How solution selection should mirror consumer purchases.
I haven’t always purchased the vehicle I most desired, but I’ve never started the process by asking the salesperson to dictate to me the car I need.
I only decide before arriving at the lot exactly my needs, then objectively evaluate which make/model best fits them.
Marketing Doesn’t Equal Requirements Validation
While I understand how it may seem beneficial to start with marketing collateral when seeking a solution, after all, the vendor is the expert, correct?.
Letting a vendor begin or drive (purposeful pun) your process is similar to allowing a car salesperson decide for you which vehicle you need. Also, it allows them to subtly implant their biases over yours.
Vendors’ Primary Goal – Profit
Being a for-profit this mean seem obvious, but often, especially within the non-profit space, unwarranted trust or altruistic motives are attributed to vendors not granted in other arenas.
In higher education I often experienced fellow coworkers converted after one conference including a sales pitch followed by impressive endorsements from organizations within their field.
The logic follows, “If college ______ uses software ____, it should work for us, correct?”
While some vendors may have legitimately earned a loyal following within an industry, in many cases and after speaking with software users, a multitude of reasons were found explaining why industry associates “ended up” using certain software which benefited from very little requirements analysis, and even less long term satisfaction.
Requirements Analysis is the Key
Gathering, documenting, analyzing, and validating requirements is the only method to guarantee solution success when solving problems in business.
SOLUTION VISIONARY 