Module 8 - Part 1 Implementation and Post-Implementation Issues

1.  Why is a software's delivery model so important?
   Delivery models, the basic two being cloud based (SaaS) vs. on-premise, are an important decision in selecting your software implementation, as there are many pros and cons to both models.  There is no straight forward right or wrong answer, so a vital part of any software purchasing decision for a company of any industry and size is to weight the pros and cons of each and then make the decision based on what works for their specific business model, internal resources, and culture.  
   At Smartbridge’s - a enterprise business consulting firm - website www.smartbridge.com, I found two matrices that can be used to help the decision analysis process.  The first weighs pros and cons and I created a simplified version below:
   
   

   ASPECT	SAAS	ON-PREMISE
   Implementation	Faster	Takes time, personnel and equipment Additional hardware/software purchases may be needed.
   Customization	May or may nor be possible	Most flexible option for customization.
   Support & Maintenance	Minimal IT dependency for application maintenance Control relinquished to the third party vendor - there may be trust issues	You/ your IT are responsible for maintaining the application; availability, etc. Offers control over data and provides greater sense of ownership
   Upgrade Cycles	Tend to be iterative with your limited involvement	You own the responsibility for upgrades, which are often expensive and time-consuming.
   Cost	Low entry Maintenance cost relatively high year over year Low internal resources required Low upgrade costs	High entry and operations costs compared to SaaS due to infrastructure and support staff needs. Low ongoing maintenance fee upgrade costs high
   Security	With hight end vendors, SaaS can be highly secure	Additional time and software for security required.
   Validation for Regulatory Compliance	Vendor will provide a baseline validation for your review	You will be responsible for the full validation effort.Enforcing regulatory requirements is easier compared to Multitenant SaaS due to complete control of the environment.
   Integrations	Can get complicated as data will be sent over the internet	Simpler and faster
   Scalability	Easy	Needs longterm planning and commitment of resources for scaling.

      
   
   
   The second Matrix can be used to document and compare longterm costs and can be found here: http://smartbridge.com/pros-cons-saas-vs-premises-deployment/
   
   
2. How do you ensure that your problem is solved successfully?

There will invariably be issues, roadblocks, and problems with any new technology implementation.  Additionally, some  team members and customers will not be open to change, further muddying the waters.  It would be easy to slip into the mindset that the solution was a failure.  The key to ensuring that the original problem is solved successfully, is to go back and refer to the original problem charter. 

Check out the problem statement as well as the in scope issues.  Have these seen improvement?  If the answer is yes, then things are headed in the right direction.  It is important not to experience “scope creep” meaning trying to solve out of scope issues along with the in scope.  Everyone involved may not remember exactly what is in and out of scope so this may need to be addressed on occasion when there are complaints.  For example, criticism related to out of scope issues may need to be “parked” for a future upgrade or even a new problem solution.  This should be clearly communicated to shareholders. 

The success metrics specifically will be objective measures of success. Go through one by one and see how many have been achieved.

Success to some sponsors will also mean staying within budget and duration so these should be revisited as well.