Selecting the Right EDM/PDM Vendor TU 301

3/10/97 : Slide – 1
Copyright, ©, 1997, The Gateway Group, All Rights Reserved
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EDMS Track
Selecting the Right EDM/PDM Vendor
TU 301
Monday, March 10th, 1997

3/10/97 : Slide – 2
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Copyright Notice
This document contains materials that are proprietary to Gateway Group, Inc.
This work is protected as an unpublished work under the copyright laws of all
countries that are signatories to the Berne Convention and the Universal
Copyright Convention.
Copyright, © 1997 by Gateway Group, Inc., All rights reserved.
3101 Iris Avenue, Suite 270, Boulder, Colorado 80301
(800) 668 2334

3/10/97 : Slide – 3
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Overview
Motivations for this seminar
 Why are we here?
 What are we expecting?
 The foundation of our interests here are based on
the assumption that purchasing an EDM/PDM
system will somehow solve the identified problem
 How is this problem actually stated?
 Does the existence of an EDM/PDM system actually
solve the problem?
 What are the success criteria for solving the
business problem and how is the selection of a
specific technical solution related to these success
criteria?

3/10/97 : Slide – 4
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Overview
Outline of this seminar
 EDM/PDM system deployment life cycle
 Defining the problem of EDM/PDM system
procurement
 Mapping the procurement problem on to the
vendor’s offerings
 Understanding the motivations of the vendor
 Technical issues with selecting the system

3/10/97 : Slide – 5
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EDM/PDM Deployment Life Cycle
Vendor selection is but a small part of the problem
 Needs identification
 Business case
 Requirements analysis
 Functional decomposition
 Vender analysis and selection
 Systems integration
 System deployment
 Backfile conversion
 Training and support
 First operation
 Procedure updates
 Project management
 Business case verification
 Operation
 Technology updates
 Technology migration
 Technology decommissioning

3/10/97 : Slide – 6
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EDM/PDM Deployment Life Cycle
Priority of Activities
 Define of the problem and the consequences of
providing the solution
 Bottom line impacts
 Impact of the system on the business process
 Allocation of the proper resources
 Funding
 Personnel
 Management support throughout the organization.
 Control of the scope
 Definition of the detailed project plan
 Selection of the vendor, system integrator

3/10/97 : Slide – 7
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Technical Issues With Vendor Selection
Understanding the various components of the system
 Multilayer architectures
 Workstation
 Middleware
 Electronic vault
 Standard platforms
 Scalability
 Workstation / server foot print
 All other abilities
 Compliance with standards
 Exit strategy for all components

3/10/97 : Slide – 8
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Defining the problem
 Stating the problem so others can understand
 Formal specifications
 Use cases
 Outcome statements
 Business rule statements
 Determining the course of action prior to selecting
the vendor
 Commercial off the shelf software (COTS)
 Integration of COTS
 Purpose built software solution

3/10/97 : Slide – 9
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Workstation Layer
Electronic Vault Layer
Middleware Layer
This layer provides the User Interface paradigm
for the documents being managed. It has a life
time from 6 to 18 months depending on the
whims of the vendor
This layer contains the document relationships
information, parts relationships and the business
rules. It represents the proprietary information of
the business processes. This layer will last the
lifetime of the business process.
This layer provides the long term storage facilities
of the documents and an archive for the business
states produced during the operation of the
system. The mechanics of this layer will turn over
every 5 to 7 years.

3/10/97 : Slide – 10
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A Vendor Independent Architecture
Line of business database has an intrinsic value due
to the investment in keystrokes that can not be
replaced without an equivalent re–investment
 It is the portion of the system that the long term
business benefit resides
 The business rules, business history and
relationships between the business entities are
captured in this layer
 It is unlikely that the vendor will understand the
detailed requirements for this portion of the system
OR have an off the shelf solution for the current
business operation
 This portion of the system is usually designed and
sometimes developed by the end user

3/10/97 : Slide – 11
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The selection of the vendor is only one of dozens of
critical decision that must be made during the
project
 The deployment of the system will depend more on
the attributes of the business than on the vendor
 A well defined set of requirements
 Avoid sweeping changes in both technology and
business operations
 Focus on early identifiable winners
 Provide a generic solution which can grow with the
changing needs of the organization
 Selecting the vendor before the business problem
and understood and conceptually solved is getting it
backwards.

3/10/97 : Slide – 12
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The project must be treated in the same manner as
any other capital project
 A detailed plan is required in the same manner as
any capital project
 A typical project may have from 100 to 500
intermediate level tasks, each with 2 to 5 subtasks
 The management of the project is as important as
the technical activities of the project

3/10/97 : Slide – 13
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The premise that the vendor selection process is
the key to success fails to address the underlying
issue:
 What is the problem that is to be solved?
 How will this specific solution to the identified
problem impact the future opportunities?
 What are the actual show stopper requirements that
go into the vendor selection processes?
Vendor selection prior to the definition of the problem
definition is analogous to buying lumber before the
plans of the deck are complete — it could work but...

