The present invention facilitates evaluation of ferroelectric memory devices. A ferroelectric memory device is fabricated that comprises memory cells comprising ferroelectric capacitors (802). A short delay polarization value is obtained (804) by writing a data value, performing a short delay, and reading the data value. A long delay polarization value is obtained (806) by again writing the data value, performing a long delay, and again reading the data value. The short delay and long delay polarization values are compared (808) to obtain a data retention lifetime for the ferroelectric memory device. The obtained data retention lifetime is compared with acceptable values (810) and, if deemed unacceptable, avoids unnecessary performance of thermal bake data retention lifetime testing.