Assess an existing tool or start a renewal review

An assessment project begins with software the organisation already owns. Linking the Software Register asset preserves the incumbent context and creates a defensible route to renew, renegotiate or replace instead of treating every contract end as an automatic renewal.

Before you start

• Add the current tool to the Software Register when possible.

• You need permission and plan capacity to create a project.

• Know the main reasons for review, such as cost, missing capabilities, service, usability, integration or contract timing.

Step by step

1. Start from the right place

Use Start evaluation on a Dashboard renewal alert or the relevant Register asset to preselect it. You can also open Projects, choose the existing-tool assessment entry and select an asset manually.

2. Choose the incumbent

Select Which tool are you assessing? from the registered assets. If it is not recorded, you can continue without a selection, but adding the asset first gives the project better contract and supplier context.

3. Name the assessment

Use the suggested fit-review or renewal-review name, or enter a clear project name that distinguishes this decision from the operational asset.

4. Set the process area

Confirm the business domain. A preselected asset may supply a category-derived starting value; correct it when the stored category is too broad or outdated.

5. Explain why it is under review

Select every relevant driver, such as Too expensive, Outgrown it, Missing capabilities, Poor support, Integration gaps or Contract ending. Add concrete detail in the free-text field.

6. Start and complete Define

Select Start assessment. The asset becomes the incumbent, and any directory match can seed baseline capabilities. Review the new project setup, success criteria, must-have capabilities, team and approach before evaluation.

What happens next

• Confirm the contract renewal date and incumbent link.

• Gather stakeholder evidence about current fit before approaching alternatives.

• Use a Streamlined approach only when it still produces enough evidence for the decision.

Troubleshooting

The current tool is not listed.

Open Software Register and add the asset, then return to the assessment route. You can proceed without it, but the project will not receive the same incumbent and renewal context automatically.

The preselected asset or project name is wrong.

Return to the asset that should be assessed and select Start evaluation there, or choose the correct asset in the form. The name and process area remain editable before creation.

Starting the assessment reports a project-limit error.

Review the workspace plan and active project count. Complete, cancel or archive genuinely finished work as appropriate, or ask an administrator to change the plan.

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