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4 Buying Business So ware for the Long Term Conduct Needs Assessment Step 1: Establish needs based on outcomes rather than functional requirements Your organization has determined that there's a pressing need for a new piece of technology. It's time to kick off a buying process. But first you need to make sure you understand what the pressing need is. How do you take in all the inputs and set up the buying process for success without ge ing bogged down in requirements from every stakeholder? When building a business case for, and then building a buying process for a solution, don't ask stakeholders what they need. Ask stakeholders what they are trying to achieve. Many organizations begin to seek out so ware when they encounter a problem or challenge, and engineer a process to directly address that problem; this is an outdated method of evaluating so ware options. In order to get the full benefit from the proposed system, make sure to approach the solution from an outcome-driven, long term perspective. Rather than thinking "What will this fix?", begin to think along the lines of "What can I achieve with this system?" Looking at the potential of the so ware to meet business objectives, rather than the strict functional requirements is the first step in finding systems that will actually achieve what you are looking for in the long run. What are the differences between business objectives and functional requirements? Example Business Objective Example Functional Requirement "We know our utilization is lower than it needs to be, and we need to find a way to raise it evenly by 2% across the organization." "A solution must include a utilization report that can show breakdown of figures into billable and non-billable by business unit."

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