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Guide Origin: Community | ArcKit Version: [VERSION]

/arckit:sdd-lot3 generates the Service Definition Document for a G-Cloud 15 (RM1557.15) Lot 3 Cloud Support service. Lot 3 covers managed services, FinOps, migration planning, set-up and migration, security, QA and testing, training and ongoing support. The command answers every Lot 3 service question in GCA's question export, in its order, and lists the DDaT role levels that deliver the service. It sets no rates: Lot 3 is priced on the supplier's one rate card (ARC-000-RATE), which /arckit:pricing owns and every Lot 3 listing shows in full.

Command

/arckit:sdd-lot3 <service project or service name>

Output:

projects/<NNN>-<service-name>/ARC-<NNN>-SDD-v1.0.md

When to Use

  • The service design (/arckit:service-design) records the service as Lot 3 — Cloud Support.
  • You need the Lot 3 service answers ready to enter on GCA's Digital Platform.
  • You need to name the role levels that deliver the service and check they are on the supplier's rate card.
  • Re-run it after /arckit:pricing adds this service's missing levels to the card, so section 11 marks them as on it. A re-run keeps confirmed answers, bumps the version and adds a Revision History row.

Inputs

Input Purpose
Supplier profile (SUPP) Staff screening, clearances, certifications and contacts
Service design (SVCD) Lot, scope, features, benefits, supplier type and the role levels offered
Lot 3 rate card (RATE), if present The supplier's one card: checked to cover this service's role levels, never copied
Lot questions (LOTQ), if present Part 3's mandatory award criteria must agree with the SDD
Lot 3 references GCA's Lot 3 service questions, the Lot 3 category tree and the DDaT rate card (9 job families, 58 roles, 222 role levels)

Output Sections

Section Purpose
Service attributes, name and description Lot label, service name (≤ 100 characters) and description (≤ 500 characters)
Categories Full paths from the Lot 3 tree (root Cloud Support Services)
Features and benefits At most 10 each, 10 words each
Service scope and reselling Service constraints and supplier type
User support Email/ticketing, phone, web chat, AI chatbot, accessibility and support levels
Staff security BS7858:2019 screening and the clearance level offered
Pricing and documents Education discount; service definition, terms and pricing documents
Role levels and the rate card Each DDaT role level that delivers the service, any role outside DDaT mapped to its nearest level, and whether each is on the supplier's rate card; no rates

G-Cloud 15 Notes

  • One rate card per supplier: every Lot 3 listing shows the supplier's whole card, and on the live listings scraped on 7 October 2026 only 2 of the 1,135 suppliers with more than one Lot 3 service show different cards. The SDD lists the role levels that deliver the service, named exactly as GCA's rate card names them, and copies no rates, which keeps it from disagreeing with the card. /arckit:pricing sets the rates on the card.
  • Roles outside DDaT: a procurement or commercial adviser, a trainer or a similar role is listed at the nearest DDaT role and level by its work and seniority, and the service definition document says which level it is priced at.
  • Scoring: Lot 3 price is 80% of the score, on the average of every rate on the card, UK and offshore. The lowest average in the tender scores the full 80%.
  • Mandatory award criteria: user support, staff screening and clearance level are scored again in the Lot 3 lot questions (2.5% each), so the two documents must agree.
  • Word limits: 50, 100 or 200 words on each free-text answer, shown on its **Words:** line, counted by the command after writing and recounted by /arckit:review. GCA's export doesn't state them; they are inferred from the 42,893 live listings.
  • Uploaded document: ODF or PDF/A, at most 5 MB, accessible, with no prices.
  • Changed from G-Cloud 14: the planning, set-up and migration, QA and testing, security testing, training and ongoing support question sections are gone (those areas are now categories), and the SFIA rate card is replaced by one DDaT rate card per supplier. SFIA roles in an old SDD are mapped to DDaT role levels for the supplier to confirm, never carried over.
  • /arckit:service-design - Create the service design and choose the lot first.
  • /arckit:pricing - Build or update the supplier's one Lot 3 rate card and set its day rates.
  • /arckit:security - Generate NCSC Cloud Security Principles evidence.
  • /arckit:lot-questions - Answer the Lot 3 mandatory award criteria and certifications.
  • /arckit:gcloud-competitors - Compare with similar Lot 3 listings and their rate cards.
  • /arckit:review - Check readiness before submission.