The Capability Matrix is one of the most powerful tools in NextStage. It takes your solicitation documents and your Company Profile and produces a structured, scored assessment of how well your organization fits each requirement in the pursuit. The result is a clear picture of where you are strong, where you have gaps, and what you need to address before submitting.

The accuracy of your Capability Matrix depends directly on how complete your workspace is. Nexus AI does not look at your Company Profile alone. It reads across your entire workspace, including your Company Profile, all opportunities in your pipeline across every stage, and all uploaded past performance records. The more complete those areas are, the more accurately Nexus AI can evaluate your fit against solicitation requirements.

A workspace with detailed capability narratives, current certifications, a thorough Overview narrative, uploaded Cornerstone Proposals, and well-documented past performance will produce a matrix that reflects your organization's true strength. A workspace with gaps in any of those areas will produce lower scores and unrated capability areas even where your company has genuine experience. Before generating a matrix on any pursuit that matters, make sure your Company Profile, pipeline records, and past performance uploads are as complete and current as possible. Every piece of information you add to your workspace improves the quality of every matrix you run.

The matrix is rated on a scale of 0 to 4 based on your company profile and past performance:

Each capability area is categorized as Core or Business and includes a rating, a justification explaining how Nexus AI arrived at the score, a reference to the solicitation section that generated the requirement, and an evidence field your team can populate.

Before generating a Capability Matrix, make sure the correct Company Profile is active. Nexus AI scores your fit based on the profile that is selected at the time of generation. If you have multiple profiles, confirm the right one is starred in the Profiles panel before you begin.

How to access the Capability Matrix

There are two ways to get to the Capability Matrix from inside an opportunity record.

Option 1: The Capability Matrix tab

Open the opportunity record. Along the top navigation, you will see a row of tabs including Summary, GovWin, Solicitation, RFI, Award, Capability Matrix, Notes, Team, Tasks, Documents, Score, and Updates. Click the Capability Matrix tab. If no matrix has been generated yet, you will land on a page with a Generate Capability Matrix button. Click it to begin.

Option 2: Nexus AI inside the opportunity

Open the opportunity record and open Nexus AI from the panel on the right side of the screen. Start a new chat. Nexus AI will display suggested actions based on the opportunity context. Click the Build Capability Matrix box. This will also begin the generation process.

Both paths lead to the same place. Use whichever fits your workflow.

Generating the Capability Matrix

After clicking Generate Capability Matrix, a dialog box will appear. This is where you select the documents Nexus AI will analyze to build the matrix.

Selecting documents

The dialog will display all documents already associated with the opportunity, such as the RFQ, PWS, SOW, amendments, attachments, and Q and A documents. Each document appears with a checkbox.

For the Capability Matrix, only include RFP documents. This means the solicitation, PWS, SOW, amendments, Q and A documents, and any attachments that are part of the formal solicitation package.

Do not upload past performance write-ups, resumes, capability statements, or any other supporting documents into the Capability Matrix.

Nexus AI already has access to your past performance records and Company Profile through your workspace. It will pull from those automatically as needed without you uploading them here. Adding unnecessary documents into the matrix slows the analysis down and reduces the quality of the output. Keep the document selection focused on the RFP package only.

You can deselect any documents you do not want included in the analysis, and you can upload additional RFP documents from your desktop by clicking Add Attachment or dragging and dropping files into the upload area.

Once you have confirmed your document selection, click Generate. Nexus AI will analyze the selected solicitation documents, draw on your workspace for company and past performance context, and produce the scored matrix.

Reading the Capability Matrix

The generated matrix includes two components: a Capability Assessment summary at the top and the full matrix table below it.

Capability Assessment

The summary shows your total number of capability areas and how they break down across the rating scale:

This gives you an at-a-glance read on overall fit before you dig into the detail.

Capability Matrix table

The table maps each identified requirement to your company's capabilities and evidence. Each row contains:

To see the full detail behind any row, click the eye icon on the right side of that row. A detail panel will open showing:

The detail panel also includes an Edit button. Click Edit to update the score, justification, or evidence for that capability area directly from the panel without navigating away from the matrix view.

Customizing the matrix

The Capability Matrix is a working document, not a locked output. Your team is expected to review, adjust, and build on what Nexus AI generates.

Changing scores

You can manually adjust any rating in the matrix. Click the score in the Rating column and select a different value. Use this when your team has knowledge, past performance, or context that was not yet captured in your workspace at the time of generation. When you make a manual adjustment, add a note in the Evidence column explaining the basis for the change so your team has a clear record of the reasoning.

