Software

The standard is software neutral.

It still has a reference implementation. Conformance is defined by the published weights and the per-criterion breakdown a host releases, never by the product used to produce them: a spreadsheet and a printed form conform if they preserve both.

What enforcement looks like when it is built in

The council recommends LiveJudge™, and these are the four behaviors that the recommendation rests on. 

Reference implementation

What enforcement looks like when it is built in

The council does not require any particular software, and any platform that preserves the published weights conforms. It does recommend one. LiveJudge™ is the platform the standard is written against, and it is the working example of what each commitment looks like when it is enforced by the tool instead of by the organizer's memory on the morning of the event.

a

The rubric is there before you start

Every division, weight and criterion in the standard ships preloaded. Moreover, the software provides a simplified interface for judges who can quickly work through the standards and enter scores without spreadsheets, paper or a complex screen to navigate on the fly.

Supports Publish before you open
b

The score says what it means, in words

Each criterion is a 1 to 10 slider, and as the judge moves it the anchored definition for that value is displayed. A 7.5 is not a number a judge has to interpret privately. The software displays the written standard for a 7.5, so two judges land on the same number for the same reason.

Supports Score what you published
c

Spoken feedback becomes a written memo

Judges talk or type additional comments. Spoken clips are transcribed into a memo attached to that entrant's result, which they can read after the event alongside their scores.

Supports Release and explain
d

Printable scoresheets, per contestant

The host can print a scoresheet for every contestant: criteria, weights, each judge's marks and the resulting total. It is what goes in the record, what a founder can be handed on the way out, and what an appeal is settled against.

Supports Release and explain

Section 5 of the standard walks through the same four behaviors screen by screen, from the contestant, judge, audience and organizer sides.

Implement and operate using a professional toolset

Building the scoresheet: weighted judged factors and their evaluation criteria
The scoresheet comes pre-loaded. Judged factors, weights and the evaluation criteria under each one, previewed exactly as the judge will see them.
A judge scoring against anchored criteria on a phone
The score reads back its meaning. Move the slider and the written guidance for that band appears, so a 7.6 is not left to private interpretation.
The organizer console for a live pitch competition
Run the event from one console. Classes, ballots, contestants, rounds and judges, with publishing controlled from a single dashboard.
An official score report for a business pitch entrant
Hand every entrant the record. Each judge's mark per criterion, the weights, the judge totals and how the final score was reached.

On the day

The same event, from three sides.

What the three commitments look like in the room: what an entrant sees, what a judge is handed, and what the audience gets.

The contestant

Signs in by scanning the event QR code. No password, no download. Sees their division, what is still missing from their submission, and what they will be scored on before they present.

A contestant's entry record for a pitch competition

The judge

Scores on their own phone against the published weights. Moving the slider displays the guideline for that value, so a 7.5 is not left to private interpretation. Tap mode covers panels who prefer discrete marks.

The weighted judge scorecard

The audience

Scans the same code to browse the field from any seat in the room, and votes for a people's choice award. Audience voting is reported separately and never touches judged placement (unless you create a composite award which allows you to combine a vote with judged results according to a custom weighting).

The public contestant list for a live pitch competition

LiveJudge™ is a progressive web app, which means there are no downloads. Contestants and judges sign in with their mobile numbers so no passwords.  For additional details about the platform visit livejudge.com.