Is This Technology Decision Ready to Sign? The 15 Checks to Close Before You Commit

Every technology decision has a moment when it stops being a discussion and becomes a commitment.

The vendor is chosen. The budget is approved. The contract is signed. Whatever wasn't settled before that moment doesn't go away. It turns into a renewal you can't get out of, an integration nobody scoped, or a security question an auditor asks after go-live.

Most leadership teams know this. Few have a consistent way to check, right before they commit, whether the decision is actually ready. That's the job of MALA's free Technology Decision Readiness Check: 15 checks a Chief Information Officer or Chief Technology Officer should close before vendor selection, budget approval or contract signature.

Readiness depends on where the decision is

A decision that's ready for vendor selection may be nowhere near ready for a signature. Each stage commits you to something different, so each one raises the bar on different checks.

This is why a single generic checklist falls short. The question isn't just "are we ready?" It's "are we ready for this step?" If you want the thinking behind each check, our companion article, Before You Commit: 15 Questions Every CIO and CTO Should Ask, walks through them one by one.

"Not sure" counts as "Not yet"

The check rests on one strict rule, and it's the one most teams find uncomfortable.

That rules out the most common answer in a steering committee: "I think so." A vendor's security questionnaire that someone skimmed isn't evidence. A budget model nobody has pressure-tested isn't a validated assumption.

It sounds harsh, but it's honest. Most of the discomfort shows up now, while it's still cheap to fix, instead of after you've signed.

15 checks, 64 pieces of evidence

The check covers three areas: strategy, governance and delivery risk. Its 15 checks include the business outcome, decision authority, security and compliance, commercial exposure, the alternatives considered, how objective the evaluation was, validated assumptions, success measures, delivery capacity, a safe transition and provider accountability.

Each check breaks into four or five evidence points, 64 in all. You don't grade yourself on a vague scale. You tick the evidence you actually have, and the answer sets itself:

You can override any answer by hand. Risk accepted keeps the decision honest without pretending every gap must be closed before anything moves.

One gate result, and how much time you have

The check ends with one of three gate results. Critical items decide first. Your overall count only matters once every critical item is closed.

A decision with 14 Ready checks and one open critical item is still Not ready. That's on purpose: one open critical gap can sink a decision that looks fine everywhere else.

The check then compares two numbers:

• Weeks to close. Each Not yet item adds its typical close time, and each Partly item adds half. Open items are assumed to run two at a time. Risk accepted items add nothing.
• Weeks you have. Whole weeks from today to your target decision date.

When weeks to close is bigger than weeks you have, you have a timing problem as well as a readiness problem. Better to find that out now than in the week before signature.

An example: a credit union about to sign

The tool's built-in example is a 900-person credit union about to sign a new contact center platform before its current contract renews. The figures below are an illustration, not a real client result.

At contract signature, seven checks are critical: the four that always apply, plus capacity, safe transition and provider accountability. Here the team has marked 11 of 15 checks Ready, but two critical items are open: the security and compliance evidence, and the commercial exposure review.

So the gate reads Not ready, even with 11 checks done. The good news is in the timing. The open items would take about six weeks to close, and the renewal is nine weeks out. The problem is fixable, as long as the team starts now and works the critical items first. Without the check, the same team might have signed on schedule and found the gaps at the first audit or the first renewal.

From open gaps to a dated plan

A list of gaps doesn't help much on its own. What moves a decision forward is knowing who closes each gap, and by when. The free decision brief turns every open item into a plan you can take to your steering committee:

Here's what that plan looks like for the credit union example:

You can copy the summary for your steering committee or save it as a PDF straight from the tool.

Frequently asked questions

When should I run a technology decision readiness check?

Before each of the three gates: vendor selection, budget approval and contract signature. The critical items change at each stage, so a decision that passed at selection can still fail at signature.

What counts as evidence?

Something documented that an accountable owner has confirmed. A skimmed questionnaire, an untested budget model or "I think so" doesn't count.

Can we proceed with gaps still open?

Yes, if every critical item is Ready or Risk accepted. The gate then reads Proceed with conditions, and the open items carry into your plan.

Is the check a formal audit?

No. It's a directional self-assessment, not an audit or a legal or financial opinion. It shows leadership where the decision stands and what to close next.

Source: checks, critical items, gate rules and scheduling logic are from MALA's Technology Decision Readiness Check. Weeks-to-close figures are typical ranges MALA sees for mid-market technology decisions. The credit union example is illustrative.

For informational use only. Not legal, financial or audit advice.

About the author: Eric Anderson is the Founder and President of MALA Technology Advisors. After two decades working with organizations ranging from early-stage startups to Fortune 500 enterprises, he founded MALA to bring independent, vendor-neutral expertise to significant technology decisions.