In a police system proposal, I devoted an early chapter to describing how the system would be used to support the Force s fight against crime, right from the time the officer logged in with his collar number and password. I described how the system would provide rapid direct retrieval by name or vehicle registration mark to support beat officers radioing-in for online checks. I described how the system could be used to search for crime suspects on the basis of a particular modus operandi or conviction history. I went on to describe how the search results could be refined by restricting the search to particular geographical areas, or by restricting hits by imposing an age or height range on the suspect, or by adding an additional search parameter such as a red car. I didn t describe any functionality that wasn t explicitly requested in the Invitation to Tender (ITT). I simply explained how the system met those requirements by reference to representative policing situations and in words a police officer could relate to. We won the business and I asked for a de-brief. The Home Office representative told me that what had swung the decision was the chapter in the proposal describing the system in use. The Chief Superintendent had apparently said, That s the system I want.