We develop software selection criteria schemata which we use in software evaluation projects with customers. Of course, our schemata are continuously reviewed and updated so that they reflect the current state of technology.

Our software selection criteria schemata can also be used as building-blocks in software evaluation projects in which we are not involved. You can customize every schema quite easily. You can

• add criteria that are specific to your project requirements,
• modify criteria properties to adjust them to your specific requirements (for example, to change the feature classification property from important to essential),
• delete criteria that are not relevant in your project.

Using a customizable schema offers many benefits, such as

• you save the time to collect the criteria necessary for a thorough evaluation
• you do not forget to include an important criteria
• you speed up the software evaluation process significantly

Our software selection criteria schemas are built using an XML tag set. This is a most flexible solution since XML just describes structure and content.  You can

• generate a customized schema and use it for an internal evaluation without involving suppliers,
• generate customized schemata and send them off to suppliers to fill-in their responses,
• generate various reports.

Each criterion encompasses several attributes, such as:

• criterion description: a short description of the criterion
• requirement type: describes the importance of a product feature in the context of the project (values are “essential”, “important”, “desired”, “frill”)
• purpose of the feature: what the feature is needed for and why
• quality measure: unambiguously describes the conditions that must be met by a product to qualify for potential selection

Criterion description: Rule version comparison Requirement Type: Important Purpose: To compare two different versions of a rule in business language representation Quality measure: Differences between the two versions are easily recognizable on the screen. Different colours are used to make differences (additions, deletions, modifications) visible. Annotation Often, it is necessary to compare an older rule version with the current version. A comparison feature makes it much easier to keep track of policy changes.

Sample criterion description

Each software selection schema comes with a product type-specific software evaluation guide. Taking a user’s viewpoint and based on a typical scenario, it provides context information and describes general requirements, such as architectural requirements, workflows that must be supported and administration requirements.

Each Software Selection Criteria Schema can be edited by using Microsoft Word. Other formats are available on request.  Please let us know what your needs are.