Best thesis in the country

I'm on a judging panel at the moment to decide on the best computing thesis in Australia or New Zealand for 2007. So I have a box of theses to read, and no instructions on how to decide. Firstly, the good news is that this competition, like so many others that I find myself judging, is by nomination, and you'd be surprised how few people nominate for things like this. It's quite a prestigious award to have on your CV, so my first piece of advice is "apply for everything" like this. Read the instructions carefully, if there are any; take the entry seriously, because any work done for it can usually be re-packaged for something else, and then see how it works out.

But back to my task. Here's what I am looking for at the moment: a clear enunciation of the problem considered in the thesis; a clear statement of the solution or solutions found or constructed; what the implications of the thesis might be, both from what is stated in the thesis itself, and from any publications arising from the thesis. Since all these theses resulted in publications, I am also looking at the quality of the outlets (journal impact factors or the quality of the peer-reviewed conferences at which the work was presented), and whether there have been any citations (excluding self-citations). And since all these theses have resulted in publications that are co-authored, I'm also looking for a clear statement on what the candidate's contribution has been. After all that, I'm then getting a feel for the style of writing, the quality of the document in terms of publication standards, and a sense of the scholarship involved. I wonder, at the end of all this, whether my choice will coincide with that of the other judges?