Criterionfocused

Criterionfocused is a term used in evaluation and decision-making to describe an approach that centers assessment on a predefined set of criteria. The emphasis is on identifying, articulating, and applying explicit criteria to judge options, rather than focusing primarily on outcomes alone or on the processes by which those outcomes are achieved.

Core practice involves developing a criteria framework—listing relevant criteria and, where appropriate, sub-criteria and measurement scales. Options are scored against each criterion and, if desired, aggregated through weighting or other multicriteria decision analysis methods to yield a composite score that guides choice.

Applications appear across fields such as project appraisal, product development, education and assessment, hiring, policy analysis, and research grant review, where transparent criteria can improve comparability and justification of decisions.

Advantages include greater transparency, consistency, and alignment with stated goals; the ability to surface trade-offs among different values; and easier justification of decisions to stakeholders.

Critics warn that criterionfocused can encourage box-ticking, overemphasis on easily measured criteria, and neglect of context or emergent properties. The quality of outcomes depends heavily on the relevance and completeness of the chosen criteria and on the fairness of weighting schemes.

See also: multicriteria decision analysis, decision analysis, scoring rubric, criterion-referenced evaluation, weighted scoring model.