Use the Capabilities Matrix in Capture Cloud to Strengthen Pursuit Strategy
In government contracting, assessing whether your organization has the right experience to pursue an opportunity is one of the most critical parts of capture. It affects everything from bid decisions to teaming strategy and technical solutioning. Yet many teams still rely on informal methods to answer that question, such as anecdotal evidence or outdated spreadsheets.
The Capabilities Matrix in Capture Cloud offers a structured, data-driven way to evaluate your readiness against a solicitation's technical requirements. It allows you to map your past performance directly to the task areas outlined in the opportunity documents and quickly see where your strengths are, where you may need support, and how well your experience aligns.
What the Capabilities Matrix Is
The Capabilities Matrix is a pre-proposal planning tool built into the Capture Cloud module of GovDash. It analyzes the task areas from a solicitation, compares them to your existing past performance stored in the Contract Cloud, and presents a side-by-side view of how your experience maps to each requirement.
This process is fully integrated within your capture workflow. Once the matrix is generated, it becomes a live, editable view of your technical alignment. You can adjust strength ratings, add internal notes, and use it as a source of truth throughout the pursuit.
When and How to Use It
The Capabilities Matrix is most effective when used early in the capture process. Below are the key moments when it provides the most value:
During Opportunity Qualification
As soon as you upload an opportunity into GovDash, the system parses the performance work statement or statement of objectives and identifies the core task areas. These become the foundation of the matrix. With just a few clicks, you can assess whether your organization has performed similar work and if that experience is recent, relevant, and verifiable.
In Gate Reviews
Many organizations use gate reviews to decide whether to move forward with an opportunity. Including a Capabilities Matrix in your Gate 1 or Gate 2 materials allows reviewers to make decisions based on clear evidence of technical fit. It reduces ambiguity and creates space for more productive conversations about where additional effort or resources may be needed.
When Identifying Teaming Partners
If the matrix shows that your organization has a gap in a key task area, you can use that information to start identifying teaming partners early. Because the matrix is built on validated past performance, it provides a clear rationale for why a partner is needed and what type of capabilities they should bring to the table.
During Solution Development
The matrix can also inform technical strategy. By visualizing which requirements you cover well and which are weaker areas, your capture and solution teams can prioritize accordingly. This leads to a more realistic, defensible proposal and reduces the risk of mismatched narratives or unsupported claims later in the process.
How It Works
Upload the Opportunity
Start by uploading the opportunity into Capture Cloud, whether that’s done through Bid Match or directly to your Pipeline. Whether you have the final RFP or early-stage documents, GovDash extracts the relevant task areas automatically.
Need Help Adding Your Opportunity?
For a walkthrough on adding opportunities from Bid Match, check out our guide here. For the Pipeline, see our guide here.
Map Past Performance
GovDash then pulls data from your Contract Cloud to identify relevant past performance examples. You can choose to pull from your entire contract inventory, or individual contracts. Each task area is matched to contracts or projects that demonstrate your ability to perform the work.
Customize and Finalize
You can review the matches and adjust strength ratings as needed. From here you can determine where SME input may be required, where additional artifacts should be gathered, or where a partner may be necessary.
Use It Across the Team
Because the matrix lives inside Capture Cloud, it is easily accessible to your full pursuit team. You can reference it in strategy sessions, use it in presentations to leadership, and keep it updated as the opportunity evolves.
Benefits Over Manual Approaches
Manually building a capabilities matrix is time-consuming and error-prone. It typically requires someone to read through the PWS line by line, match each item to internal records, and build a document from scratch. It is difficult to keep that kind of matrix updated as strategy shifts or new information comes in.
With the Capabilities Matrix in Capture Cloud, this work is done for you. The tool provides:
Faster opportunity assessments using existing data
Increased consistency and accuracy across pursuits
A centralized view of technical alignment
Better collaboration between capture, BD, and proposal teams
Because it is integrated into your existing capture workflow, the matrix also reduces the risk of duplicative effort and ensures that your assessment of capabilities stays connected to the rest of your strategy.
Making the Most of the Matrix
To get full value from this feature, consider the following best practices:
Generate the matrix as soon as an opportunity enters the pipeline, even if you only have partial documentation. This gives you a head start and allows time to resolve any gaps.
Involve SMEs early in the review process. Their insights can help validate the strength ratings and identify areas where capabilities can be stretched or supported with additional detail.
Keep the matrix updated as you gather more intelligence or finalize teaming decisions. Treat it as a living document rather than a static artifact.
Reference the matrix during internal reviews and strategy sessions to ground conversations in shared data.
A Stronger Start to Every Pursuit
Understanding your technical fit is one of the most important steps in capture planning. The Capabilities Matrix in Capture Cloud helps you move quickly from assumptions to evidence. It gives your team a clear, consistent way to evaluate opportunities and builds a foundation for more strategic, more winnable proposals.
Whether you are building a pursuit from the ground up or working through a busy re-compete season, the matrix helps you focus your efforts, reduce risk, and make better decisions at every stage of the capture process.
Try the Capabilities Matrix in Capture Cloud and bring data-driven clarity to your next opportunity.
Want More Information?
Check out our full capabilities matrix guide here!
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