Defining the Business Application Life Cycle

Software selection includes detailed requirements definition (building on the high-level requirements of vision and planning), market scan and vendor candidate determination, request for information (RFI) and request for proposal (RFP) development and issuance, bidders conference, vendor response evaluation, shortlist creation, scripted scenario development, vendor presentations and scripted demonstrations, reference checking and site visits, finalist selection, and due diligence. In many cases, enterprises will benefit from using an external service provider (ESP) during the selection process; software selection is conducted much like ESP selection, which we will address shortly.

Software negotiation and contracting include the development and negotiation of all terms and conditions for the application license and the maintenance agreements; and, when appropriate, the execution of the contract.

3. Execute

This phase involves putting the selected application in place for the business. It is important to note that the steps of this phase are not necessarily sequential. Although planning is listed after ESP selection and before ESP contracting to enable the development of a joint client/ESP work plan, these tasks need not be performed in this order. More-experienced enterprises may plan a project before seeking ESP assistance; some enterprises may not use ESPs at all.

ESP selection (if applicable): Like software selection, this includes the activities of project scope and ESP role definition, market scan and vendor candidate determination, RFI or RFP development and issuance, bidders conference, vendor response evaluation, shortlist creation, vendor presentations, reference checking and site visits, finalist selection, and due diligence. It is important to separate the selection of the application from the selection of the ESP. This will prevent qualified ESPs from being omitted from the selection process because of the application vendor they may have teamed with. When selecting an ESP, the enterprise must balance industry experience, package capabilities, technical capabilities, key resource availability, contracting flexibility and costs.

Implementation planning: The final plan for the proposed implementation project is created at this stage as a joint process that includes the selected ESP. Users should refine project scope, roles and responsibilities, assumptions, and time frames. The project charter and plan should be finalized at this time, and the program office should be launched to manage the initiative.