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Information technology is a tool used by your organization, and like any tool, it often has to be replaced or upgraded. The difficulty faced by an organization is knowing how to buy the proper tool, or system, for the use it will be put to. For example, you won’t buy a sports car if you have to car pool with four kids. An information system is similar. Why acquire a large fully featured system if you aren’t going to use the features, or a small system that won’t benefit your organization.
Finding the proper solution for your information technology needs is a project that requires some effort and much care. To help you understand how to do it we are going to lay out the basic steps you must follow.
Step One – Identify who the primary user of the new system will be. This is the person who will help to define the needs of the system and will approve the requirements and finalize the acceptance of the selected solution.
Step Two – Define the needs of the system. We have found the easiest way to ensure a full understanding and acceptance of the requirements is to write them into a “Functional Specification”. The Functional Specification is a document, written in English, that describes the way the future system will work. It is best to get down to detail to ensure nothing is left to chance. Work with the actual users to understand how they currently perform their function and to identify what they would like to change and improve. Your Functional Specification should not just define your current environment. It should be used to improve your performance and look at where you would like to be in the future. A good Functional Specification will look at new and upcoming technology to determine how it could be used within your environment. The functional specification is often used to compare to the finished solution to ensure that all of your requirements have been met by the selected supplier. We normally include it as part of the contract. Please make sure that all major users sign off on these Specifications to make sure all areas are covered.
Step Three – Develop Your Evaluation Criteria. How are you going to decide which of the proposed solutions is the right one for your organization? But selecting the evaluation criteria, and the evaluation team, you can prepare the potential solution providers to structure their proposals to make it easier for your analysis.
Step Four – Develop an RFP (Request For Proposal). The RFP is used to describe your environment, requirements, evaluation criteria and schedule for the potential suppliers of your needed solution. You should include the contract terms you would expect the solution provider to meet as well as any limitations that may exist that could affect how the solution provider will work with you.
Step Five – Distributing the RFP. You must identify potential vendors and let them acquire the RFP.
Step Six – Short List the Best Solutions. After you receive the proposals from the vendors, you must use your first stage evaluation criteria to cull the list of proposed solutions down to no more than three. Initial evaluation criteria could include items such as total price, fit to your needs based on comparison to your functional specification, etc.
Step Seven – Vendor Presentations. Look at the proposed solutions. See how they are used by other companies. Find out how the vendor will meet your identified needs that their current solution doesn’t provide, etc.
Step Eight – Vendor Selection. A consensus among affected users must be achieved. Your organization cannot contract with more than one supplier for the needed solution. It is important to get the consensus so that one group doesn’t feel as if they are being forced to use a solution they did not want.
Step Nine – Contract Negotiation. Work with the selected vendor to achieve a contract that meets your needs. DO NO ACCEPT THEIR STANDARD CONTRACT. Include a project plan for the solution implementation with the contract as well as a copy of the Functional Specification.
Step Ten – Implement the Solution. You now have a new project to prepare your organization for the new system and to implement the new solution. Don’t forget you will require training and proper documentation for the new solution. The new solution may also require changes in your process flows.
By following this Ten-Step Process for acquiring new information technology solutions you will end up with a solution that can last your organization for a long time.
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By: Stuart Millar
Partner at Negenit Corp. (Outsourcing, Project Management, IT Strategy and Telecommunication)
To Contact Stuart:
E: smillar@negenit.com or on LinkedIn
Negenit Corporation,
6021 Yonge Street, Suite 485,
Toronto, ON M2M 3W2
T: 416-421-2017
F: 416-421-5549
Website:http://www.negenit.com
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