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Business book. The
ultimate resource. Planning the
replacement of software systems. The need for
increased flexibility. Increased
integration, greater employee productivity, improve customer service. Consult your
staff throughout the selection process. Verify that
line staff has line and budget responsibility. Checklist. 1. Establish objectives. Have a clear
idea of priorities, before contacting suppliers. Priorities may change as the project unfolds and learning
proceeds. Checklist. How does your
current package hinder customer service. How does your
current package impede integration. Are other
systems within the organization going to be upgraded or replaced. Who's going
to use the package and how. What degree
of independent from the supplier is required. What degree
of customization is required. Must the
package fit the existing hardware and software environment. What
improvement would you like to see from your old package. 2. Identify potential suppliers. Suggestions
from contacts, visits to trade shows, attendances seminars, directories in
the trade and professional press, consultants. 3. Create a short list of potential packages. Try to match
the sizing capability of the package with the size of your organization or
department. 4. Send out invitations to bid. Study each
package in detail, substantiate claims, verify meet specific functional
needs. The package. How old, is
it modular, are modules easy-to-use, can data exchange easily, integrate
easily, how often is it upgraded, how many users can it support, how many
installations are there, can you visit other sites, what problems have others
had. What are
capital and start-up costs. Support. Supplier
length of operating. Is the
supplier financially sound. Can the
supplier support all modules. What is the
annual cost of maintenance. Do you get
value for your money. Type of
support offered, onsite, telephone, web. How much
support is given prior to migration. How much work
is left to the customer. How is the
help desk organized. Training. Does the
supplier offer training as part of the money. Is
pre-conversion training available. Can you rent
a machine to train in advance. Migration. What is the
size of the migration team. What are the
skills of the suppliers migration staff. Is the
conversion process proven? How many
migrations has the supplier performed. Can you have
a trial data conversion. Have you plan
for contingency issues. 6. Examine the contract terms. Look
carefully at the responsibilities and liabilities of the supplier and
question terms that may be open to misinterpretation. Check that
the final cost cover all aspects of the purchase, including items like
delivery and training. 7. Plan for implementation. Running trial
data conversion. Plan for a
period of parallel running. Received
training by all. Choosing the
timing carefully. Managing
modifications to the package. 8. Manage the people side. Who is
monitoring issues. Who is
checking the issues. Who is
coordinating the issues. Summary. The do's. Set up a team
of users and consult widely. Remember the
importance of forward thinking. Check out
unsubstantiated claims. Be wary of
too much customization. See the
products of at least four or five suppliers before choosing. Visits sites
of the packages which are up and running. Build in
adequate contingency time. Summary. The don'ts. Focused too
much on your current application. Let the
supplier alter your logic. Take what the
supplier says for granted. Assumptions
about the supplier and their methods. Don'ts skip
apparently minor details. Thought
starters. How old is
your current package. How much
customization does your current package included. How often is
your old package upgraded. How good is
your current support. End of data. |
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