Criteria

This section introduces and justifies the criteria used to evaluate proposed solutions (and will likely reintroduce and extend criteria included in your plan, but is possible that your criteria may have entirely changed during the research process). Your Criteria section can be moved.  It can be in your introduction or precede your Evaluation. This section should be prefaced with a brief introduction. (See pages of your textbook for further tips.)

Example 1:

WAT CRITERIA

CRITERIA

Each solution was evaluated based on several factors that should be considered for an effective solution. The criteria used to evaluate each solution are as follows:

Ease of Implementation

Proposals that require a minimum or preparatory work have the greatest chance of being implemented. Use of existing resources will help to guarantee success and will also improve cost effectiveness (fourth criterion). Solutions that require extensive research and preparation may be more effective in the long run, however this problem requires a timely solution.

Greatest Benefit to Students

Although it is not the duty of the Department of Landscape Architecture to teach what the students want to learn, the program is considered a professional environment. With that fact in mind, it makes sense to offer instruction in areas of study that will help students secure internships and employment following graduation. Beneficial solutions would allow interested students the option of learning Autocad but would permit other options for students already proficient in Autocad or not desiring to learn the program. Low cost, effective use of time and flexibility of schedule would also benefit busy undergraduate students.

Reasonable Demand on Faculty

No proposal will succeed without faculty involvement. The faculty of the Department of Landscape Architecture is occupied with teaching other courses, pursuing their own research, and carrying out departmental business. Any additional workload may require reductions in other areas for them to remain productive and not feel overworked. Professors offering Autocad instruction in other departments are unlikely to offer additional sections of their courses for landscape architecture majors due to the extra work such an action would entail.

Cost Effectiveness

Solutions should not be prohibitively expensive. Effective proposals will facilitate the greatest benefit at the lowest possible cost. If a proposal is too costly to the department or to the students, then it is unlikely to be successful. It is important to note, however, that an investment that has a high-cost initially may be more cost effective than a low-cost solution. A properly planned solution that costs more to implement will likely have more effective and longer lasting results.

Example 2:

Criteria

To find the best solution, it must be evaluated on several factors to ensure that only the most effective solution is chosen. The criteria used to assess each solution are listed below:

Ease of Implementation

Solutions to the problem should be easy to integrate with the current system. A long implementation cycle can cause work slowdowns, disgruntlement with the solution, and end up being costly for the company. Creating a quickly implemented solution will provide the minimum loss in company efficiency.

Efficiency of the System

The system needs to be efficient and less prone to problems. If the solution is less efficient than the current system, it will invalidate all the work that has been done. A streamlined, efficient solution will increase productivity and save employee time. Since efficiency is hard to gauge before implementing the solution, it will be important to gain feedback from the employees on how they view each aspect of the system. They work with the current system every day, so naturally they are the most qualified to seek out problems with the proposed solutions.

Compatibility with the Current Infrastructure

Seamless compatibility with IST’s current system is extremely important. An incompatible system results in new problems arising with the interface between the rest of IST’s infrastructure and the new system. By testing each solution carefully to ensure is meshes well, we can ensure that the solution will be easy to integrate into the infrastructure.

Cost Effectiveness

The solution should not be too costly. The goal of every solution is to be low cost while remaining highly effective. A high cost solution may not be accepted, since supervisors will feel that the current system (with all its problems) is more cost effective than the proposed solution. Total cost of ownership is something that must be considered as well. A new system that has a large initial cost can end up being cheaper than the current system because it is easier to use, and saves money.