Solution Explorers Blog

Internal Discovery: Needs Analysis

This is the BIG ONE…and it takes a LOT of preparation and diligence throughout the evaluation process.

Before continuing, you may want to revisit a related earlier blog post – Key Components of a Good Software Needs Analysis – http://bit.ly/cBtlZQ .

First, discovery is both internal and external. Unfortunately, many businesses short-cut the internal work and open themselves up to vendors much too early. Two common reasons for this are – “we’re just fact finding” and “we just don’t know what questions to ask or even where to begin looking.” This direct contact with product vendors, however, means marketing packets, wordy emails, relentless phone calls, demos, and much more – they know who you are and have entered you into their database. How long do you think it will take before you’ve reviewed so many systems that your eyes get glazed over, or the water gets muddy?

It may help to view this as the equivalent of visiting the pharmacy to inquire about medicine but skipping the doctor visit to get a skilled, guiding prognosis. It’s important to “diagnose” the symptoms, hear from those impacted by any change, hear from knowledgeable resources, etc.  Do this BEFORE allowing hungry, commission-based salespeople (biased pharmaceutical reps) access to your TIME and RESOURCES. In doing so, your efforts will establish a Needs Analysis document that will guide you through a sea of software solutions on the market while filtering out those that really don’t meet your system requirements. One of my favorite sayings is “Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance.” Be diligent, and don’t skip this preparation step.

Below are a few Needs Analysis steps to consider:

• Ask some initial questions:
  • What exactly is the problem(s) and when did it begin?
  • What has been done to resolve the issue(s) and why hasn’t it worked?
  • Who is most impacted and how?
  • Can our current software vendor reasonably help us resolve things?
  • What costs are associated with this problem?

• Talk to others:
  • Pull together internal staff that is impacted by the problem(s).
  • Call your software vendor or local consultant.
  • Post information about the problem(s) on user community sites.
  • Search the product knowledgebase, if applicable, for resolutions or work-arounds.

• Document:
  • Information from internal staff.
  • Feedback from those solicited externally or online.
  • Format findings into a categorized system requirements list.

Of course, there are more questions and the process itself can be quite challenging. However, it’s important to resist the urge of reaching out to software vendors directly until your business has taken the necessary time to consider your situation as comprehensively as possible. You’re looking for process gaps, ongoing frustrations or unresolved issues, etc. However, don’t just look at your issues. Be sure to also consider needs you have today that you didn’t when you purchased your existing system. Also, if you do invest in a new solution try to consider any opportunities that can be leveraged. These group sessions and probing questions with internal staff will likely bring this out.

Do you see now, even with this abbreviated Needs Analysis outline, why this step cannot be overlooked or underestimated if you want a satisfactory result? You wouldn’t hire anyone without first determining their role/duties. You wouldn’t build a home without a blueprint. So, don’t contact vendors or select a system without documenting your business needs. Also, if you consider this information and feel overwhelmed then give serious thought to whether taking on such a project is in the best interest of your resources – i.e. reach out to a skilled consultant that can help you get this right. In the case of Solution Explorers, we can help with this step only or service your software search needs from A-Z.

Now is a good time to add to the list above and share any success stories or processes that you use internally when buying business software. This Blog will continue to discuss the Needs Analysis process but our next post re: Find Software – Tips for Buyers will focus on External Discovery: Research, Explore!

Image credit : Fotolia, emily2k