BusinessConsultingCostManagementTechNewsSpring1996ThetechnicalupdatefromArthurAndersen’sAdvancedCostManagementTeam(ACT)Forinternaluseonly.WhatABC/MSoftwareisBest?SoftwareSelectionwithyourClientsAlthoughasanABC/ABMimplementeryoucandevelopastrongpreferenceforthesoftwaretoolyouknowbest,itisimperativetoremainobjectiveinsoftwareselection.Acombinationofdifferingprojectgoals,teamskills,IS/ITrequirements,aswellascontinualenhancementstothevendors’tools,demandthatyouworkwiththeclienttoselectthebestsoftwareforeachengagement.ProjectGoalsProjectgoalsrangefromdetailedandfullyintegratedoperational(ABM)informationanalyzedmonthlytoannualreportsofproductcoststoreplaceastandardcostsystem.Don’tletthegoalasstatedinitiallybytheclientswayyoutooquickly.Makesureyouworkwiththeclienttocarefullydefinetheshort-andlong-termgoals.Oftenalittleeducationcanchangethestatedgoalsdramatically,whichinturnmayverywellchangekeycriteriaforsoftwareselection.Whenselectingasoftwaretool,considertheapplication’sabilitytosupportandtransitiontolong-termgoals.Thinkaboutthesystemasevolutionary.Itwon’tbecompleteafterthefirstmodelisbuilt,butitshouldn’tbeathrow-awaysystemeither.AATeamSkillsSometimesthereisatendencyforthesoftwareskillsyourAAteambringstotheengagementtostronglybiasthesoftwareselectionprocess.Itisanimportantfactor,butshouldbecarefullybalancedwithothercriteria.Iftheteamhaspriorexperiencewithoneparticulartool,itistemptingtousethattoolsincetherewillbelessofalearningcurvefortheAAteam.Checkwithotherswhohavemadethetransitionfromonetooltoanotherandrealizethattherearemanysimilaritiesamongthetools.Ifyouhavebuiltamodelwithonetool,youhavelearnedSpring1996TechNewsPage1manyoftheskillsthatyouneedtouseanyoftheotherssoftwaretools.Themoreexperienceyouhavewitheachofthetools,thebetterequippedyouwillbetohelpyournextclientwithsoftwareselection,selectingthetoolthatwilltrulyaddresstheirlong-andshort-termneeds.ClientTeamSkillsandPreferencesTheclientteamalsocomeswithitsownsetofskillsandbiases.Thesearemuchmoresignificantthantheskillsandbiasesofourteammembers,sinceitistheclientthatwilllivewiththeresultsandthechosentools.But,justasyouarecautionedtobewaryofyourownbiastowardwhatyouknow,yourroleasaconsultantistohelptheclientworkthroughanobjectiveevaluationofnewtools.Certainlyifthecompanyhasbuiltsignificantskillsusingaparticularreportingpackageandoneofoursoftwarevendorslinksseamlesslywiththatreportingtool,thereisgoodreasontoratethattoolhighonreportingcapabilities.Butmakesuretolookdeeper.Althoughnotpublicized,couldoneoftheothertools(perhapsonewithotherstrengths)linkalmostasseamlessly?Thekeyistohelptheclientbalancethesefeaturesobjectively.IS/ITRequirementsTherearetwosidestoworkingwithIS/ITpersonnelinthesoftwareselectionprocess.Firstthedown-side:IS/ITdepartmentsoftenhaverigidrequirementsforanysoftwaretobeusedin-house.Controliseverythingandthelistofrequirementsforanytooltobeusedcanbedaunting.Ontheotherhand,astheprojectprogresses,IS/ITpersonneloftendogetinvolvedintheprojectasdataisextractedfromexistingsystems.Iftherightpeopleareinvolvedearlyandunderstandthedifferenttoolsandintegrationtechnologies,theyoftenhaveessentialinputtothesoftwareselectionprocess.©1996ArthurAndersenAndersenWorldwide,SCAllrightsreserved.Spring1996TechNewsPage2ABC/ABMSoftwareFeaturesEachofourprimaryABC/ABMsoftwarevendors,ABCTechnologiesInc.,ArmstrongLaingInc.,andSapling...
