A CRITICAL-EXAMINATION OF THE CHECKLIST APPROACH IN SOFTWARE SELECTION

This article surveys existing checklists and investigates the extent t o which they enable the expression of useful assessments for software selection purposes. Significant problems and limitations of the checkl ist approach to software selection are noted, particularly an emphasis on predominantly technical attributes of packages at the expense of c onsideration of broader classroom environments and activities, learnin g processes and other educational issues. We make a clear distinction between the processes of software selection and software evaluation, a nd argue that failure in the past to regard this distinction as import ant has led to the use of checklists, a valuable tool in evaluation, a s well in the selection process to which they are not well suited. An alternative approach to software selection is outlined.