IT projects are risky undertakings with high failure rates that may bring disastrous consequences for an organization.
The Standish Group CHAOS report* from 2020 shows that 83% of IT projects are “challenged” or “failed”. This is often caused by lack of user involvement, weak (executive) sponsorship, and lack of alignment between business and IT. And risk rises with size and complexity, even simple projects can fail if these principles are not taken seriously.
When it comes to Software Selection projects we often experience that companies are eager to just choose the most extensive software available or let the graphical user interface be the main criteria of selection. This may not always be the best choice for that specific organization though. It means that they miss out on the opportunity to adopt the software based on business needs and to create internal alignment between key stakeholders.
Software selection is a vital phase in which the foundation is set to build, implement and use software that fits your organization. Done right, it can bring a competitive edge. Done wrong, too hastily or unstructured it could jeopardize your profits, customer experience, employee satisfaction or even worse.
Reap the benefits from adopting the software to your organization already in the selection phase – no need to wait until implementation
BearingPoint’s Software Selection offering is a three-phased approach that helps you to kickstart the adoption of software early on in the process. It is a modern and efficient approach that can save time and money, ensures internal involvement and enables decision-making.
The first phase is called preparation & mobilization and focuses on creating a common language by introducing “proofpoints” and mobilizing the organization and the vendors. The proofpoints contain the wishes from the organization. In order to get the right proofpoints, most of the effort is spend on helping the selection team members to understand and align on each other’s perspectives. These perspectives must be in line with the strategy. As soon as the proofpoints are formed the organization and the vendors must be mobilized on what is next to come. If the vendors understand the common language and the processes, it will be easier for them to be a true partner to your organization.
In the second phase, vendors are asked to prepare prototypes. The prototype workshops provide tangibility to the software. The same selection team members are asked to attend the same session in order to get the same view on the prototypes and vendors. Holding separate sessions for IT and business would negate the effect of having perspectives aligned. At the end of each iteration, evaluation sessions are used to recalibrate the scores.
The third phase is focused on delivering the final recommendation to the leadership team. To gain the last piece of insights, customer reference visits are conducted. These visits focus on understanding lessons learnt from other organizations. The evaluation of the vendors and the customer reference visits are combined in a final recommendation session. During this session we advise to have the preferred vendor present to also show the prototype to the leadership team.
The early adoption of software helps increase value for money and effort
Key ingredients in our Software Selection approach are alignment, proofpoints, prototypes and validated integrations.
Alignment
Alignment across business, architecture, IT, and procurement drives sustainable decision making to ensure organizational fit, verify compatibility, de-risk the implementation, and build a trusted vendor relationship. more insights on alignment.
Proofpoints
Using proofpoints instead of requirements. Proofpoints are user stories (“Who” wants “What”, and “Why”) allowing the vendor freedom to prove their capabilities instead of having yes/no requirements. Requirements are collected in the implementation phase. More insights on proofpoints.
Prototypes
Prototypes show actual working and configured software to organizations, enabling them to make sustainable decisions, lowering risks, and increasing adoption. More insights on prototypes and validating integrations.
Validated integrations
Standard integrations are often provided, however there is no standard IT landscape. Validating the capabilities of the integrations provides insights in the amount of effort necessary to get the integrations working in the implementation. More insights on prototypes and validating integrations.
Do not wait until the implementation phase with adopting the software to your organization. Continuously align and empower representatives from business, architecture, IT, and procurement to kickstart adoption.
Proven toolkit based on years of experience
Our Software Selection offering includes a proven toolkit that can help set your software selection off to a flying and structured start without missing a single element. The toolkit consists of a proofpoint library, scoring and planning templates, and a communication package.
- We have built up a proofpoint library in previous selection projects containing proofpoints for Architecture, IT, and procurement which can fit any organization. The library contains a great number of ready-to-use proofpoints.
- Scoring method and templates that enable a fair and equal scoring by each team member. Scoring is based on prototypes and the template provides both quantitative and qualitative scoring options.
- Many years of experience have enabled us to create a detailed generic planning which spans over 4 different phases, each with its own deliverables and planning.
- No need to think about what to write in an invite to your team or to vendors, we have a ready-to-go communication package which contains all the necessary templates needed.
The power of a standardized approach
Standardize the software selection approach and provide a software selection toolkit. Using a standardized approach creates clarity and honesty for all parties involved because it is clear from the start how the decision is going to be made. The organization can understand a decision and vendors will know exactly on which points they can win or lose.
* https://www.standishgroup.com/sample_research
