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Would you perform surgery on yourself?
Some thoughts on the challenges and pitfalls of implementing major change into your organization.
I once saw a Mr. Bean episode where, after accidentally anaesthetizing the dentist, Mr. Bean drilled and filled his own cavities. Such bizarre escapades are the stuff of television comedy but not, you would think, anything that a serious business would attempt. Not that business is totally removed from bizarre comedy, as Dilbert reminds us daily.
When it comes to doing “fix-up jobs” around the business, it is not always the rule to bring in expertise to make sure that the job is done right.
Home Depot and RONA are integral to our “do it yourself” improvement psyche. It is not just a matter of saving money; there is a deep satisfaction to be earned from accomplishing enviable results with hard work, the mastery of dangerous tools and endless late nights. And anyway, if the resulting drywall job is not totally up to a professional’s quality, we can always hang a large picture frame in front of it to distract the casual observer.
Surely fixing up your company’s processes and systems cannot be that hard? Selecting software is just like shopping, set a budget, prepare a shopping list, compare prices and features and make an informed choice. What’s so difficult about that? I know that 70 percent of these projects overrun their schedules, frequently miss their budgets by 100 percent and end up with poor results, dissatisfied customers and unhappy employees but that won’t happen to us, will it?
Stop and think about that basement project for a moment. How many times have you said “I was just getting the hang of it when I was sanding down that last section, that bit looks great!” or “if I had know how it would turn out, I would have approached it differently” and even “I can do the painting, but next time I need a dry-waller, I’ll hire a professional - someone who will get it right the first time.”
Shopping for software is not like buying a major appliance. Pick a supplier, select the model you need and have the supplier install and maintain it and everything will be fine. If it goes wrong, they’ll either fix it or swap it for a new one. It’s under warranty.
If you think that’s how software acquisition works, you are wrong and what’s more you are heading for an unpleasant and expensive experience. Just like the other 70 percent who tried to introduce a major capital asset into their company without the proper skills.
Selecting and implementing software is a job that you and your staff do not do everyday. It requires knowledge and experience. Even if you have unlimited funds, you cannot guarantee success without understanding the issues. A strong and wise manager will admit to the limits of his own knowledge and seek out the skills he needs. Many of the skills will exist within the organization, but it takes experience to identify, evaluate and utilize those skills. Most of the time you are going to need some external, contracted help.
So what’s the big deal?
Here is a brief outline of some the challenges and some of the pitfalls along the way:
Business Requirements:
You will need to know in detail:
- Your current and future business needs and how they all interact.
- The technical requirements to support the applications, staff, and locations concerned.
- The information requirements; i.e. what information will be required by operations and management? What level of detail? What timeline, real-time or periodic summary?
Sometimes when you start to look hard at business requirements you will realize that you do not know how the organization will look in a few years time. You may feel that you will not be doing what you are doing today, but are unclear of exactly what the future will look like.
A major pitfall is to say, “How different can it be?” and barrel along ahead. Stop, and take the time to review and rework your processes until everyone involved is confident that you have a commonly understood and workable goal to plan for. If you do not know how to do this, get help!
The RFP Process:
Many companies are a little gun-shy of the RFP process. It is often perceived as being costly and time-consuming but when properly managed it measurably saves both time and money when the process is aligned to your corporate culture and needs. Many large companies and government ministries use the RFP Process not to make sure that the right decision is made, but to prove that the wrong decision was not made. In other words they are aware that they do not know how to procure software, but they need to cover their tracks for when things start to go wrong. It is possible to do the product selection right. You just need the right process. If you have prepared a comprehensive Business Requirements specification you are half way there. Remember, the initial decisions are crucial to long-term success. Hasty decisions will cost you time in the long run. The wrong product will create errors and problems for many years to come. Spend the time and money in these critical stages to put the project on the right track from day one.
The Software Sales Process:
Software developers have two kinds of people in their organizations: • The developers, who create and maintain the product and • The sales force who sell the software, training and consulting services. A software acquisition is not just a one time “discount” purchase. Your software decision is expensive and important to your company’s success. Make sure that you get to know the organization with which you will be doing business for many years to come. Ask about their industry focus. Meet the principals and find out about their current support capability and their long term plans. Do not cut corners on this process. Visit the supplier’s location, see their strengths and weaknesses for yourself, and meet the key people face to face before you sign the final contract.
Vendor Evaluation:
When you license application software from a vendor, you are starting off on what could be a relationship over many years. It is important to view this partnership as long-term and to ensure that you have a good match with your industry and the kind of business that you pursue.
References:
Most references will justify their decision by expressing a high level of satisfaction, or a belief that everything will be great once we’re over this snag. In order to get the best information from references prepare a questionnaire script and use it consistently with all contacts. Ask about “strengths”, “areas for improvement”, “things we would have done differently” etc. Do not try to pin down faults or errors; try to draw out what was learnt from the process.
Presentations:
Presentations are simulations. They are commercials, and just like the commercials on the TV, they are not real life! In one extreme case I asked for a specific transaction scenario to be demonstrated. After some embarrassed stalling, the salesman was forced to admit that the “live demo” was in fact a canned presentation, which was not using the application software at all, and he was unable to deviate from his planned program. Do not make any final decisions based on demos. Use them to evaluate the product and work towards creating a short list. If the vendor has a good product but misses some “mandatory” items from your checklist, you might benefit from discussing the points in a debriefing and giving the vendor the opportunity to respond to your needs. He may have a better approach that you had not thought of.
Summary:
This has been the briefest of reviews on a complicated and sometimes lengthy process. In a nutshell, you need a process to cover all the bases and, because operational people seldom have the opportunity to be involved in major software acquisition projects, it is essential to bring some real experience onto your team.
Seek out a professional who has been there before. If you take risks, you will be paying for the mistakes that are made in this process for a long time. Be just as diligent with your choice of consultant as you wish them to be in guiding and protecting you through your software acquisition and implementation. An independent resource will provide a buffer between your organization and the supplier. This can keep the process professional and avoid members of your team being influenced by seductive but lightweight marketing pitches.
Build a business case, commit to it and stick to it. This will avoid short term time and cost cutting which results in 70% of software projects failing or being abandoned. (Source: Ed Yourdon);
Do not cut corners by going for the Cadillac solution. This is a frequent error made by senior managers. “If the product is the most expensive, it must be the best. If it is the best, it will do anything for us and pay for itself over time”.
Don’t forget, whatever the cost, it is not a good deal if it does not give you what your organization needs. And, when the system is unreliable or gives you poor information, nobody will remember to thank you for saving $50,000!
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Steelnet Solutions
is based in
Vancouver
and provides Business Process
Management and Systems Implementation services to clients in
British
Columbia
,
Alberta
and
Western
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