Apparently… This is what the course says
The evaluation mandate aims to define the objective and the scope of the technological interface to be evaluated. This is a crucial step in the preparation of an evaluation project. A poorly written mandate can have serious consequences on the process and can lead to significant dissatisfaction both for UX professionals and for the recipient of the report.
If the mandate’s definition is too broad or too vague, it will lead to a deviation from the recipient’s expectations, and potentially disappoint him. If the mandate’s definition is too narrow, the evaluation might miss altogether the real issues of an interface. The mandate has also a contractual scope; it is, therefore, essential to carefully craft it in order to avoid any negative impact on the deliverables at the end of the evaluation process.