3/10/97 : Slide – 14
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Vendor Selection
So Many Vendors, So Little Time  Doomed

3/10/97 : Slide – 15
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Vendor Selection
Vendor categories
 Product suppliers
 Multilevel product offerings
 System integrators with in house products
 Takes a product a tailors it to your needs
 Component suppliers
 Individual components assembled into a system
 System integrators with 3rd party products
 Representatives of a product(s)
 Turnkey systems WYSIWYG
 Plug and play system
 Consultancies
 Big 6, regional, specialist

3/10/97 : Slide – 16
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Vendor Selection
Selecting the short list
 Meeting the defined requirements
 By first stating clearing the success criteria of the
system in terms of its behavior rather than the
system’s technical attributes
 Live test demonstration
 Substantiate the claims of the vendor in a real
environment using your staff and data
 Reading between the lines
 What do they mean when they say...
 Defining the deliverables
 Re–focus on the success criteria rather than
technology

3/10/97 : Slide – 17
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Vendor Selection
Dealing with system integrators (SI’s)
 It’s almost unavoidable
 Experience, experience, experience is a must
 There’s no such thing as: We’ve done this before
and your problem is just like the last except for a
few small changes...
 A good SI has
 A full test and development lab
 Staging facilities for your system on their site
 Field personnel with lots of miles on their frequent
flyer cards
 Reinforcements in depth
 Direct connection to developers and vendors

3/10/97 : Slide – 18
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Vendor Selection
Primary criteria for the selection process
 Does the vendor understand the business aspects
of the EDM problem?
 At the plant level?
 At the transaction level?
 Are there installed and operating sites that can be
visited?
 Are these sites similar in operation to the current
need?
 Does the site have similar requirements prior to its
selection?
 Can the vendor meet the technical requirements
defined through outcomes as well as
specifications?

3/10/97 : Slide – 19
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Vendor Selection
Primary criteria, continued
 Does the vendor offer a variety of services?
 System integration
 Third party product integration
 Business process analysis
 Does the vendor understand your requirements
sufficiently to:
 Configure the system
 Predict the systems performance
 Provide on site installation
 Integrate with any legacy systems
 Assume the responsibility of deploying the system
into production

3/10/97 : Slide – 20
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Vendor Selection
Primary criteria, continued…
 Can the vendor provide references (and can you
visit) for:
 System integration
 Disaster recovery
 On site training
 What is the vendor’s fundamental goal in engaging
you as a customer?
 Meeting sales goals
 Reference site
 Strategic partner
 Market penetration
 Displacement of current operations and personnel

3/10/97 : Slide – 21
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Managing the Vendor
 Keeping the buyer / seller roles clear
 You have the money, they want it (see Adam Smith)
 Outcome based buying strategies versus product
based buying
 Building the relationship while maintaining an arms
length distance
 Understanding the vendor’s products, sales strategy
and market position
 How the vendor sees you,
 Market position
 Market opportunity
 Short term goals (quarter sales, year end)
 Strategic relationship

3/10/97 : Slide – 22
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Managing the Vendor
 What to expect from the vendor?
 How do they view you as a potential client?
 How is this sale viewed in light of other clients?
 Is this sale really important to the vendor?
 What the vendor’s can’t, won’t or unable to do:
 Business process reengineering
 System analysis (really), colored by the selected
(pre) solution
 Internal project management
 Internal selling
 Managing the political issues associated with the
project
 Getting it work in your business environment

3/10/97 : Slide – 23
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Looking for Show Stoppers
 Desktop
 Operating system
 Protocols
 Display
 View / markup / edit
 Network
 Protocol
 Printers
 Peripherals
 Printer scale rotate and job control
 Security
 Data model

3/10/97 : Slide – 24
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Looking for Show Stoppers
 Management of change
 Revision control in the same manner as your current
system
 Auditability for the legacy documents are records
placed in the system
 Performance
 Scalability to the final system configuration
 Actual measured performance numbers not
statistical projections
 Migration plans
 How do you move on to the next system once this
system has run is course
 Always have an exit strategy -- no matter what

3/10/97 : Slide – 25
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Selection Criteria
3 Aspects of a Successful Project
 Definable and controllable project scope
 Managing the scope is critical to both your and the
vendor’s success
 Ruthless control of the features and functions of the
system
 Direct impact on the balance sheet
 How will each feature and function impact the
balance sheet?
 When will the system earn its keep?
 Enthusiastic user or sponsor
 It doesn’t get any better than on day one

Selecting the Right EDM/PDM Vendor TU 301

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