Define outcomes before requirements
Long feature lists often make unlike products appear equivalent. Begin with the problems the union must solve: duplicate member records, unclear case ownership, fragile reporting, repeated publication or email that loses context when responsibility changes.
For each outcome, identify the affected roles, authoritative records, current failure and observable evidence of improvement.
Weight what matters
Set evaluation weights before demonstrations. Membership and structure, casework, security, migration and integration may deserve different emphasis for different unions.
- Require the same scenario from every shortlisted vendor.
- Score what reviewers can observe today.
- Record whether a capability is shipped, gated, custom or proposed.
- Name the person accountable for every score and exception.
Make the pilot a decision tool
Use representative, non-sensitive data and involve the people who will administer and perform the work. Test narrow permissions, confusing records and failed integrations as deliberately as successful paths.
Finish with a written fit assessment: what works, what needs configuration, what depends on an external party and what is not supported.