ConferWith System Selection Service

Step 1: Requirements Development

Perhaps the most important component of a selection activity, clearly defining user requirements is critical to ensuring a successful outcome. At ConferWith we focus on capturing the right level of detail to ensure the need is correctly addressed. Our approach is based on understanding the ‘Use Cases’ of the solution in your business. This is a detailed description of how users will interact with the system to achieve specific goals. It outlines the steps involved in a particular interaction, the expected outcomes, and any variations or exceptions that might occur. By focussing on use cases, we avoid the traps inherent in using a set of generic requirements that don’t provide the level of insight required to perform an informed selection process.

Step 2: Software Vendor Research

Developing the short list of vendors to invite to participate takes time and research. The software industry changes rapidly – especially for mid-market and smaller-market companies. Here ConferWith can focus on the nuances of your business and industry to tailor this research to your needs, producing a strong list of suitable options (the ‘long-list’). We focus on identifying those vendors that specialise in your industry or address the needs of your organisation to ensure the correct fit. At ConferWith, we operate in this space to ensure we are up to date with the leading vendors in the market, and have the tools necessary to perform this research on your behalf.

Step 3: Request for Proposal (RFP)

The next step in the process will be the Request For Proposal (RFP). Here the information gathered about your organisation and the identified need is formulated into a document to engage the identified vendors to review and respond. The objective is for the vendors to determine their suitability, and then demonstrate via their response how they can meet your need.

Based on the long-list created via the research phase, a refined vendor shortlist of typically 4-6 vendors are selected and invited to respond and participate in the selection process.

Step 4: Vendor Evaluation

Once the selected vendors have responded to the RFP, we will then guide you through the process of evaluating and scoring the vendor responses. Using a structured approach, the evaluation team works through the responses looking at how the proposal addresses the most critical features, process and information objectives, and other evaluation criteria important to your organisation. The outcome here is a determination of which of these solutions is most appropriate to move to the next step in the process: Vendor Demonstration & Selection

Step 5: Vendor Demonstrations & Selection

After narrowing down the appropriate options from the written responses, we now look to get a real-world view of the solution and how it might function for your organisation. Here we invite the vendors identified as a good fit from their written responses to demonstrate the solution for key stakeholders to evaluate for final selection. It is important that we keep at least two vendors through this part of the process to ensure we maintain competitive tension in the process. We will have the solution most appropriate as our “winner”, with another remaining as a viable backup candidate. Maintaining this competitive tension is required to ensure leverage in contract negotiations, as well as ensuring an option should our first-choice option not completed as needed

This is just a brief overview of what is needed to complete a system selection process, and understandably the number of questions can be overwhelming. Having the right assistance to guide you through the process is vital to success with any technological change. At ConferWith, we can work with your organisation to help you make a more informed decision and guide you through this process.