Criteriaguides

Criteriaguides is a generalized term for structured documents or digital tools that organize evaluation criteria into a coherent guide to assist selection, assessment, and decision-making across various domains. It is not a single formal framework, but a concept used to capture how criteria are defined, weighted, and applied in judgment. In practice, the term may describe rubric-like resources, evaluation templates, or software modules that standardize judgments.

A typical criteriaguides document includes: the purpose and scope of the evaluation; a defined set of criteria with precise definitions; a weighting scheme or scoring rubric; instructions for scoring; rules for aggregating scores and handling ties; and notes on versioning and revision history.

Applications span procurement and vendor selection, product or feature evaluation, academic or performance assessment, project prioritization, risk analysis, and policy or program evaluation. In use, criteriaguides take the form of checklists, rubrics, decision matrices, or interactive templates that guide evaluators through the process.

Advantages include greater transparency, consistency, and repeatability of judgments, while limitations involve potential rigidity, bias in criterion selection, and the effort required to develop and maintain the guides. Best practices emphasize stakeholder involvement, clear and measurable criteria, pilot testing, documentation, and periodic updates aligned with evolving goals.

See also: rubric, evaluation criteria, decision matrix, scoring rubric, guidelines.