Evidence before opinion
Our research methodology
A useful software registry must show what is known, what is claimed, what is inferred, and what has not yet been verified. This is how we keep those boundaries visible.
The standard in one sentence
Facts are sourced, uncertainty is visible, vendor claims are labeled, and every recommendation is conditional on the buyer’s operating model.
We begin with vendor documentation, support materials, pricing pages, release notes, app stores, legal terms, and security information.
If a capability is not publicly documented, we say so. Lack of evidence does not prove a product lacks a feature.
Documentation review and vendor demonstrations are not hands-on use. A hands-on article must publish its tester, workflow, version, date, and evidence.
Fit depends on company type, projects, roles, process maturity, existing systems, geography, and risk—not a single total score.
How a product profile is built
Every profile begins with identity and lifecycle checks: the current product name, vendor, official URL, aliases, acquisitions, rebrands, and active or legacy status. This matters in construction technology, where an acquired brand can persist in contracts and search long after product naming changes.
We then capture category, intended users, platforms, deployment, pricing visibility, documented capabilities, integrations, and support. Each profile carries a review date and a public list of the sources used. That list supports the profile as a whole; it is not a claim-by-claim citation map, so anything the cited material does not settle stays marked as unconfirmed.
Claims are classified
- Vendor fact: a current, directly documented capability, platform, price, or term.
- Vendor claim: a performance, scale, outcome, or positioning statement attributed to the company.
- Editorial analysis: our interpretation of fit, overlap, trade-offs, or buying implications.
- Independent evidence: a regulator, standard, public record, or documented test outside the vendor.
- Unknown: a question we could not answer from reliable current evidence.
Pricing is a dated fact, not a permanent label
Construction software may be priced by user, project, module, company, annual construction volume, asset, transaction, or negotiated enterprise metric. Public amounts may vary by region, currency, billing term, promotion, and plan. We record those conditions when a stable amount is available.
“Contact sales” is used when the vendor explicitly routes pricing through a sales conversation or custom quote. “Not confirmed” means the sources cited in that profile did not establish a stable list price. Neither label says whether a product is expensive or inexpensive, and quote-based software is never entered as $0.
How comparisons are written
We identify the real operating decision behind a matchup, then compare the products against the same criteria: design center, workflow coverage, buyer and project fit, platform, pricing visibility, integrations, implementation, data control, and important unknowns.
The verdict takes the form “choose A if…” and “choose B if…” because construction systems are embedded in different organizations. An edge in one criterion is not a star rating and is not added into a universal score.
How directory ordering works
The default directory and featured modules use an editorial order maintained with the catalog data. Placement helps readers start with a currently emphasized profile; it is not a score, universal recommendation, or substitute for matching product scope to the buyer’s requirements.
Search still applies the entered query and filters before ordering eligible results. The editorial lead remains first when it is among those results, while unrelated products are not inserted into a search merely to preserve placement.
Freshness and correction cadence
- Public pricing and packaging: targeted recheck every 30–60 days.
- Product names, ownership, and availability: targeted recheck every 90 days.
- Features and integrations: targeted recheck every 180 days or after a material release.
- Security and compliance documentation: targeted recheck every 180 days.
- Comparisons and shortlists: full review at least annually and after material rebrands, acquisitions, or pricing changes.
The “last reviewed” date refers to the factual profile review, not a claim that every linked web page changed that day. Significant corrections are documented and the visible update date changes only when the published content changes materially.
Commercial independence
Vendors cannot pay to alter registry facts, remove documented limitations, or receive a favorable comparison outcome. Future sponsorship, paid profile, or affiliate relationships will be labeled at the point of use and will not change the research method.
Vendors are encouraged to submit corrections with current supporting documentation. A submission is evidence to review, not an instruction to publish. See the editorial policy and corrections process.