What makes a tool a good tool?

Here’s my list:

  • Price (does it fit in my budget)
  • Does it get the job done (aka ‘how successful was the timeboxed session?’/ ‘how well does it match my tool selection criteria?’)
  • Existing knowledge in the team
  • Willingness of the team to learn the tool
  • Integration with the current tooling (dev tech stack, CI/CD, Test Management Tool, etc.)
  • Reporting capabilities (again: Integration with existing tooling/ reporting)
  • Documentation
  • Community/ vendor support: How good is it? How reactive?
  • Ease of use/ usability
  • Can I live with the disadvantages/ shortcomings?
  • What do colleagues/ friends/ my network have to say about the tool? What information can I get from my other ‘sources of information’
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