Note: Use this Playbook's 80+ worksheets and content templates to jumpstart your vendor application software evaluation and selection project. You can use it as is or customize it to your specific needs. The Playbook is 100% customizable. It doesn't require installation or macros—it's just a simple workbook. However, you do need Microsoft Excel.
After downloading the Playbook, this page should be your first to do. It summarizes the Playbook's design, framework, features, and content.
Note: the Excel Playbook also has a Read Me tab/worksheet that provides a recap on Terms of Use, password for Protect Sheet features, where to go for additional help, and how to contact the Playbook's author.
The Playbook download includes four files:
Twenty of the 80+ worksheets in the Playbook are protected to prevent overwriting formulas and calculations. Unprotect those sheets by entering the password referenced in the Playbooks Read Me tab/worksheet.
Note: Playbook and Workbook are used interchangeably.
Be aware of Caps Lock when protecting or unprotecting workbooks or worksheets with passwords.
Also, be aware that protected sheets can be deleted in a non-protected workbook.
Many Playbook worksheets contain pre-populated content that you can leverage to save time and improve quality. This content is 100% customizable. Use it as you see fit. Edit or replace it to support your specific needs.
The Playbook includes 80+ worksheet templates: most representing deliverables, content, checklists, and digital assets
Please note, however, that the evaluation and selection process, particularly the scoring process, requires that you replicate (move/copy) worksheets, e.g., create copies of the vendor scorecard for each vendor and evaluation stage, create copies of scorer scoresheets for each evaluation stage-vendor-scorer. This increases the number of worksheets in your Playbook by the end of your project depending on the number of vendors submitting proposals and the number of assigned scorers.
As previously explained, using the Scoring Process.xlsx workbook and its replicated scorecards and scoresheets reduces the number of worksheets in your primary New Modern Vendor Software Evaluation and Selection Template.xlsx Playbook.
The Playbook is organized by work phases: Initiation, Diligence, Scoring Process, Solution Needs: Brief/RFP, Evaluation & Selection, and Resources.
You can copy or move Playbook worksheets to new or other workbooks that you create based on your needs. NOTE: Please review the Excel Named Ranges, Use Caution when Copying or Moving Worksheets to New Workbook section below before you copy or move worksheets to a new workbook.
Feel free to organize your work as you see fit.
You have ultimate flexibility. Do what works best for you.
The Playbook approach, out of the box, for evaluating and selecting application software vendors accommodates:
You have ultimate flexibility. Customize the Playbook to do what works best for you, e.g., increasing the number of software vendors to evaluate, etc.
Note: Conducting a final evaluation (proposal, interviews-demos, or field visits) of more than 17 vendors indicates a poor Diligence and Vendor Minimum Needs process.
Score to the extent possible to increase your selected vendor solution's quality and long-term success.
The Playbook's vendor software evaluation and selection approach scoring process uses two primary mechanisms to quantitatively score vendors:
Note: Topics and Subtopics on vendor questionnaires and scoring-related worksheets are not auto-linked to Structure Needs and Focus on Vital Needs worksheets, which allows you to tailor and format them for publishing and communication purposes.
A scorecard is created to score each evaluation stage and vendor. To save time and promote scoring consistency across evaluation stages, each scorecard is replicated from a master scorecard.
A scorecard has five sections:
Note: Always edit and finalize the Create Vendor Scorecard before replicating it to create the Proposal, Interview-Demo, and Field Visit scorecards. This will save you considerable time from having to incorporate subsequent changes to each of the scorecard instances.
A scoresheet is created for each evaluation stage, vendor, and scorer. To save time and promote scoring consistency across evaluation stages, each scoresheet is replicated from a master scoresheet.
Scorers assign a score rating to each vendor response by question.
Playbook worksheets are independent (not linked) to each other. Two exceptions are:
If you decide to copy or move those worksheets to a new workbook, make sure the linked worksheets are copied or moved together as a group.
Use the left-right horizontal arrows in the lower left corner to scroll from one worksheet to another.
Or, right-click the left-right horizontal arrows to display a scrollable menu of all worksheets. Select the worksheet you want to navigate to from the menu list.
In an Excel worksheet, follow these steps to protect only specific cells, columns, or rows.
