How to evaluate government software before you procure it
Evaluate a system before procurement by using it, not by reading about it: open a live demo on sample data, run one real task from your own process from start to finish, note what is missing, and only then write requirements or agree a pilot. Every CivicWorks system can be opened this way, on a fictional county's data, with no sign-up and no sales call.
Why try a working system first
A demo you run yourself shows how the work moves screen by screen, which a feature list or a scripted presentation does not. It also lets the staff who do the work today judge it before anyone writes a requirement.
What to check in a live demo
- Run one task end to end, the way your staff do it today, such as scheduling a course and printing its sign-in sheet.
- Check who can see and change what for each role. Each public demo opens in one fixed role; ask how the other roles are set up for your staff.
- Enter a wrong value and see what the system refuses, and how it says why.
- Produce the report you hand to someone today and compare it with the one you build by hand.
- Write down what is missing for your process.
Questions to answer before an RFP or a pilot
- Which records must the system keep, and where do they live today?
- Who approves what, and in which order?
- Which existing workbook or file would be the starting data?
- What would a successful pilot show, and how would you measure it?
Piloting on your own process
When a demo fits, pilot it for 15 days on your own process at no cost: you pay only once it works for your agency. What the 15 days must show is agreed in writing before anything is installed.
Systems you can try now
Last reviewed October 25, 2026 by the CivicWorks founder.