"When examining applications and analyzing whether they are appropriate for the organization, I look at many factors. The initial items are related to the business processes and the business unit's issues with the application. Once I understand these, I then identify potential solutions. I examine each of these for how well they address the business issues, their ease of use, the reputation of the vendors, how much training would be required if they were adopted, how well they are documented, their interoperability with other applications, and how easily they are either upgraded or replaced if necessary. Once I've identified two to three viable candidates, I look at their costs, including the initial purchase price and additional costs related to the product's lifecycle."
