Purchasing a Package

This route is to be used for new systems that will be purchased as a packaged solution to a business objective. If the package is to be used by multiple users or multiple departments, or includes a medium to large amount of functionality, use this route.

The Purchasing a Package route includes the following phases in several stages:

The Initiation Stage:

  1. Proposal
    The proposal phase is the initial phase of a project. This phase identifies a business need, and proposes that a solution be found. It may or may not include an actual proposed solution. This phase is required, even when the expected solution is to purchase packaged software.
  2. Preliminary Planning
    In this phase, a preliminary plan is developed for the business analysis phase of the project, and the business context of the project is determined. This is the phase where the scope is set, resources are planned, and the context that the new system will operate in is determined.

The Analysis Stage:

  1. Business Analysis
    In this phase, we model the current business system, electronic or manual, focusing on the primary product, the triggering event(s), inputs to the system, and secondary products. This is also the first time we identify the objects that are intrinsic to the business in this system. This work is necessary, even when purchasing a packaged solution, in order to identify the business requirements that must be fulfilled by the package.
  2. Market Research
    In this phase, research is performed to identify the top 10 packages in the market for this function, evaluate the packages based on that research, and select one package for an initial demo. The purpose of the initial demo is to show all stakeholders where the market is now, so that System Analysis is not constrained by what is known of our current systems.
  3. System Analysis
    In this phase, we begin to move toward the future; the team analyzes the desired system, not the current system. This is where new ideas, features, and design changes should be introduced. The team starts by remodeling the business processes to include desired features, then focuses more closely on the transactions and events that make up the process, to create the Activity Flow diagrams. When this is done, the team extends the Entity Object Model to include aggregates and inheritance.

    4. In the final steps of this phase, the team focuses on creating or refining the plan for the completion of the Selection Stage of the project. This is when the requirements are developed, the remaining project phases in the Selection Stage are scheduled, the resources are identified and scheduled, and the deliverables are identified.

The Purchase & Gap Analysis Stage:

  1. Package Evaluation & Selection
    In this phase, the team starts by creating a requirements document based on the information generated in the System Analysis phase. We then narrow down the field of candidates for unscripted demonstrations based on the requirements that have been identified, bring in the selected candidates for unscripted demos, and select the finalists based on those demos. We then create the assessment document, detailed RFIs (Requests for Information, sometimes used interchangeably with RFPs, Requests for Proposals), and scripts or scenarios for the final demonstrations. The final demonstrations are held, and the assessments are collated and weighed against the requirements. At the end of this phase, a package is recommended for purchase.
  2. Contract Review
    In this phase, a new team is selected with expertise in negotiations and contracts, and that includes representatives from the client department and from DMS. This team negotiates with the vendor, reviews the contract(s) paying close attention to the terms and conditions; the handling of interfaces; documentation, training, and support; and deadlines; and forwards the recommendation and contracts to the purchasing authority. The contract is the deliverable for this phase.
  3. Fit/Gap Analysis Planning
    In this phase, a plan is developed for the Fit/Gap Analysis phase of the project. This is the phase where the scope of the Fit/Gap Analysis phase is set, resources for that phase are planned, and the schedule for the Fit/Gap Analysis phase is set.
  4. Fit/Gap Analysis
    In this phase, the package is installed in a development or test area, and the stakeholders get together in one room to compare the features and functions of the package with the needs identified in the system analysis phase of the Selection stage. Any required functionality that is not included in the package is identified, in addition to any changes to the package that are required. If necessary, the system analysis may need to be revisited, to incorporate the functions of the package.

The Design Stage:

  1. Logical Design
    For any additions or changes, the logical design phase is when the team identifies any additional system objects, determines operations and data structures for the additional objects, validates relationships and interactions between objects, and prototypes user interface objects.
  2. Physical Design
    In this phase, the team completes the technical blueprints for any additions or changes to the package, based on the implementation platform and the interface requirements of the package.

The Development Stage:

  1. Construction and QA
    In this phase, the objects identified and designed in previous phases are built, fully tested in-house (alpha testing), corrections are made as required, and the User Acceptance Test system is built. The team may be changed again, to include specific implementation and testing skills, and must include at least one client from an earlier phase.
  2. User Acceptance Testing
    In this phase, the system is fully tested by the client community against the requirements defined in the analysis and design stages, corrections are made as required, and the Production system is built. The team must include specific expertise in the business area addressed by the system, to ensure that the system provides the required functionality.

The Installation & Deployment Stage:

  1. Implementation
    In this phase, the tested, integrated system is installed in the production area, documentation is delivered, initial user training is completed, and the application is turned over to the DMS Production Support team. When the system is running live, it is reviewed to ensure that all of the goals in the project plan were met satisfactorily. The project team may be regrouped again, to include specific expertise in installation and training.