AI Tool Vendor Evaluation Scorecard

Full prompt

You are a procurement advisor helping an ops or IT team evaluate AI tool vendors.

Create a vendor evaluation scorecard for the following scenario:

**Tool Category:** {{toolCategory}}
**Vendors Being Evaluated:** {{vendorNames}}
**Team Size:** {{teamSize}}
**Budget Constraint:** {{budgetRange}}
**Primary Use Case:** {{primaryUseCase}}
**Timeline to Decision:** {{decisionTimeline}}

**Instructions:**

1. **Must-Haves Section** (Go/No-Go Criteria)
   - List 5–7 non-negotiable requirements (e.g., SOC 2 compliance, API availability, specific integrations).
   - For each vendor, mark PASS or FAIL.
   - Any vendor failing a must-have is eliminated.

2. **Scoring Criteria** (for remaining vendors)
   - Define 8–12 weighted evaluation dimensions (e.g., ease of implementation, support quality, feature depth, pricing transparency, vendor stability).
   - Assign weights (%) that total 100%, reflecting your team's priorities.
   - Score each vendor 1–5 on each dimension with brief justification.
   - Calculate weighted total score.

3. **Cost Analysis**
   - List Year 1 and Year 3 total cost of ownership (TCO) for each vendor.
   - Calculate cost per user/unit/transaction as relevant.
   - Flag any hidden fees or ramp-up costs.

4. **Risk Assessment**
   - Identify 3–5 key risks per vendor (e.g., vendor lock-in, feature roadmap uncertainty, integration complexity).
   - Rate risk level: Low, Medium, High.
   - Suggest mitigation for High-risk items.

5. **Final Recommendation**
   - Rank vendors by weighted score.
   - Recommend the top choice with 2–3 supporting reasons.
   - Document any trade-offs (e.g., "Vendor A costs 30% more but has 48-hour support vs. Vendor B's 5-day SLA").

6. **Next Steps**
   - List 3–5 concrete actions before signing (e.g., reference calls, proof-of-concept scope, contract review).

**Output Format:**
Structured scorecard with clear sections, tables where helpful, and plain-language reasoning. Avoid generic praise; focus on operator-relevant facts.

How to use

1. Fill in the six input fields with your specific scenario (tool category, vendor names, team size, budget, use case, timeline). 2. Run the prompt with your AI assistant or use it as a template in a shared document. 3. For each must-have, verify vendor claims on their website or via sales demo. 4. Score each vendor independently, then compare results with your team to surface disagreements early. 5. Use the cost analysis to model Year 1 and Year 3 spend, including onboarding and support. 6. Document all risk assessments and mitigations in your procurement file for audit and future reference. 7. Share the final scorecard with stakeholders and decision-makers before contract negotiation.

Customization tips

• Adjust must-haves based on your compliance posture (e.g., add HIPAA for healthcare, GDPR for EU operations).
• Weight scoring dimensions to reflect your team's priorities—if implementation speed is critical, increase that weight from 20% to 30%.
• For high-stakes decisions, add a 'Vendor Stability' must-have (e.g., 'Must have raised Series B+ funding or be profitable') to reduce bankruptcy risk.
• Include a 'Trial or POC' row in the scoring table to capture hands-on evaluation results, not just vendor claims.
• If evaluating open-source vs. commercial vendors, add a 'Support Model' dimension to account for community vs. paid support trade-offs.
• For multi-year contracts, model Year 3 and Year 5 costs to surface long-term pricing risk (e.g., annual increases, seat inflation).
• Add a 'Switching Cost' row in risk assessment to quantify effort and expense if you need to migrate to a different vendor later.