Which of the following phases in the software acquisition process does developing evaluation criteria take place?

The Follow-On phase occurs after the initial acquisition cycle and involves decisions about renewing, replacing, or extending an existing contract, not establishing initial evaluation criteria.

During the Planning phase of software acquisition, the organization defines its needs, establishes requirements, and develops evaluation criteria used to assess potential vendors and solutions. This groundwork must occur before solicitation or contracting can proceed, ensuring that objective, measurable standards exist to guide source selection and procurement decisions.

The Contracting phase involves executing the solicitation, evaluating proposals against already-established criteria, and awarding the contract - the criteria itself must be developed beforehand in Planning.

The Monitoring and Acceptance phase focuses on overseeing vendor performance, testing deliverables, and accepting completed work after a contract is already in place, not on creating evaluation standards.