Tech Selection Tip #3: Setting the Right Business Foundations
Selection teams should work from a solid business foundation. This means taking a clear approach to decision-making to keep the process moving and ensure that decisions reflect broader enterprise priorities. You also want to ensure you have an accurate picture of enterprise maturity and capabilities to incorporate new digital capabilities.
Let's address both challenges in turn.
Establish Governance and Decision-Making
"Governance" can be an intimidating concept —but it need not daunt you. At its core, governance really just means having consistent structures for making decisions. If you can't make decisions in a legitimate, methodical way, your project will get nowhere.
Ideally, the governance of your technology selection and implementation effort will dovetail with existing technology or business governance frameworks in your organization. If those don't exist, you may need to create them. Most governance frameworks establish senior-level policy- making bodies with more working-level operational bodies reporting to them.
Measure Capacity: Be Honest!
You may have great digital ambitions, but how likely will your enterprise be able to fulfill them? Do you have the requisite skills in house, do you have the requisite culture to manage change effectively, and do you have the resources, time, expertise, and commitment to see the initiative through?
You'll want to take a candid look at your own readiness, as well as assess and pre-empt potential project risks that could derail your efforts.
Governance & Benchmarking Tips
- Try wherever possible to leverage and extend existing decision-making bodies: someone may have already figured this out
- Don't ignore or postpone addressing governance shortcomings: they will start biting you with the earliest decisions
- Don't create an over-elaborate governance structure: too much of a good thing is a bad thing
- Never exclude diverse IT interests (systems, security, development, architecture) from decision-making: they represent critical interests and expertise
- Conversely, never abdicate decision-making just to IT, and place a businessperson to chair decision-making bodies: this promotes alignment with enterprise objectives
- Take a candid measure of your internal abilities and resources, and gauge your organization's appetite for risk: know thyself before trying to change
- Make sure you measure your true capacity to successfully implement new digital technology before embarking on any selection: benchmarking is your friend
Contact us to see how RSG can make your next digital procurement a success.
Next Steps
If you're selecting digital workplace or marketing/engagement technology, be sure to check out RSG's hard-hitting vendor evaluation research.
Other Posts in This Series
- Tip #1: Articulate a Solid Business Case
- Tip #2: Build the Right Team
- Tip #3: Setting the Right Business Foundations
- Tip #4: Capture Requirements That Don't Suck
- Tip #5: User Stories Are Everything
- Tip #6: Ask Questions That Really Matter
- Tip #7: Find More Than the Usual Suspects
- Tip #8: Target the Right Suppliers
- Tip #9: How to Engage Vendors
- Tip #10: Create RFPs That Actually Work
- Tip #11: Keeping It Real with Bidders
- Tip #12: Evaluate Proposals Critically
- Tip #13: Hold Demos on Your Own Terms
- Tip #14: Run Competitive Bake-Offs
- Tip #15: Negotiate Like a Pro
- Tip #16: Make the Right Final Selection
- Tip #17: Select the Right Services Provider
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