For most companies, the software selection process is infrequent. Let’s face it, companies today are running leaner than ever and everyone has the demands of their day to day job to contend with. Ideally, new software remains in place many years after implementation, so you want to be sure you aren’t forced to settle as a result of a misguided software selection.
Many larger companies often have the resources to hire a Third-party consultant to guide them through the software selection process which can range anywhere from $30k to $100k depending on the complexity and scope of the requirements. For most SMB’s out there, this cost is as much and often more than the cost associated with the solutions they might ultimately select.
There are a lot of options when selecting a new software package. In the ERP space alone the options are expansive. There is no point in time where it is cheaper and easier to make changes to requirements than at the onset of a software selection effort. Boehm’s defect containment cost savings is highlighted below to emphasize the importance of spending quality time during the software selection phase and the requirements gathering effort.
Roghnu’s software selection methodology details a step-by-step process with the goal being to identify, evaluate, test, and select the most ideal software packages for businesses of various sizes and industries.
Numerous areas are considered including percentage of software requirements met, level of customization required, implementation cost, and other critical factors that will determine the viability of a medium to large-scale software package implementation.
Our software selection management tools facilitate the documentation, tracking, organizing and analyzing the critical decision making information in a way that can be clearly understood and compared.
This conceptual software selection lifecycle diagram aims to provide a high level overview of the activity you should expect to encounter throughout the process. This is a “typical” timeline and will obviously depend on capacity of internal resources, scope and complexity.
Roghnu has 10+ years’ experience in software selections, and we have all the tools you need to facilitate a top quality selection of your own. We can provide you access to these tools at no charge and with no commitment to us on your part. While there is a resource commitment from your side to facilitate a software selection, you shouldn’t be resigned to paying $30k and up for outside consultants to hold your hand through the process.
Please reference the next installment of our Software Selection Series where we discuss Step 1: Contracting.
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