INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS
New England Chapter

News and Views

In this issue:

Upcoming Event
Annual Summer Summit

Member Spotlights

CMC Corner

Welcome New Members

Member Feature Article
Don't Buy the Wrong Business Software! Just Follow These Steps
by Vin D'Amico

Breakfast Brainstorms Calendar

emerson consulting
group inc.
"We turn consultants into thought leaders!"

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News From Committees

Looking For Articles

The Newsletter Committee is looking for articles. Please contact Ethel Cook at if you have an article you'd like to submit.

Annual Summer Summit

IMCNE is pleased to invite you to its Annual Summer Summit. The Summit is a special time when we get together to creatively plan our future. We invite members and non-members to introduce their ideas about how IMCNE can better meet their needs. We gather to think creatively, to engage and to have fun. Much of our current success originated from previous summer Summits. So put on your thinking hat and join us on July 20. For more info or to register http://www.imcne.org

Member Spotlights

Steve Anderson (Global Development Solutions Corp) was a panelist on "Evaluating Your Next Investment: Risks and Opportunities of Outsourcing," at the Third Annual Private Equity Conference sponsored by Jeffries & Company in New York City in May. In April he spoke at Worcester Polytechnic Institute on "The Globalization of Manufacturing." Also in April, Steve's opinion article "Outsourcing's Gravitational Pull Yields Progress" appeared in the Boston Business Journal.

Curtis N. Bingham (Predictive Consulting Group) had his article "The Customer Conscience: Defining the role of the Chief Customer Officer" published both in the June issue of CRM Magazine and online at DestinationCRM.com.

Bonni Carson DiMatteo, CMC (Atlantic Consultants) spoke in May at the New England Human Resource Association Conference held at Babson College, Wellesley, MA. The title of her presentation was "Creating and Managing Change."

Mark Swartz (Accretive Consulting Group, LLC) was one of three panelists at the recent Idea Pitch of the Entrepreneurship Forum of New England on April 30th in Providence, RI. He was also named to the Institute for Management Consultants USA International Task Force. An announcement was featured in both the Mass High Tech May 3rd and the Boston Business Journal May 7th issues.

Isn't it your turn to be in the spotlight? Send your name, your business name and 1) recent awards/distinctions/professional certifications you've received; 2) public speaking engagements; and 3) published articles. (Be sure to include key facts, such as when, where and for whom.) You must be an IMC member or affiliate to be featured. Email them to Ethel Cook at , Subject: IMCNE spotlight.

The CMC Corner

Have You Earned Your CMC Yet?

Join the ranks of the true professional consultant by applying for (and attaining) the preeminent mark of excellence among management consulting professionals, the exclusive Certified Management Consultant (CMC) designation, available only through IMC. A CMC after your name signifies evidence of the highest standards of consulting and adherence to the ethical canons of the profession. Less than 1% of all consultants have achieved this level of performance. Learn more by clicking imcusa.org/cmc.acgi

An invitation to IMCNE CMC members — This section is dedicated to you. If you have commentary you'd like to share, here is a forum for you. Send your commentary to our Editor, Ethel Cook, for consideration. Email Ethel at , Subject: CMC Commentary.

Welcome New Members

Lloyd Franke, Franke Associates
Charlie Goodrich, Goodrich & Associates
Greg Marchand, Great Bay Consulting, LLC
J. B. Maxwell, Martech Inc.
Maureen McNamara, BridgeWorks Business Solutions, LLC
John Robbins, Tasmanian Group
Marty Rossi, Bradford Financial Consultants, LLC
Jan Rybeck, Management Consulting & Training

Member Feature Article

Don’t Buy the Wrong Business Software! Just Follow These Steps
by Vin D'Amico

Buying a business software package is an expensive proposition under any circumstances. The real cost of purchasing such a package includes the purchase price, maintenance fees, system cost, training time, and support headaches.

Selecting the wrong software presents more than cost issues, however. Morale and productivity can be severely impacted resulting in poor client service, high error rates, and lost business. Don’t let this happen to you! Follow the steps outlined below and you’ll make the right choice.

1. Conduct a requirements and issues assessment
You can’t effectively select complex business software when you are unclear about your objectives, priorities and constraints. A formal and lengthy analysis is not needed. Take a hard look at the business processes that will leverage the software package. Zero in on the activities that you want to automate. Prioritize the capabilities you need using a simple three-level system.

• Essential - Failure to implement the capability means the system will not meet your needs.
• Important - Lacking the capability may affect customer or user satisfaction.
• Useful - No significant satisfaction or revenue impact is expected if the capability is missing.

2. Seek out objective advice
Many advisors earn commissions or advertising revenue from software vendors thus compromising their objectivity. Clearly, none of us are completely unbiased though anyone who makes money by swaying your decision simply cannot provide trustworthy guidance. Ask a potential advisor which companies and software packages he or she has recommended in the past, how often and why. Knowing a person’s bias up front can help you put their recommendations in context and challenge their ideas appropriately.

