Needs Analysis: the Beginning
| Publication year | 1990 |
| Pages | 1079 |
| Citation | Vol. 19 No. 6 Pg. 1079 |
1990, June, Pg. 1079. Needs Analysis: The Beginning
When your firm is considering major purchases, remember the old cliché you often heard in English class: Find out the who, what, when, where, how and why. Those also are the basic concepts necessary to make good buying decisions. One process that will help you avoid costly mistakes and fully think through the decision you make is to prepare an informal request for proposal ("RFP"). This lists completely what it is you are looking for and any special requirements you have. The informal RFP can serve as a prototype for a more formal document that can be submitted to vendors for bidding purposes or used in a contract itself. The place to start is with the needs analysis.
Who will be affected by the end result? Get a general idea of what it is that you want. Make a list of factors that need to be considered. For example, if you are going to purchase a new computer, list those items that may have an impact on your decision, such as whether some staff members will use it more than others. Discuss the factor list with the staff that will be using the system to see if they have anything to add. This is part of the information gathering process and helps define not only the criteria on which you will base your selection, but also the team that will participate in the choice. Questions to consider here are:
1. How will the employees' job performance be affected?
2. How are the employees compensated? (Does the cost of the purchase warrant any change in the way things currently are being done?)
Involving the staff in these decisions allows you to find out what it is they really need and makes the transition easier for them because they had a role in the process3. Can current manual and automated procedures be easily integrated with little interruption? (Consider clients too.)
What do you really need? Most of the time, buyers are looking for a system or service that (1) produces a product with speed and efficiency; (2) is affordable for both the firm and its clients; and (3) will not become obsolete as personnel changes. In defining what it is you need, the most important thing is clarity. If it is a software package you are looking for and you need it to perform more than one function, list those functions in...
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