|
CONCLUSIONS |
The top ten best practices are as follows. They have been ranked based on the number of improvement areas they are associated with.
| 1 | Identify and include training requirements in RFP | 27 |
| 2 | Analyze procurement failures | 23 |
| 3 | Acceptance criteria defined in contract | 22 |
| 4 | Require a configuration management plan | 21 |
| 5 | Establish a core usable system first | 19 |
| 6 | Require proof of supplier’s capabilities | 18 |
| 7 | Procurement procedures include risk management | 17 |
| 8 | Supplier payments only on delivery | 15 |
| 9 | Operational staff participate on procurement teams | 14 |
| 10 | Detailed tests plan exists | 14 |
There were some surprising results. Some practices were mentioned frequently in procurement literature, but were associated with bad projects in the VALIDATE analysis; for example, they caused extra cost.
The following practices have been ranked based on the number of areas on which they had a negative impact:
| User needs are documented | -23 |
| Give preference to COTS (commercial) products | -18 |
| Benchmark existing systems before new purchase | -15 |
| Utilize external resources for quality review | -8 |
| Supplier is aware of selection criteria | -7 |
| Use cross-functional procurement teams | -6 |