Selecting Products in a Complex World

I have always been dismayed by the way organisations choose products when they embark on IT projects. The way that they do it rarely takes into account the complexity of the company or its IT environment.

I was once involved in a project that delivered a solution to a major customer and the requirements were really simple. They wanted a very cheap solution that could be delivered through a simple web browser but the key was we were allowed to change business processes to adapt to the chosen software.  The second part meant that the first part was feasible. What you rarely achieve is both!

One day I returned to the office and was approached by a senior manager who said “Could we use that solution that you have just installed here?” My answer was very simple - firstly I qualified her statement. “Do you want to replace the software you have today, or do you want to change the way you do things?” Sadly her answer was she wanted a replacement. I then said, quite fortuitously “No, and there are only 3 products in the world that you can use and your budget for implementation will be NZ$5 million.” She laughed and said there was no way she could afford that and disappeared off down the corridor.

The really sad thing is that they ended up choosing one of those 3 products and the project when I last heard had spent well over 5 times my initial guess! If only I could make money out of that kind of forethought! Perhaps short selling on IT projects could be introduced?

They started their project with a “market review” and this process seems to fail every time! I'm sure you've seen it (grossly simplified for increased comedic impact):

1. A bunch of interested parties are assembled to brainstorm what features are required for the solution – sometimes masquerading as “getting the user’s requirements”.
   
2. This list of features are sent to the various vendors who provide solutions.
   
3. The vendors respond with a list of yes’s and no’s.
   
4. The responses are received and compared and whoever has the most yes’s wins.
   

This simplistic approach to product selection is rife in our complex world and I think completely useless. No vendor in his right mind is going to tick a NO if he knows his competitors will be ticking YES.

It reminds me of a shonky friend of mine who used to sell shelving to warehouse owners. He only sold black shelving. But if asked to supply any other colour he would tell the customer he could. When it got delivered and the angry customer rang up he’d offer them 10% discount, they would accept it and he’d nailed another deal.  Of course when he sold to a non-black customer he always made sure he had an extra 10% in his margin – a very simple equation!

I sometimes wonder whether software companies start off by selling black shelving?

The upshot is that once the implementation project begins and the true capability - or lack thereof – is discovered the solution begins its dismal path of compromise. 

There are better ways to do it!