2.2. Subject of the assessment¶

The comparative assessment should be carried out when public administrations intend to acquire ‘computer programs or parts thereof’. Therefore the subject of the assessment is software (as identified in 1.2. Software covered by these guidelines) that meets the specific functional requirements of the administration.

For example, the acquisition of hardware components for information systems (servers, workstations, printers, etc.) remains outside the scope of this document.

Further situations where the decision-making process proposed in this Chapter 2 is not applicable may involve, for example:

• the adoption of framework contracts already agreed, where such adoption is compulsory for administrations;
• framework agreements, as instruments that exclusively define the general clauses that, within a given period of time, regulate the contracts to be entered into (the specific characteristics of the individual supply are subsequently defined in Specific Contracts);
• completion of projects or outputs for which a comparative assessment has already been carried out prior to the initial acquisition;
• tenders with the complete outsourcing of information systems as their objective, since the option of outsourcing involves a strategic area that goes beyond the specific context of these guidelines and responds to administration governance decisions and strategic objectives of a more general nature.

Please note that in the cases listed here, the Guidelines for software reuse described in Chapter 3 must still be applied.