The Evaluation: Stage 2 – Definition of Success Criteria

If you’ve read along so far, we’ve summarized the process of evaluating and choosing something new. We then helped you to define a specific problem to be solved. Whether you need a specific niche new tool for the toolbox, or are replacing some software completely across your organization, evaluations are critical. Getting through the evaluation process isn’t trivial, and in order for the process to be truly successful, both the buyer and seller should feel like they got what they wanted. This doesn’t always mean that the seller will make a sale, or that the buyer will find what they’re looking for. But at this point, what’s critical is having a repeatable, objective, and defensible way to make a decision based on specifically defined success criteria.

Are We There Yet?

I remember before the days of pocket computers and maps a la Google Maps, parents feared getting in the car with their kids on vacation. The dreaded “Are we there yet?” plagued parents everywhere. The reality is that today we have tiny computers in our pockets that tell us just how close we are to our final destination – and can help us understand the journey. When you’re working through an evaluation of some new product or piece of software, it would be awesome to have this same kind of tool. In fact, we do. Creating success criteria is important for evaluations… so important in fact, that at previous companies at which I worked, senior management had to sign off on success criteria in order to ensure fair and equitable evaluations. I approve of this approach enough to write about it.

For some off-topic geeky fun, check out hacker legend and mathematician, Cliff Stoll, on Floppy Pizza and Gauss from “The Remarkable Way We Eat Pizza – Numberphile”

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