The Realities of Buying Commercial Off-The-Shelf Systems

1. The Realities of Buying Commercial Off-The-Shelf Systems Herb Potter, Brewer Consulting Services Ann Thompson, City of Olympia Ron Seymour, Dept. of Financial Institutions Tom Neitzel, Health Care Authority

2. Today’s Goals • Bust myths about COTS systems • Share our experiences • Provide you with more information so that you can make informed decisions • Not to frighten or discourage you

3. What’s a “COTS” Why All The Hoopla Over Them? • A product that is • Sold, leased, or licensed to the general public • Offered by a vendor trying to profit from it • Supported and evolved by the vendor, who retains the intellectual property rights • Available in multiple, identical copies • Used without modification of the internals • Not to be confused with public domain software, COTS-based systems, or “freeware”.

4. What’s a “COTS” Why All The Hoopla Over Them? • COTS Systems can fulfill a need without full-scale development • Vendor can provide varying levels of support (part or all of it) • Some support from other users of the COTS system

5. Where Do We Start? • Strategic business plan • Understand what business you’re in • Understand the organizational culture • Organization must be ready for change • Opportunities for business process improvements • Skilled project management is crucial • Inform everyone – This will be hard work! Get used to it!

6. The Acquisition • For most state agencies, it starts with the IT Portfolio, feasibility study or funding request. • Business requirements gathering • Don’t overlook the “automagic” • Be mindful of technical standards and installed infrastructure • Include the right people – those who have to live with the selection

7. The Acquisition • Perhaps issue an RFI • Develop the RFP, which should reflect the business requirements • Use cases, business models, process flows • Get all the costs – licensing, consulting, training, maintenance • Include source code escrow requirement • Evaluate responses according to the requirements • Short list of vendors

8. The Acquisition • Demos (make sure the right people participate) – compare to responses • On-site visits to customer sites (without vendors present) • Check references…and then some • Check the vendors’ business financials • Make the selection • Negotiate and sign the contract

9. The Implementation • Effective project management practices • Users must be involved in the planning • Plan for data conversions and interfaces

10. COTS “Horticulture” • COTS systems tend to spring forth “seeds” Queries Reports FileMaker Access Word Excel Interfaces Custom Add-ons

11. COTS Care & Feeding • Expect maintenance costs of 20% - 25% of purchase price • COTS version upgrades • Operating system upgrades • Hardware upgrades • Good project management practices are crucial (note the theme here) • General support will likely involve IT staff

12. Vendor Relationships • Preview offered by other users during reference checks • First impressions • Vendors and VARS • How long will the marriage last? • When all is blissful • Irreconcilable differences

13. Summary – Lessons Learned • More to COTS than meets the eye • Must have executive level support and user support • Organizational culture can make or break the project • The purchase is just the beginning • Vendors must be evaluated thoroughly • Effective project management is critical

14. Summary – Lessons Learned • The relationship with the vendor may last for several years • Organization must make the COTS fit the business or make the business fit the COTS • It’s not just the software, so identify all the costs of using it • Implementing and supporting COTS can be as labor intensive as building it yourself

15. More Information – Will Be Posted on the IPMA Web Site • Software Engineering Institute web site • COTS Product Evaluation Process paper and other documents • Tom Neitzel’s presentation to the DIS CAB • OFM Enterprise Roadmap • www.ofm.wa.gov/roadmap/default.htm.  • Dye Management paper on why projects fail