FAQ: How Products and Services Are Evaluated in Gartner Critical Capabilities

A Gartner Critical Capabilities report is a comparative analysis that scores competing products and services against a set of critical differentiators identified by Gartner. It helps organizations evaluate which offerings best fit specific use cases and provides actionable guidance for technology investment decisions.

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While the Gartner Magic Quadrant™ visual tools position vendors in a market based on their overall vision and execution, Critical Capabilities reports focus on the specific products or services from key vendors and rates them against multiple, real-world usage scenarios.

Critical capabilities are the features or attributes that most differentiate products and services in a market. They are selected based on their importance for purchasing decisions in the defined use cases.

Gartner analysts identify the most important use cases for a market and the critical capabilities required for those scenarios. Products and services are then scored from 1 (poor) to 5 (outstanding) on how well they deliver these capabilities, using weightings to reflect their importance in each use case.

Use cases represent typical client deployment scenarios and real-world problems that organizations need to solve. Gartner selects three to seven use cases per market, modeling common needs and vendor targets.

Vendors must have a product or service that fulfills at least one of the differentiating capabilities for inclusion. Not all vendors in a companion Magic Quadrant will necessarily appear in Critical Capabilities, and vice versa.

Each product or service is rated on a five-point scale for each capability:

• 1 = Poor (most requirements not achieved)

• 2 = Fair (some requirements not achieved)

• 3 = Good (generally meets requirements)

• 4 = Excellent (meets or exceeds some requirements)

• 5 = Outstanding (significantly exceeds requirements)

Scores are weighted by use case importance and presented side-by-side for easy comparison.

Critical Capabilities are typically updated annually. Gartner also publishes event-driven, off-cycle updates to reflect significant changes in products or services that impact capability scores or use case fit.

Yes. Gartner clients can use interactive features to adjust use cases and capability weightings, creating customized views to match their business requirements. These customizations are for internal use only.

Gartner clients can modify existing use cases or create new ones using the interactive Critical Capabilities tool, adjusting capability weightings to reflect their unique needs.

• Magic Quadrants: analyst-led vendor positioning in a market

• Critical Capabilities: analyst-led product/service comparison by use case

• Gartner Peer Insights™: end-user reviews and ratings of products and services

Together, these resources provide a full-spectrum view for technology decision makers.

Visit the Gartner Critical Capabilities methodology page for details, updates and additional FAQs.