{"id":"recommendation-set-formation","type":"concept","title":"Recommendation set formation","created":"2026-07-24","status":"Evidence available","authors":["Upstream Zero"],"edges":[{"rel":"part-of","to":"recommendation-survivability"}],"summary":"How the initial set of recommended vendors is assembled before any requirement is added.","question":"Which vendors does an evaluator surface for an unqualified category question, and what governs who is in the opening set?","pubState":"published","body":"Recommendation set formation studies the opening move: the set of vendors an\nevaluator surfaces for a broad category question, before a buyer has stated any\nspecific requirement. The opening set is the baseline every later requirement\nacts on.\n\nThe core question is who appears in the opening set and what governs\nmembership. What remains open is how stable the opening set is across runs and\nevaluators.","url":"/concepts/recommendation-set-formation","machineUrl":"/objects/recommendation-set-formation","referencedBy":[{"from":"E-034","rel":"part-of"},{"from":"E-040","rel":"part-of"}],"_meta":{"site":"Upstream Zero · Commercial Intelligence for AI-Mediated Commercial Evaluation","version":"0.1","note":"Claims are presented at their evidence tier; Narrated is the lowest. Verify by walking edges, not by trusting us."}}