IT Systems Selection

To address the common mistakes that lead to a poor system selection it is important to apply key principles to the process, some of which are listed hereunder:

Structured approach

The first step in selection of a new system is to adopt a structured approach to the process. The set of practices are presented to all the stakeholders within the enterprise before the system selection process begins. Everyone needs to understand the method of gathering requirements

Focused demonstrations

Demonstrations by potential vendors must be relevant to the business. However, it is important to understand that there is considerable amount of preparation required by vendors to perform demonstrations that are specific to a business. Therefore it is imperative that vendors are treated equally in requests for demonstrations and it is incumbent on the company to identify sufficient demonstrations that will allow a proper decision to be made.

Objective decision process

Choosing which ERP/ system to use is a complex decision that has significant economic consequences, thus it requires a multi-criterion approach. The criteria and the scoring system must be agreed in advance prior to viewing any potential systems. The criteria must be wide-ranging and decided upon by as many objective people as possible within and external to the enterprise. .

Full involvement by all personnel

The decision on the system must be made by all stakeholders within the enterprise. At BDO, our approach emphasise representatives of all users to:

• Be involved in the project initiation phase where the decision making process is agreed;
• Assist in the gathering of requirements;
• Attend the Vendor Demonstrations;
• Have a significant participation in the short-listing and final selection of a vendor.