Common questions, by audience.

Specforge serves three audiences: SAP customers buying a transformation, SAP architects and creators contributing to the corpus, and investors / partners considering the company. Common questions for each below.

For SAP customers

What does Validate actually do?

Validate takes your scope — pasted in or uploaded as Excel — and runs every requirement through three layers: a corpus of real S/4HANA implementations, a workstream classifier, and a senior-architect vetting chain. The output classifies each requirement as Standard SAP match (configurable today), Custom — in expert review (genuine custom development needed), or Workshop scheduled (the requirement needs a half-day session to scope properly). The aggregate report is the artefact you take into a contract negotiation with your SI.

Is my scope confidential?

Yes. Customer workspaces are isolated by row-level security in our database. Only the customer and the architects working on the customer's delivery see the scope text. When approved patterns enter the public corpus, they are anonymised — workspace identifiers, customer names, and any PII are stripped before contribution. The full data-protection commitments are in the Liability framework (in legal review).

How is this different from my system integrator?

Your SI is on commission — paid more when the scope is bigger and more custom. Specforge has the opposite incentive: we get paid by the customer to challenge the SI's quote. We don't sell you implementation hours. The corpus + senior-architect verification is what makes the challenge credible.

How accurate is the AI?

The classification engine combines pattern matching against the corpus with LLM analysis, then routes every line through a human architect chain (L1 → L2 → L3 expert). No artefact reaches you without senior-architect sign-off. We don't claim AI is right on its own — we claim the architect-verified output is right.

What does it cost?

Pricing is being finalised as we move from early access to commercial launch. Two paths: a per-project Validate report (one-time fee, board-ready output) and an ongoing platform subscription for organisations running multiple SAP programs. Contact us for early-access pricing.

Can I keep using Specforge after we sign the SOW?

Yes — that's where Generate and (planned) Decide come in. Validate is the wedge; the platform extends through the program lifecycle. Workspaces persist; revisit your scope after the SI begins, regenerate artefacts as scope evolves, and keep an institutional memory of every decision.

What SAP versions / deployments do you cover?

S/4HANA on Private Cloud (RISE), Public Cloud (continuous edition), on-premise, and hybrid. Versions 2020–2023, plus the public cloud continuous release. Other ERPs (Microsoft Dynamics 365, Oracle Fusion, NetSuite, Sage, QuickBooks, Workday, Infor) are on the roadmap but not live in early access.

For SAP architects and creators

How do I become a contributor?

Specforge is invite-only during early access. Independent SAP architects with substantial implementation experience can request access via contributors@specforge.io. Once accepted, you start at the C1 (Apprentice) level and progress through six creator levels by accumulated points and approved artefacts. Full role progression →

How are points earned?

Points come from contributions — approved artefacts (set per task by architect vote), verifications (5–20 points depending on level), voting on new work, and mentoring junior contributors. Per-action point grants →

What happens to my points?

For now, points are recognition currency: visible on the leaderboard, unlocking perks, signalling depth of contribution. From the A3 Expert level onwards, every new point is equity-eligible — convertible to equity at a future liquidity event (IPO, secondary, etc.). Points earned at lower levels stay as recognition only; crossing into A3 is the line. Equity mechanics →

When will I be paid in cash?

After commercialisation. Once Specforge has paying customers and validated revenue, 50% of every customer dollar flows to contributors as cash compensation, distributed by points earned per quarter. This is the floor; we can run higher contributor share above it but never below. Compensation framework →

Do I have to be employed by Specforge?

No. Contributors are independent — no salary, no employment, no benefits. You contribute when you have time, your level reflects your accumulated work, and you share in the upside through both recognition and (eventually) cash + equity. Most contributors will continue to do their day job alongside Specforge contribution.

Who owns artefacts I submit?

The corpus owns submitted artefacts (per the IP assignment in the contributor agreement, currently in legal review). You retain your byline in perpetuity, get the 15% legacy share when your artefact is reworked, and earn ongoing cash from durable artefacts after commercialisation. The full IP framing is in the Crowdsourcing terms (in legal review).

What if my artefact gets reworked?

v1's contributors get a 24–48 hour first right of refusal each time the artefact is reopened — claim the rework yourself or auto-decline by silence. Either way, you stay named on v1 in perpetuity and earn a 15% legacy share whenever a new version ships. Full rework lifecycle →

For investors and partners

What's the moat?

The corpus and the architect network. A pretty UI with an LLM and public docs gets cloned in 18 months. The defensible asset is many real SAP implementations (anonymised) with quoted-vs-delivered hours, vetting outcomes, and architects who've seen the patterns and signed off. The architect-verified loop is the moat; the AI is the leverage.

Why now?

The Specforge concept first appeared on LinkedIn in 2012. It was pitched at Deloitte, IBM, and PwC — none of them funded it. The technology to make it real didn't exist yet. LLMs that can reason about SAP topology with the fidelity of a senior architect are a post-GPT-4 capability. The thesis was right; it was just twelve years early.

What's the market size?

SAP services market is roughly $30–40B per year. Even taking 0.1–1% to be a real company. Three commercial paths: B2B SaaS to mid-market SAP customers ($200–1,000/month per workspace), enterprise contracts with Fortune 1000 SAP shops ($50–500k/year), and a marketplace layer on artefact purchases. Sized well, this is a $50–500M ARR business depending on path mix.

Who's the competition?

No tool today does what Specforge proposes. SAP Signavio is process discovery. Solution Manager is internal SAP infra. Panaya is upgrade impact. LeanIX is enterprise architecture mapping. None of them sit on the customer's side of the SI conversation. More on the gap →

What's the risk profile?

Three real risks. (1) Bootstrapping the corpus — getting the first 100+ anonymised implementations is the hardest 6 months. (2) GTM is enterprise sales motion through SAP user groups (ASUG, DSAG) — slow, expensive, but well-understood. (3) Hallucination liability — the architect-verified loop is the answer; the unit economics depend on the human-to-AI ratio.

Is the equity model real or aspirational?

Aspirational and committed. The recognition-to-equity conversion happens at a future liquidity event (IPO, secondary, acquisition). The 50% revenue floor for contributors is a public commitment. The 5% minimum equity pool for contributors is the floor we'll codify in the company's incorporation documents. None of this is binding until the contributor agreement is finalised by counsel, and contributors will be asked to sign that agreement before any equity-eligible point is earned. Full mechanics →

FAQ v0.1 · 2026-05-08. Missing something? hello@specforge.io. For the full functional walkthrough see Product overview; for governance see Handbook.