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Best of the Rest
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Selecting Vendors: A Project’s Most Critical Decision
C. Short-List Selection
- Reducing The Number Of Responses
- if more responses are received than are reasonably able to be put through a
detailed evaluation, consider using a subset of selection criteria
- use criteria that have corresponding information in the responses that is easy to
locate and quick to evaluate
- the number of criteria will likely be small and be of a critical nature
- record individual scores and then produce a group score
- result should be a reasonable number of remaining responses that can be
evaluated in detail
- Individual Response Scoring
- each selection team member should score each remaining response separately
- in reality, members will ask each other questions regarding each response and
form opinions based on those discussions, but individual scoring is preferred
- individual scores for each Vendor are recorded on electronic spreadsheets and
summed to provide a consolidated score for each Vendor
- One Day Presentation, 1/2 Day Demo
- schedule mutually agreeable dates for presentations and demonstrations
- Reference Checks
- check all references
- prepare a reference questionnaire before conducting checks and record the
results of each reference check
- Financial Due Diligence
- Our project suffered a two year delay by selecting software from a Vendor that
became insolvent.
- To avoid this pitfidl, I recommend your Finance Department be assigned the task
of preparing a statement of financial stability for each software Vendor. The
report should provide the basis of scoring a Vendor’s financial stability.
- Conduct The Presentation/Demonstrations
- be prepared to ask all questions that have a bearing on your rating of that
software Vendor and his product
- consider recording the presentation for future reference in the selection process
- consider inviting a small number of additional staff to the demonstration (other
executive, other users)
- Following The Presentation/Demonstrations, Review Your Scoring Of Individual
Software Vendors And Revise Your Scoring Where Appropriate
- Create Group Scoring
- calculate the consolidated score for each Vendor but do not reveal the results to
the selection team members
- Meet To Make The Short-list Decision
- Perform Gut Feel Scoring
- at the start of the meeting, record each selection committee member’s gut feel
about each Vendor, each member rating each Vendors from 1 through n.
- sum the scores of all of the selection team members and rank the Vendors in
order of “gut” preference
- compare the “gut feel” results to the consolidated scoring results. They should be
the same. If they are different, there is likely a flaw in the weighting of the
requirements or in the way requirements were rated. The “gut feel” method of
scoring is a method of validating your weighted score evaluation method.
- Make Short-List Decision
- you will likely chose 2 to 3 software Vendors to short-list. There may exist a
situation where one sofiware Vendor is rated significantly ahead of the others.
You may chose to continue with more than one short-listed Vendor although this
may not be fair to the second and/or third Vendors. Or, you may chose to short-list
only one Vendor.
- Notify Vendors Of Decision
- notify Vendors by telephone and follow-up with a letter
- offer to debrief all unsuccessful Vendors. This is the only way they have to
receive any benefit for their investment.
- for each short-listed Vendor, congratulate them and inform them of the next
steps in the process. Decide if you wish to disclose the number of short-listed
Vendors and/or their identity.
D Proof of Concept
- Set Proof Of Concept Objectives
- objectives may include observation of or participation in: training, methodology,
build a number of limited applications, modify a limited number of existing
applications and/or software testing procedures
- Create A Specification Document
- the document should state your objectives and suggest the activities you intent to
pursue to accomplish those objectives
- Review And Sign-off Document With Vendors
- discuss the process with Vendors and create a plan/schedule taking into
consideration their comments and suggestions
- Establish Evaluation Criteria And weights
- use a similar process as initial selection
- base criteria on proof of concept and other critical competencies
- consider performing a risk analysis
- Create Scoring Forms That Reflect The Criteria And Weights
- Execute Proof Of Concept Process
- Revise Responses Based On Process Discoveries
- evaluation of satisfaction of requirements, project schedules and costs may
change based on information gathered during the Proof Of Concept
- Evaluate Vendors Based On Criteria
- Make Final Selection Decision
- Debrief Unsuccessfi.d Vendors
- Begin Contract Negotiation With Successfid Software Vendor
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