Print it and write on it
Two pages. Room to score each answer while the seller is still talking.
Buyer scorecard for engineering
Bring this to your next engineering software demo
A two-page scorecard. Eight things to ask the seller to show you, on one of your own drawings.
The drawing taped to the wall says one thing. The screen says another. Someone in the field is already building from a third copy. A new platform will not fix that unless it can follow a real drawing from first mark-up to the closed-job record.
This scorecard gives you the eight questions, what a good answer looks like, the red flag for each, and a simple score.
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Use one live drawing
Pick a drawing with two revisions, an approval, an open review, and a copy in the field. Not sample folders.
Compare sellers side by side
The same eight questions and the same score for every seller, including us.
What is on it
Score what they show you, not what they say
Every demo works. The sample folders are tidy and every revision is labeled. The real test is one of your drawings. Each question gets a 2 if they showed it on your drawing, a 1 if it took a workaround, and a 0 if they could not show it.
Want the reasoning behind each question? Read the full checklist
Three of the eight
- 1
Which revision is current, and how you can tell without asking around.
A good answer: The approved revision is obvious on the drawing itself.
Red flag: A naming convention people are supposed to follow.
- 2
A review queue with an owner and a next step.
A good answer: Every open review names the person and what happens next.
Red flag: "In review" with no person attached.
- 3
What the field sees at 7 a.m. after an evening revision.
A good answer: The current set on a phone or tablet, with no export.
Red flag: Printing or sharing creates a copy that never comes back.