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Continuous improvement software evaluation scorecard
A software evaluation scorecard compares vendors against criteria agreed before the demos: each criterion gets a weight, each vendor gets a score per criterion, and the weighted scores add up to a total that ranks the vendors. This one is for continuous improvement software, the tools that capture ideas and problems from the floor, route them for approval, run improvement projects and report the results. A must-have gate comes first: a vendor that fails any must-have is out, whatever its score. Page 1 has the gate and eight criteria (idea and issue capture on the floor, workflow and approvals, project and kaizen tracking, reporting and dashboards, ease of use and adoption, admin and security, implementation and support, and total cost) with what to look for under each, weights that must add up to 100, and a score and points column for three vendors. Page 2 has an example 1 to 5 scale, a demo script, reference check questions, must-have examples and a worked example. The Excel version takes up to five vendors, checks the weights, works out the points, totals, gate and rank, flags missing scores and ties, compares the lead with a tie margin you set and draws a chart. Vendors are labelled A to E: no product is named or rated.
Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.
When to use it
When to use a CI software evaluation scorecard
- When a plant or company moves ideas and improvement projects off spreadsheets, a suggestion box or email and onto software.
- Before the first vendor demo, so the criteria and weights are set before any vendor shapes them.
- When several functions, such as CI, IT, operations and finance, must agree on one choice and record why.
- At contract renewal, to score the tool you have against the alternatives on the same criteria.
How to fill it in
- 1
Agree the must-haves
The few requirements a vendor cannot miss, such as passing your IT security review or operator screens in the languages your floor speaks. Write them before any demo.
- 2
Set the criteria and weights
Start from the eight criteria, drop or add your own, and give each one a weight. The weights must add up to 100; the Excel version checks.
- 3
Run the same demo for every vendor
Send the demo script ahead and ask for each task live, on your own example. Note what was shown and what was only described.
- 4
Score alone, then agree
Each person scores 1 to 5 from what they saw. The team then agrees one score per criterion and writes the evidence next to it.
- 5
Apply the gate, then read the totals
Points = weight × score ÷ 5, so the total is out of 100. A vendor that failed a must-have is out; rank the rest. A lead smaller than your tie margin is a tie on points.
- 6
Check references and run a trial
Ask the reference questions and run a trial or pilot with the leader before you sign. Write down the decision and the reasons.
What's on the scorecard
The eight criteria, the demo script and the reference check questions
What to look for under each criterion, the tasks to ask every vendor to show live, the questions for reference customers and some must-have examples. On the sheet each criterion gets a weight and a 1 to 5 score per vendor; the must-haves are pass or fail.
Idea and issue capture on the floor
How easily anyone on the floor can raise an idea or a problem
- 1Submit from a phone or shared tablet in about a minute
- 2Photo, area and category captured on the form
- 3Screens in the languages your floor speaks
Workflow and approvals
How an idea or issue moves from submitted to done
- 4Routed to the right reviewer by area or type
- 5Approval steps and reminders your admin can change
- 6The submitter sees the status and the answer
Project and kaizen tracking
Improvement work bigger than one idea
- 7Projects with phases, tasks, owners and due dates
- 8Your own methods, such as A3, PDCA or DMAIC
- 9Results recorded, then checked again later
Reporting and dashboards
Participation, progress and results without building a spreadsheet
- 10Counts by area, status and age, ready to use
- 11Results rolled up by area and site
- 12All your data exportable to Excel or CSV
Ease of use and adoption
Whether people still use it six months after launch
- 13New users manage the main tasks without training
- 14Feedback and recognition for the people who submit
- 15Your own trial users' verdict after a hands-on test
Admin and security
What IT and the system owner need
- 16Roles and permissions by site and area
- 17Single sign-on and adding or removing users
- 18Security documents ready for your IT review
Implementation and support
Getting live and staying live
- 19A dated plan to the first area live
- 20Clear on who configures it: vendor, partner or you
- 21Support hours, response times and training offered
Total cost
Every vendor priced over the same term, from the written quotes
- 22Licences or subscription for your real user count
- 23Implementation, training and paid add-ons
- 24Your own team's time to set it up and run it
Demo script
Ask every vendor to do these live, with your own example, in the same order
- 25As an operator, submit an idea from a phone with a photo, then show where it goes next
- 26As a supervisor, approve it with a change, then show what the operator now sees
- 27Turn the approved idea into a small project with tasks, owners and due dates
- 28Let your admin change a form field and an approval step during the call
- 29Show last month's ideas by area, and the ones waiting longest for an answer
- 30Export every idea with its history to Excel or CSV
- 31Add a user who can see one area only
- 32Show what a team leader sees on a phone at the start of a shift
Reference checks
Ask two or three customers of a similar size and industry
- 33How long did it take from signing to the first area live, against the plan?
- 34How many people on the floor still use it after the first six months?
- 35What did you have to change in your own process to make it work?
- 36How fast does support answer, and how did they handle a problem on their side?
- 37Which costs came up that were not in the first quote?
- 38What would you do differently if you chose again?
Must-have examples
Examples only: write your own. A vendor that fails any must-have is out, whatever its score
- 39Passes your IT security review
- 40Operator screens in every language your floor needs
- 41Runs on the phones or tablets the floor already has
- 42You can export all your data at any time, including when the contract ends
- 43Data stored in the region your company rules require
A filled-in example
Illustrative, not a benchmarkAn example: a company choosing CI software for two plants weights idea and issue capture 20, project and kaizen tracking and ease of use 15 each, and the other five criteria 10 each, then scores three vendors (illustrative numbers).
- Vendor A scores 4, 4, 4, 3, 5, 4, 4 and 3: 16 + 8 + 12 + 6 + 15 + 8 + 8 + 6 = 79 points.
- Vendor B scores 5, 4, 5, 5, 3, 4, 3 and 2 for 80 points, the highest total, but its operator screens are in English only and the floor needs Spanish too, so it fails must-have 2 and is out.
- Vendor C scores 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 5, 4 and 5 for 72 points: the lowest quote of the three and the strongest on admin and security.
- Ranked among the vendors that pass, A is first at 79 and C second at 72. A leads by 7 points, more than the 5-point margin the team agreed to treat as a tie.
Vendor A goes to reference calls and a paid pilot on one line before the contract is signed. Without the gate, the highest total would have picked a tool the Spanish-speaking operators could not use.
Common mistakes
Writing the criteria after the demos
The most polished demo then sets the criteria. Agree the must-haves, criteria and weights first, and keep them the same for every vendor.
Scoring what was promised
A feature on a roadmap or described on a slide is not a feature you can use. Score what you saw working, on your own example.
Letting a high total beat a must-have
A vendor that fails a must-have is out. Ranking it with the others hides the one thing it cannot do.
Treating a small lead as the decision
Scores are judgments. When totals are close, decide on the demo, the references and a trial, not on a point or two.
Download the template
Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.
Run this template in LeanSuite
In LeanSuite, every Kaizen, CAPA, CapEx or engineering project runs in one place from idea to verified savings, with your own methods, phases and approval rules.
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FAQ
Continuous improvement software evaluation scorecard: common questions
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