STRATALEnterprise buying guide
Infrastructure software
evaluation checklist.
Use a common set of questions to bring operations, field leadership, commercial, IT and procurement into the same evaluation.
Evaluate a working process, not a list of features.
A demonstration is most useful when every supplier is asked to work through the same scenario. Choose a representative job, identify its dependencies and write down what each team needs to see before the work can move forward.
Use the checklist below to record evidence and open questions. These are evaluation criteria, not a statement that every deployment includes every capability. Confirm the supported scope in your proposal.
| Area | What to test | Evidence to request | Acceptance criteria |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operational fit | Choose a representative work order with a permit dependency, a gang allocation, evidence requirements and a commercial handover. Ask the supplier to follow that record through the whole workflow. | A complete demonstration of the job lifecycle, including an exception and its resolution. | The team can trace status, ownership and outstanding actions without reconstructing the record outside the system. |
| Planning and field working | Test a change to the plan after work has been allocated. Check how the planner, supervisor and field user learn about the change. Review supported behaviour when connectivity is interrupted. | An allocation change, a field evidence submission and an explanation of the supported offline scope. | Responsibilities are clear and the field user can identify the current assignment and the information needed to carry it out. |
| Evidence and document control | Request a revision change to a drawing or job pack. Follow an incomplete evidence record through review and correction. | Revision history, approval records and a completion check with missing evidence. | Reviewers can identify the approved revision, who changed the record and what remains outstanding. |
| Commercial handover | Take completed work into a valuation discussion. Include a variation or disputed quantity and ask where the supporting record is held. | A trace from delivered quantities and evidence to the commercial review. | Commercial users can reconcile the work and its evidence before treating it as ready for application or closeout. |
| Access and governance | Define the roles for a field user, supervisor, commercial reviewer, administrator and external client. Test both permitted and restricted actions. | A role matrix, scoped client access and a sample audit history. | Each role can perform its agreed tasks and restricted records stay outside its view. Ask separately for any required certification evidence. |
| Data and integrations | List source systems, data owners and necessary interfaces. Separate a supported connection from work that needs configuration or development. | A data mapping, a sample migration and a written list of supported integration behaviour and dependencies. | The implementation plan names owners, failure handling, reconciliation checks and an agreed export or exit approach. |
| Deployment and support | Review hosting, backups, recovery, device requirements, updates and support responsibilities. Ask how a deployment issue is investigated and escalated. | A responsibility matrix, supported environment requirements and agreed support arrangements. | Operations and IT agree who owns each service dependency and how changes and incidents are handled. |
| Pilot and commercial scope | Define the pilot users, programme, modules, success criteria and review date. Capture assumptions that affect the proposal. | A scoped proposal with inclusions, exclusions, implementation activities and acceptance criteria. | Decision makers can compare the agreed scope with the pilot results and understand what wider rollout would require. |
Turn observations into a decision.
For each area, record “demonstrated”, “needs clarification” or “outside scope”, with an owner and due date. Treat a critical unresolved dependency as a follow-up action before sign-off. Do not let an overall score hide a workflow your team cannot operate.
Agree the pilot before you begin.
Define the users, sample jobs, records, devices and support contacts needed for a meaningful trial. Agree how evidence will be reviewed, which outcomes matter and who can accept the result. Keep your final commercial scope aligned with those decisions.
See it in your operating context