Software Selection Methodology

I recently worked with a client to do a detailed open-source software assessment and selection.  I found a great methodology and set of tools specifically designed for open-source software located at  http://www.qsos.org/

 The QSOS tools support the development of a "template" that defines the selection criteria that is appropriate for the product you are considering.  The criteria are defined using an XML file.
For example, a criterion for training is shown below.

<element name="services" title="Services">
    <desc>Services offering</desc>
    <element name="training" title="Training">
       <desc0>No offer of training identified</desc0>
       <desc1>Offer exists but is restricted geographically and to one
              language or is provided by a single contractor</desc1>
       <desc2>Rich offers provided by several contractors, in serveral
              languages and split into modules of gradual levels</desc2>
       <score></score>
       <comment></comment>
    </element>
    
    <!-- More elements go here -->
</element>

Once the selection criteria are defined, QSOS provides a great tool for evaluating a specific product using the criteria.  This tool uses XUL standards and can run within a web-browser or as a standalone tool.  A screenshot of the tool running the criteria shown in XML is listed below.




The tool can also display the scores using a radar-type plot that can show areas of weakness or strength for a particular product. 




The QSOS web site listed above contains evaluations that other people have done that might be directly useful for your needs.