Unit 1: Determine Criteria#

Criteria are the characteristics by which a project is evaluated or judged. In Digital Solutions, there are two types of criteria, prescribed and self-determined.

Prescribed Criteria#

Prescribed criteria are those criteria that are provided or placed on a project by the client. In an educational context like Digital Solutions, these can also be provided by the teacher or detailed in an assignment.

In our workflow, we have already identified our prescribed requirements in the Must column of the Requirements table. So create a Prescribed-criteria table (see below) and transfer all the requirements from the Must column into the Requirements column.

criteria table

Self Determined Criteria#

Self-determined criteria are any criteria that are developed and are not prescribed. These can be developed, amongst other things, from an examination of user needs and goals, impact planning statements and project specific criteria dependent on the problem being addressed.

In our workflow, we have also identified our self-determined requirements. They are in the Should column of the Requirements table. Create a Self-determined criteria table and transfer all the requirements from the Should column into the Requirements column.

criteria table

Criteria#

For both the prescribed and self-determined requirements, we now need to work out how to measure if they have been achieved. The measure that we use of each requirement is called the criteria.

Criteria should be expressed in the form of a SMART goal. This means the goals need to be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time bound.

Specific

  • State what you will do

  • Use verbs

Measurable

  • Provide a way to evaluate

  • Use specific metrics or targets that can be tested

Achievable

  • Within the scope of the problem

  • Is it realistically possible to accomplish or attain

Relevant

  • Makes sense within the project

  • Provides benefit to the user in some way or improves the project or user experience

Time bound

  • State when you will show evidence that this is achieved

  • Be specific on dates, times, phase of the Digital Solutions development phases

These goals can be expanded or modified during the project life-cycle if required.