3. Gather all the relevant information
Meet with the sales people. They may work directly for the software company or for a reseller. Either is fine but for a major expenditure, you are justified in asking to speak directly with experts at the software firm to get first hand answers to complex questions that the sales person cannot address. When checking references, ask for names of firms like your own and speak with people whose jobs depend on the software. A refusal to support this kind of dialogue should be viewed with great skepticism.

4. Consider more than just features and functions
Features and functions are quantitative. Sellers like to produce long lists of all the things the software can do. Any software package will do some things very well and other things very poorly. The qualitative aspects of package selection are equally important. Focus on the capabilities you need. Ignore all the bells and whistles you’ll never use. Take a look at the frequency of patches, maintenance updates, and major releases. Compare these statistics among the sellers. You’ll usually find a pattern as they strive to maintain parity with one another. If you find a seller issuing far more or less updates than the others, you should ask why. Too many updates may indicate problems that are being frantically addressed. Too few updates might suggest lack of new investment in the software package.

5. Understand the technology foundation
The software package should be founded on widely used technologies and should exchange information with other software packages. Meeting these criteria will make it easier for you to find people well versed in the software and able to help should problems arise. It will also be much simpler to integrate the new software with other systems in your firm.

Beware of proprietary technologies. Proprietary is okay when the vendor can offer something truly unique and innovative. This is rare and should be avoided unless you have an unusual need. Also be on the lookout for outdated technologies. If a product has been available for a long time and has not undergone a major overhaul, be suspicious. It may be on its way out. You don’t need to be on the leading edge, but you need technology with staying power.

6. Use spreadsheet comparisons wisely
Too many buyers prepare elegant spreadsheets showing long lists of features and functions with checkmarks indicating which vendor meets the criteria. This is a worthwhile exercise though there must be serious human interaction to qualify the gray areas that are not practical to model.

Scoring systems are also popular but they are only useful if the system is two-dimensional. The second dimension is priority or value. You can assign a score based on how well you believe a package performs a function. Now multiply that score by the priority of the function. The result is the true value of the function. Software that does what you don’t need isn’t high in value to you, is it?

7. Map features to real business processes
Companies need software that is connected to real business practices. Are you willing to change the way you conduct business in order to get maximum value out of the software investment? Or, do you expect the software to support the way you do things today?

Many companies buy good quality software that is a poor match to how they run their businesses hoping that the purchase will drive change. This doesn’t work! Change must be driven by the business with the support of the technology. Software enables change but cannot drive it.

8. Get a demo that’s pertinent to your situation
Face it; canned demos always make the product look good. Demonstrations are carefully crafted to show the best features of the software. Prepare your own demo. Develop a scenario and a set of activities that you want the software to perform. Send it to the sales person and request a demo that showcases your needs. To be fair, offer to help set up the demo with some sample data or other elements. This approach will create a level playing field, as every seller will be performing the same activities though in different ways and possibly in different sequences.

9. Find a good vendor match
Vendors will offer software to firms outside their typical target market. Identify the vendor’s sweet spot in terms of company size and industry segment. If you’re too small, you won’t get attention. If you’re too big, you’ll overwhelm them. If you’re outside their target industries, you’ll be blazing a new trail. There needs to be synergy between the two companies.

10. Take a broad view of costs
Consider all the costs of buying, installing, configuring and supporting a new application. Will the software run on the computers you have or will upgrades be needed? Can your network handle the additional load placed on it? How much and what type of training will be needed? Will any data conversion be required? How will your business be disrupted during the initial stages of implementation? What additional costs will be incurred due to the disruption?

Some extra time spent up front to truly understand what you need and what the sellers have to offer is well worth the effort. You will be rewarded with a software implementation that works for you not against you and makes you more effective.

Vin D'Amico is Founder and President of DAMICON, LLC, your ADJUNCT CIO™. He is an expert in using open source software to increase worker productivity and reduce IT costs. Vin can be reached at or by visiting www.damicon.com.

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Breakfast Brainstorms Calendar
Free to IMCNE members and affiliates, $10 for nonmembers

Monday, July 12, 2004
7:45 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.
Rebecca's Café, Burlington, MA

Monday, August 2, 2004
7:45 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.
Sheraton Wayfarer Restaurant, Bedford, NH

Monday, August 9, 2004
7:45 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.
Rebecca's Café, Burlington, MA

Want to host a Breakfast Brainstorm in your area? Contact for details.

Strategic Partner Events — Check out our Calendar of Strategic Partner and Other Events on our web site for more information on events of interest. Click www.imcne.org/spcalendar.html, then click on the appropriate link for detailed information that could save you money.

Book Reviews Solicited

Read any good books lately? Book reviews of up to 150 words are needed monthly. Business books and those you found helpful from other genres are of special interest. Email Ethel Cook at , Subject: IMCNE book review