The SRM software vendor evaluation checklist

34 questions to ask SRM software vendors, with an auto-calculating score out of 68 and a clear verdict on whether to shortlist them

This is the scoring sheet engagement teams, procurement officers, and IT leads use to evaluate Stakeholder Relationship Management (SRM) software vendors. 34 questions across 5 categories, each scored Yes (2 points), Partial (1 point), or No (0 points), with a total out of 70 and a 4-tier verdict on whether to shortlist, shortlist with caution, or eliminate the vendor. Send it to vendors as part of an RFI or RFP. Use it yourself in a demo. Or use it as a team exercise to align your shortlist.

What's inside:

• Key features: Questions that assess whether the software is purpose-built for stakeholder engagement, including stakeholder profiles, engagement history, commitment tracking, issue tracking, sub-project and programme hierarchies, multi-role stakeholder management, reporting, email integration, task assignment, and project rollups.

• User experience: The questions that test whether your team will actually use the software, including mobile access, collaboration, searchability, and scale.

• Training and support: The 6 questions that test what comes after you sign the contract, including onboarding, setup time, ongoing support, regular updates, and demo availability.

• Security and compliance: The procurement-grade questions include data sovereignty, ISO 27001 and ISO 27017 certifications, GDPR compliance, encryption, role-based access controls,  audit trails, SSO and MFA, and whether the vendor trains AI on customer data.

• Implementation and support: The questions that test what comes after you sign, including onboarding time, ongoing support SLAs, and whether the software works out of the box or needs significant configuration to fit your workflows.

• Vendor and pricing: The questions that test who you're buying from, including vendor stability, pricing transparency, and customer references in your industry.

Who this checklist is for

• Engagement and consultation leads evaluating SRM software for their team
• Procurement officers building or reviewing an RFI, RFP, or vendor shortlist
• IT and security teams reviewing technical and compliance requirements
• Anyone responsible for making, defending, or signing off on the software decision

If you're earlier in the process and still working out whether spreadsheets are enough for your team, start with our spreadsheet scoring sheet instead.