Note: You will need to unprotect worksheets to format cells, columns, and rows; insert columns and rows; add hyperlinks; delete columns and rows; sort; use auto-filter; use pivot table, pivot chart; edit objects and scenarios.
Access Playbook help documentation at optimizedecisions.com/playbook.html.
Feel free to contact me with Playbook questions and suggestions to improve the Playbook. I may have missed something or an opportunity to simplify a deliverable or content template. Communicate your improvement ideas!
The Playbook is compatible with Windows and Mac OS. However, default fonts and formatting may differ between Windows and Mac versions. Minor formatting adjustments may also be necessary based on the Excel version you are using.
These standalone versions were bought with a one-time payment. Perpetual versions only include features available at the time of their release. They no longer receive new functions, just security updates and bug fixes.
Microsoft 365 is different. It’s a subscription service with a monthly or yearly fee. When Microsoft rolls out new features, they only come to Microsoft 365.
Please get in touch with me if you come across any additional incompatibilities.
A noted incompatibility is on the Focus on Vital Needs worksheet associated with the Topic & Sub-Topic dependent dropdown. The conditional formatting edit to confirm the Sub-topic is a dependent of the Topic doesn't work in Excel 97-2004. You'll have to verify manually or use the simplified Focus on Vital Needs worksheet version that doesn't use dropdowns for Topic and Sub-topics.
Also, Excel Tables were introduced in Excel 2007. Any previous version will not support table features and functionality.
Please get in touch with me if you come across any additional incompatibilities.
You do not need to print this Playbook or any of its worksheets. Instead, store them in a location where authorized team members can securely access, view, and edit them.
Transparency increases project success!
Note: Each worksheet is print-ready and has specific print settings. You can change these settings to fit your purposes.
This Playbook provides deliverables, content, and digital assets for evaluating and selecting vendor application software. Organizations desiring to conduct a thorough and diligent decision process may use most deliverables, content, and assets. These organizations may represent Fortune 100 or large public sector entities.
Small to mid-size organizations may require less intensive diligence and decision rigor and use a subset of the Playbook worksheets.
Choose the deliverables and methods that best match your organization's needs.
This Playbook employs a minimalist design, including basic formatting, fonts, colors, dropdown data validation lists, etc.
Worksheet tabs use color to represent the type of deliverable or content, such as Initiation, Diligence, etc.
Also, the Chart Momentum Matrix worksheet and content flow charts use a color scheme.
Choose or add colors, e.g., using cell styles listed below or directly changing specific cells based on your needs or project branding.
Unless otherwise noted, data validation dropdown lists use simple lists entered in the Data Validation Source field: Data>Data Validation>Data Validation…>Allow: List>Source:.
Worksheets use several defined cell styles. Modify the style to replicate changes across all worksheets that use that style.
Normal 2 is a free-form style—you can make it whatever you want on a worksheet cell. It is not used or maintained as a cell style.
Right-click on the style to see the defined format properties.
Not interested in using cell styles? That's OK. Just format each worksheet and cell as you wish.
Note: If you can't modify cell styles on an unprotected sheet in Excel even though it's supposedly unlocked, it's likely because another sheet within the workbook is still protected. This causes a global restriction on cell formatting changes across all sheets, even if the current one is technically unprotected. In this case, unprotect all protected sheets in the workbook, modify cell styles, and reprotect the appropriate worksheets.
Smaller input cell size promotes brevity as a reminder to focus on the most critical and essential content.
You can customize anything in this workbook to your specific needs. However, be aware of calculated fields and exercise caution when modifying them.
Note: Calculated fields are protected to avoid accidental overwrites or corruption. Use the protection password in the Playbook's Read Me tab to unprotect the worksheet.
Most worksheets should remain in the Playbook workbook to provide one version of the truth. You should consider moving some worksheets, such as the Scoring Process worksheets, to a separate workbook. Each vendor questionnaire attached to the RFP needs to be a separate workbook. Finalize them in the Playbook and then copy them to separate workbooks to attach to your RFP.
Most worksheets are independent of each other. Linkages do not exist between most worksheets.
Two exceptions include dropdown list linkages:
Besides those two exceptions, you can move any worksheet to a new workbook without worrying about its linkages or interdependencies.
Worksheet cells may include guidance, instruction, or placeholder content to help you formulate and enter your content. Some worksheets include flowcharts, digital assets, or other types of content that you can tailor to your needs. As mentioned, everything in this Playbook is editable and customizable to your preferences.
