Does this skill help with SLA negotiations?

It identifies critical SLA gaps and recommends requiring written performance guarantees with defined penalties to ensure service reliability.

Can I use this for cloud infrastructure selection?

Yes, it is specifically designed to evaluate IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS providers against both functional requirements and non-functional needs like scalability and security.

Is this skill grounded in industry standards?

Yes, this skill is grounded in TOGAF, SWEBOK, and NIST principles to ensure professional-grade architectural decision-making.

What are common anti-patterns this skill identifies?

It flags selections based purely on marketing materials and highlights the danger of ignoring long-term vendor stability and technical support responsiveness.

How does this skill prevent vendor lock-in?

The skill mandates an explicit evaluation of exit costs, data portability strategies, and migration complexity before any procurement commitment is made.

Vendor Evaluation

Name: Vendor Evaluation
Author: sethdford

bysethdford

•

Cloud Infrastructure

Evaluates third-party vendors and SaaS providers using structured criteria to minimize technical debt and operational risk.

The vendor-evaluation skill provides a rigorous framework for software architects and IT leaders to assess third-party services, infrastructure, and SaaS products. Grounded in TOGAF and architectural best practices, it guides Claude to analyze functional requirements, service level agreements (SLAs), scalability, and long-term business risks. By identifying anti-patterns like vendor lock-in and insufficient support terms early, this skill ensures that technology selections align with organizational goals and maintain operational resilience.

Key Features

01Structured functional and non-functional requirement analysis

02Multi-vendor comparison based on roadmap alignment

03Comprehensive risk assessment for vendor stability and lock-in

045 GitHub stars

05Exit strategy and data portability planning

06SLA and business term benchmarking with penalty analysis

Use Cases

01Evaluating third-party API or SaaS tools for enterprise integration

02Selecting a new cloud infrastructure provider or managed service

03Conducting formal architectural assessments for mission-critical software components

What are Skills?·How to Install

Install with 🐟 Skill.Fish

npx skillfish add sethdford/claude-skills vendor-evaluation

For use in Claude.ai and ChatGPT

Key Features

01Structured functional and non-functional requirement analysis

02Multi-vendor comparison based on roadmap alignment

03Comprehensive risk assessment for vendor stability and lock-in

045 GitHub stars

05Exit strategy and data portability planning

06SLA and business term benchmarking with penalty analysis

Use Cases

01Evaluating third-party API or SaaS tools for enterprise integration

02Selecting a new cloud infrastructure provider or managed service

03Conducting formal architectural assessments for mission-critical software components

What are Skills?·How to Install

Install with 🐟 Skill.Fish

npx skillfish add sethdford/claude-skills vendor-evaluation

For use in Claude.ai and ChatGPT