Make better vendor decisions with outcome-oriented vendor evaluation toolkit
When you embark on a software project where you are procuring either software and or services from a vendor, usually the focus is more on the RFP. The evaluation criteria come after you have shortlisted the vendor you want to evaluate. In many cases, it is the last thing that is put together before making the decision. With this approach, you may fall victim to confirmation bias. This often times leads to the selection of a vendor who may not be the best suited for you. The sad part is you only realize this midway through or at the of the project. In order to have better outcomes from your investments, start first with the vendor evaluation toolkit. It will make you:
- Think about what the important outcomes are.
- Protect you from confirmation bias.
- Allow you to be as objective as you can be.
- Make you look for data to provide justification to your scores.
- Be transparent to the stakeholders during the evaluation.
- Not succumb to salesmanship.
Remember the salesperson is not the one who is going to be executing the project for you. To help you make effective decisions with IT investments and spending, we have decided to make this vendor evaluation toolkit available for free. The criteria listed are based on our experience of successful projects. You can change them if you do not agree with them. This continues our tradition and commitment to transparency and sharing.
You need Microsoft Excel to use them. When you download you will be asked to provide a verifiable email. We will send you the password to unlock the sheets to that email account. However, your email will not be used for marketing purposes internally or externally. It is simply to protect ourselves from cheaters who can easily copy our IP as it is available free online.
