Assessing information technology components

Techniques for assessing information technology components by comparing a component (including a component still under development) to a set of criteria. Each of the criteria may have one or more attributes, and may be different in priority from one another. In preferred embodiments, a component assessment score is created as a result of the comparison. When necessary, a set of recommendations for component changes may also be created. The criteria/attributes may be prioritized in view of their importance to the target market, and the assessment results are preferably provided to component teams to influence component harvesting, planning, and/or development efforts. Optionally, the assessment process may be used to determine whether the assessed component has achieved at least some predetermined assessment score associated with a special designation.