A better selection experience is possible! Conducting a vendor review BEFORE you buy helps you make a sound selection, reduce your up-front worries and set you up for success with a vendor. In addition to facilitating the vendor review, we use a "shadowing" method that teaches you how to conduct your own vendor reviews in the future. Not only do you make a sound selection this time; your organization will be trained to conduct your own reviews the next time.

What you may notice:

• Your business executive is already "sold" on a software package by the vendor's sales pitch before you can provide technical input.
• Technical staff is resisting package solutions based on their past experience supporting packaged-software.
• Your company has cancelled package implementation projects when the relationships with the vendors fell apart.
• During package implementation, your business staff discovers the software can't support their business functions.
• You discover the data structure of the package can't be mapped to your company's data structure in the middle of implementation.
• Your IT organization finds itself building new infrastructure just to support the technical requirements of the software package.
• Your business executives sign a contract with a vendor with no involvement by your IT organization. You find yourself debating the fine print in your contract with the packaged-software vendor.

We Offer Vendor Reviews

Vendors generally are not accustomed to such thorough review by their prospective customers. They may react with surprise and apprehension when you approach them to conduct a review. We are highly skilled in working with vendors to help them understand the value to them of a review.

We also educate and train your review team members in how to conduct themselves during the review in a way that will allow them to freely gather information not available in other ways. By working with us as we facilitate your review, your staff will be prepared to plan and conduct their own vendor reviews independently in the future.

Overview: When you buy packaged-software, you are not just buying a piece of software. You are making an investment in the vendor. You are counting on their software to provide functionality so your company can more effectively conduct business. You are buying into a business process that is embedded in the design of their software. You are buying the vendor's software development and support methods and capability. You are investing in a long-term relationship with the vendor to provide you with on-going support and enhanced functionality and features. You are betting that the vendor will be in business over the time your company uses their package.

A vendor review is an in-depth look at a potential vendor, their business, their software functionality and design and their capability to implement and support their product. The review is conducted on-site at the vendor's facility. Strider & Cline have a well-defined and very efficient process for conducting vendor reviews that makes it possible to complete the review in 2-3 days and document the findings within one week.

The review results provide executives with key information needed to select a vendor who can meet their needs. The review highlights vendor strengths as well as risks to be managed during the implementation of the software. Every project involves risk. The review process identifies specific risks early so they can be monitored and mitigated before they doom a project to failure.

Vendors benefit from a review by having the opportunity to show their client how they work. Many packaged-software projects have failed because the client did not understand what was required of them to implement the software successfully. The client can better support the vendor when they know and understand how the vendor works. The review process itself deepens the relationship between the client and vendor in a way that greatly increases the chances of succeeding together as a team.

When to Conduct a Review: The best time to conduct a vendor review is during the evaluation process, before a final vendor selection has been made and negotiations are complete. However even if a package has already been selected, a vendor review can help you pinpoint risks and plan your mitigation actions during implementation. If you have a package implementation project already underway that is not going as planned, a vendor review can help you determine how to get it back on track or salvage your investment.

Scope: The scope of a vendor review may be very broad or narrowly focused on a few high-risk areas. Here are typical review areas by major category.

General Vendor Soundness

• Management practices
• Financial conditions
• Client base and user groups
• Research and development funding
• Staff development and turnover
• Strategic plans for the product line

• Software development methods used
• Application architecture and design
• Technical architecture
• Technical staff skills, experience and product knowledge
• Quality assurance methods used
• System security and controls
• Interface and integration methods
• Technical documentation
• User documentation
• Technical education and training
• User education and training

• Functional fit
• Embedded business process fit
• Business process changes required
• Features available
• Business controls and audit features
• Volume handling
• Performance and response time

• Logical data architecture
• Physical data architecture
• Data conversion methods
• Automated conversion tools
• Conversion experience

• Project management practices
• Project manager's skill and experience
• Maintenance and release management
• Change management practices
• Quality management practices
• Configuration management practices
• Production operations practices
• Performance and reliability
• Customer support organization and practices
• Problem management process
• Service and performance management

• A verbal out-brief immediately following the review to sponsoring executives
• A written report documenting the review
  • Executive summary
  • Overall review team recommendations
  • Review findings by area
  • Strengths identified
  • Risks identified and classified by criticality

1. Meeting with sponsors to identify their objectives and the scope of review
2. Selection of review team members
3. Communication with the vendor concerning the review
4. Logistical preparation
   • Set the dates
   • Identify the vendor location
   • Travel arrangements
5. Team education, assignments and preparation for the review
6. Letter to vendor concerning their participation and preparation

1. Travel to vendor site
2. Conduct the review
3. Travel home

1. Team reviews all data collected
2. Team categorizes and prioritizes data collected
3. Team gives a verbal out-brief to the review sponsors
4. Team assignments made for writing the review report
5. Write review report
6. Deliver review report to sponsors
7. If requested, deliver review report to vendor