 for this category and level.
10The quote prices a day at £726, above the rate card maximum of £725 for this category and level.
11The quote prices a day at £986, above the rate card maximum of £985 for this category and level.

  

  

    
Scenarios and results
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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. Day length, total and travel: A nine-hour day and a wrong total on a customer-site engagement

    
The agent's request. Please quote four consultants in Delivery and Operation at SFIA level 4 for 30 working days each, at £1,000 a day, assuming 9-hour working days, delivered from the customer’s own office. The quote states a total of £118,000. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Working day longer than 7.5 hours. A rate card day is 7.5 hours excluding travel and lunch; the quote assumes a longer day.
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  • Stated total does not match. The quote states a total of £118,000, but the staff, days and day rate give £120,000.
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  • Customer-site delivery without agreed travel terms. The work is delivered from a location the customer specifies; the rate card excludes travel and expenses, which are agreed in the Order Form; a person should confirm those terms.
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2. Day length, total and travel: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote four consultants in Delivery and Operation at SFIA level 4 for 30 working days each, at £1,000 a day, assuming 7.5-hour working days, delivered from the customer’s own office. The quote states a total of £120,000. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Needs approval.

    
    
      
  • Customer-site delivery without agreed travel terms. The work is delivered from a location the customer specifies; the rate card excludes travel and expenses, which are agreed in the Order Form; a person should confirm those terms.
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  • Engagement summary. 4 consultants for 30 days each; the rate card maximum is £1,000 a day, £120,000 in total; the quote totals £120,000.
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3. Day length, total and travel: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote four consultants in Delivery and Operation at SFIA level 4 for 30 working days each, at £1,000 a day, assuming 7.5-hour working days, delivered from the customer’s own office, with the travel and expenses terms set out in the Order Form. The quote states a total of £120,000. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Engagement summary. 4 consultants for 30 days each; the rate card maximum is £1,000 a day, £120,000 in total; the quote totals £120,000.
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4. Day rate: A level 5 Strategy and Architecture day rate above the card maximum

    
The agent's request. Please quote two consultants in Strategy and Architecture at SFIA level 5 for 15 working days each, at £1,500 a day, assuming 7.5-hour working days. The quote states a total of £45,000. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Day rate above the rate card maximum. The quote prices a day at £1,500, above the rate card maximum of £1,440 for this category and level.
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5. Day rate: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote two consultants in Strategy and Architecture at SFIA level 5 for 15 working days each, at £1,440 a day, assuming 7.5-hour working days. The quote states a total of £43,200. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Engagement summary. 2 consultants for 15 days each; the rate card maximum is £1,440 a day, £43,200 in total; the quote totals £43,200.
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6. Stated total: A stated total that does not match the quote

    
The agent's request. Please quote one consultant in People and Skills at SFIA level 6 for 40 working days each, at £1,445 a day, assuming 7.5-hour working days. The quote states a total of £56,000. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Stated total does not match. The quote states a total of £56,000, but the staff, days and day rate give £57,800.
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7. Stated total: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote one consultant in People and Skills at SFIA level 6 for 40 working days each, at £1,445 a day, assuming 7.5-hour working days. The quote states a total of £57,800. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Engagement summary. 1 consultant for 40 days each; the rate card maximum is £1,445 a day, £57,800 in total; the quote totals £57,800.
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Narration transcript
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The text of the narrated walkthrough, step by step.

    
    
      
  1. Welcome to a demo of Predictika's Validator. An AI sales agent prepares a quote for consultants priced from a published day-rate card, with a job category, an SFIA level, a number of days and a day rate. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of the rate card's published terms and returns a verdict, every reason and the figures it computed.
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  2. I will start with the first request by the agent.
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  3. The agent says. Please quote four consultants in Delivery and Operation at SFIA level 4 for 30 working days each, at £1,000 a day. The quote states a total of £118,000. The rest of the request is on screen.
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  4. Before it goes out, the agent calls the validator.
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  5. Blocked, with two findings and one approval, all in one answer. A rate card day is 7.5 hours excluding travel and lunch; the quote assumes a longer day. The quote states a total of £118,000, but the staff, days and day rate give £120,000.
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  6. The validator returned two blocking findings and one approval 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 and against the stated total.
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  7. What this shows: for days outside the working week, and customer-site work that needs agreed travel terms, a rules-based CPQ can do this only with workarounds.
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  8. Now the agent resubmits.
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  9. The corrected request. It changes the hours in a working day to 7.5 and the stated total as to £120,000.
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  10. It calls the validator again.
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  11. Not blocked, but held for a person.
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  12. The two blocking findings are cleared; one approval remains for a person: customer-site delivery without agreed travel terms.
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  13. The agent resubmits once more.
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  14. The revised request. It changes the travel terms agreed in the Order Form to yes.
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  15. It calls the validator once more.
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  16. This time the validator clears it.
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  17. The earlier finding is cleared, and the validator's total, £120,000, matches the quote.
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  18. Three problems caught in one call, fixed in two passes, and a clean £120,000 quote. That is the value of Predictika's validator: catching mistakes before they reach the customer.
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