2. Importance of evaluation

Any project needs a point at which you can answer the questions :

Does the finished system do what it is supposed to do?

Does it solve the problem that was identified in the first place?

The phase where this take place is called the 'evaluation' phase and happens after the system is in place. The evaluation phase allows management and users to take stock of the project and determine whether it was a success or not.

A very important aspect of this is to identify exactly how this evaluation is to take place in the first place. And this can be done up-front in the design phase by setting out and agreeing to a number of evaluation criteria.

Whenever possible, these criteria should by quantifiable. For example a criteria might be 'The system is 10% faster than the previous system'. This criteria can be broken down further in what is meant by 'faster'.