This Excel feature is used sparingly for grouping topic and sub-topic rows in scorecards, scoresheets, and vendor questionnaires.
Center Across Selection is used to center titles and other descriptors across multiple columns.
Formatting is basic in this Playbook. Enhance the formatting based on your needs and preferences. You can copy (refer to Copy a Sheet below) a worksheet to a new worksheet or workbook or a text editor (e.g., Word) or creative design app (e.g., PowerPoint) to add enhanced formatting for presentation or publishing based on your needs. Using Move or Copy to copy a worksheet retains most of the source worksheet's settings.
Orange font and light background denote calculated cells. Use caution! You can edit or tailor calculated cells to your needs. However, mistakes will result in erroneous calculations.
Worksheet protection is used for all worksheets with calculated cells to prevent unintentional changes that may corrupt or change a formula. The Playbook Read Me tab provides the protection password.
Note: Protected worksheets have a lock symbol before their name.
Gridlines are turned off.
Every worksheet is print-ready and has specific printing settings. You can adjust these settings to suit your needs.
Use Format Cells > Alignment > Horizontal Alignment > Center Across Selection to center headings across a highlighted selection of cells.
Select the worksheet tab you want to copy. Right-click the worksheet tab, select "Move or Copy..." and check the "Create a copy" box. Select To book:, select your preference for where to move or copy the worksheet from the dropdown list, and select Before sheet:. Rename each newly copied worksheet tab by right-clicking on the tab and selecting "Rename." Using Move or Copy to copy a worksheet retains most of the source worksheet's settings.
To edit worksheet dropdown lists, select all the cells that use the dropdown list you want to edit, and then go to Data > Data Validation. Edit the values in the Source field.
Note: dropdown lists usually apply to an entire column. Select all the dropdown list cells before editing data validation source values.
Three Playbook worksheets use Excel Tables:
Excel tables have special properties, such as automatic sorting and filtering capabilities with filter arrows in header rows, the ability to add new rows while maintaining table structure, visible column headers even when scrolling down, and dynamic updates to charts and PivotTables when data within the table changes. These properties essentially treat the table as a single object separate from other cells on the worksheet.
All Playbook worksheets use named ranges to specify print ranges.
Two worksheets use additional named ranges to support dependent dropdown lists:
Navigate to Home, Formulas, and Name Manager to view the named ranges and tables used in the Playbook. The Named Ranges use a Worksheet scope.
Conditional Formatting rules are not moved or copied when an Excel worksheet is moved to a new workbook. As required, you'll need to re-enter the Conditional Formatting rule and associated formulas.
Also, you cannot copy or move a group of sheets that contain a table.
Named Ranges in the new workbook reference the original workbook name. You need to remove the original workbook name from Named Ranges. A separate workbook, named Needs.xlsx, that includes only Structured Needs and Focus on Vital Needs worksheets, is included as a download file. This avoids having you do this additional work. You can change the name of this workbook by saving it as a new file (Save As) or by editing its file name.
The Scoring Process worksheets do not use Conditional Formatting and Named Ranges, so it is a straightforward process to select the Scoring Process sheets as a group and move them to a new, separate workbook. A separate workbook, named Scoring Process.xlsx) that includes only the Scoring Process worksheets is included as a download file. This avoids having you do this additional work. You can change the name of this workbook by saving it as a new file (Save As) or by editing its file name.
The Status and % Complete columns on the Project Board worksheet use conditional formatting to highlight specific values. If you change the list of items in the Status dropdown list, you may also need to edit the conditional formatting rule(s).
To edit conditional formatting rules, go to Conditional Formatting > Manage Rules and select "This Worksheet" to see and edit all the rules.
Worksheets using Conditional Formatting include:
Please review the Terms to learn how you may or may not use this Playbook.
The license for the Playbook is available only for individual professionals. No licensing is available for organization use.
You as an individual buyer can use the Playbook on any current or future project you're engaged in. In other words, anyone other than the buyer wanting to use the Playbook on projects that you, the buyer, aren't actively involved in needs to buy a license.
You can:
You cannot:
Go to optimizedecisions.com/playbook.html for additional information, help, and content guidance on each Playbook worksheet.