Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe Software Selection; Its pit falls and how to avoid them

1. Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe Software Selection;Its pit falls and how to avoid them By: Hugh R. Alley August 22nd, 2007 Presenter: Maged Younan

2. Contents • Importance of doing the right decision • Common pitfalls • Steps for taking the right decision: • Do not mix Criteria and functions • Classify criteria to: Gatepost and poker chip criteria • Limit the number of Poker chip criteria • Limit the weights of poker chip criteria • Conclusion and recommendations

3. Why is software selection an important decision? • High Investment • Consequences of buying an over or a Less Complex ERP

4. Common Pitfalls in Software selection • Jumping into comparison of different packages before determining the company needs and objective • Comparing packages in regards to functions and features only – check lists • Choosing the cheapest package that offers all the required modules

5. Software Selection Steps • Project Planning • Goals and Constraints • Documentation of current situation • Analyse and Document Business Processes • Needs assessment • Where is the problem, what do we need to improve • Vendor identification • Long List of vendors • Vendor Evaluation • Gap analysis, pricing, reference checks

6. Vendors Evaluation Step I: Identify Criteria • Criteria is different than functions • Criteria may include: • Compatibility of software size with my company • Vendor Expertise in specific Industry • Ease of use • Market feedback • Flexibility and reports customization • Ability to Integrate with other packages • Package Price • All required Features and functions are present

7. Step II: Classify Criteria • Gatepost Criteria – Non negotiable: • Budget • Integration ability with an existing software • All required features are available • Number of Gatepost Criteria should be limited [65 is the maximum – 12 is the most common] If any of these is not met, we simply forget about this package

8. Step II: Classify Criteria • Poker chip criteria – tradable: • Ease of use • Market feedback • service and support capability • Criteria Should be measurable: • Ease of use example: • How many times users need help • How many times they do the wrong decision • How many screens people have to navigate through Scale is continuous or stepped rather than binary

9. Step III: Reduce the number of Criteria • No More than 10 Poker Chip Criteria should be used • Too many criteria: • Same criterion measured more than once - Twice the effect • Unimportant criteria being measured giving a biased solution • Low ability to discriminate between alternatives • Too few criteria: • Usually miss some important factors

10. Step III: Reduce the number of Criteria • Test the criteria for being: • Relevant • Independent • Measurable • Reliable • Inexpensive

11. Step IV: Weight the Poker Chip Criteria • Decision is more influenced by the criteria selection rather than the weights • Weights should be limited – 3 levels are enough • Very important – 2 • Important – 1.5 • Some what important - 1

12. Step V: Use the selection matrix

13. Step V: Use the selection matrix

14. Conclusions and Benefits • Software selection is a very important process • Steps for taking the right decision: • Do not mix Criteria and functions • Classify criteria to: Gatepost and poker chip criteria • Limit the number of Poker chip criteria • Limit the weights of poker chip criteria

15. Conclusions and Benefits • Decision is faster and more economic • Decision is probably better • Management is more confident in the decision

16. Thank You