Below is a quick checklist of points to look for, to evaluate software quality - especially during the software selection process. Awards and accreditations  Has the software has won industry awards? if so, list awards:  Does the software have accreditations? if so, list accreditations: Feedback  Are there good customer testimonials for the software?  Are there positive comments from independent media reports / publications?  Are there any adverse or critical comments about the software or vendor, from industry media, on the internet / social media, or heard verbally?  Is there widespread user satisfaction with the software (from existing users / customers)? Completeness  Is the software complete? ie there are no large gaps in functionality, compared with similar software?  Has any additional functionality been recently added? and if so, is it minor / nice to have functionality, rather than essential software functionality? Testable  Is the software available for testing by potential users / customers? If tests have been carried out:  Are functionality test results satisfactory? ie the software conforms to the stated functionality  Are usability test results satisfactory?  Are performance test results satisfactory? Reliability  Does the software correctly operate with complete reliability?  Does the software behave consistently?  Is the software stable and not undergoing a major re-write?  Does the software have only a few outstanding faults / bugs?  Have there have been any urgent updates / fixes issued in the previous year? User experience of the software  Is the software convenient and practical to use?  Is the software intuitive to use?  Does the software behave as users would expect?  Are screens, menus, symbols, appearance consistent across all software modules?  Can the software easily perform simple operations?  Can the software perform complex operations?  Is the system responsive?  Does the software operate efficiently?  Is the software security effective?  Are error messages sensible, appropriate and useful?  Is the software / system is well documented? Maintenance  Can the software be easily maintained?  Are there only one or two annual updates and rarely any urgent fixes?  Is the software portable? ie it can run on multiple hardware, database, and operating system configurations - if so, list configurations: For more information about selecting software vendors visit: How to quickly create a long list of software vendors and solutions, Software vendor selection process, Vendor selection check sheet, Vendor evaluation questions, Software quality checklist