Adding capability areas

If you identify a requirement that Nexus AI did not surface, click Add Capability Area to insert a new row. Define the capability area, assign a type, set a rating, and add your justification and evidence.

Adding evidence

The Evidence column is where your team documents the specific proof points that support each rating. This may include contract numbers, past performance references, named personnel, certifications, or specific technical approaches. Populating evidence strengthens your internal assessment and gives proposal writers a direct reference for where to pull supporting content.

Regenerating the matrix

After making changes to scores, adding capability areas, or updating your Company Profile or past performance records, you can click Regenerate to rerun the matrix. Nexus AI will incorporate all updated workspace information and produce a revised assessment. Use this to keep the matrix current as new solicitation documents are released or as your team adds detail to the workspace.

Downloading the matrix

When your matrix is ready, click Export XLSX to download it as an Excel file. You have the option to export with or without scoring. The downloaded file can be shared with your capture team, used in bid reviews, or attached to internal pursuit documentation.

Tips for a stronger matrix

The quality of the Capability Matrix output is directly tied to how fully your workspace is populated. Nexus AI reads across your entire workspace when scoring requirements. This includes your Company Profile, all opportunities in your pipeline at every stage, and all past performance records you have uploaded. It can only score what it can find.

Keep the document upload in the matrix focused on RFP documents only. Your past performance records, capability statements, and other supporting materials are already available to Nexus AI through your workspace. Uploading them again into the matrix is not necessary and will reduce the quality of the analysis. The RFP package is the only input the matrix needs from you at generation time. Everything else Nexus AI pulls on its own.

If a capability your company holds is not documented anywhere in your workspace, Nexus AI will score it low or leave it unrated. That is expected behavior, not an error. This is why the manual adjustment feature exists. When you know your organization has relevant experience that is not yet captured in the workspace, go into the matrix and update the score and justification to reflect your actual qualifications. Add evidence in the Evidence column to document the specific contract, past performance reference, or team member that supports the adjusted rating.

Before generating a matrix on a pursuit you are serious about, confirm the following:

If the matrix produces lower scores than you expect, treat it as a signal to update your workspace rather than simply overriding the scores. Updating your Company Profile or uploading a missing past performance record and then regenerating gives you a more accurate and defensible baseline. It also improves every future matrix you run. Your workspace is a living record. Every improvement you make to it compounds across all of your pursuits.

Frequently asked questions

Why are some capability areas rated N/A?

N/A appears when Nexus AI does not have enough information in your workspace to evaluate that requirement. This is not a zero score. It means the information needed to make a determination is absent. The fix is to update the relevant section of your Company Profile, add missing past performance records, or ensure your pipeline opportunities are fully documented, then regenerate.

Can I generate a matrix before all solicitation documents have been uploaded?

Yes, but the output will only reflect what is in the documents you select. If a PWS or SOW has not been uploaded yet, the matrix will miss requirements contained in those documents. You can regenerate the matrix at any time as additional documents become available.

What is the difference between a Core and a Business capability area?

Core capability areas map to technical requirements in the solicitation, the things the customer needs you to actually do. Business capability areas map to operational, compliance, or organizational requirements, such as clearance levels, accounting systems, or administrative qualifications. Both types affect your overall fit score.

Can I export the matrix before I finish reviewing it?

Yes. You can export at any point in the process. If you have not finished reviewing and adjusting, note that in the document so reviewers understand it is a working draft.

Does regenerating the matrix erase my manual changes?

Regenerating updates the AI-scored rows based on the latest workspace data. Manual edits you have made to scores and evidence should be reviewed after regeneration to confirm they are still accurate in context.

What if my score is lower than expected?

A lower than expected score almost always means your workspace is missing information that would support a higher rating. Before adjusting the score manually, check whether the relevant capability is documented in your Company Profile, whether matching past performance has been uploaded, and whether your pipeline records reflect the relevant experience. Update those areas and regenerate first. Manual score adjustments are appropriate when you have confirmed the workspace is complete and the AI simply did not make the connection, or when you have very recent experience such as a contract win that has not yet been added to the workspace.

Should I upload my past performance documents into the Capability Matrix?

No. Past performance records should be uploaded in the Past Performance section of your workspace, not into the Capability Matrix document selector. Nexus AI pulls from your past performance records automatically when generating the matrix. Uploading them again into the matrix adds unnecessary volume that slows the analysis and reduces output quality. The same applies to capability statements, resumes, and any other internal documents. The only files that belong in the Capability Matrix document selector are documents from the RFP package.

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