Timberjack Parts: Packaged Software Selection Project

MIS 513: Business Foundations of IT

Timberjack Parts: Packaged Software Selection Project

A Case Analysis

Team # 5 –Section 002

Spring 2010

Describe the steps taken in the software selection process at Timberjack. Compare this to a 'traditional' Systems Development Life Cycle.

Timberjack follows a series of steps to select and decide its future manufacturing software package. The process is straightforward, which goes through DFP, vendor list, narrow down vendor list, site visit and implementation consulting for the final two vendors. Basically, Timberjack is taking one step after another throughout the processes. While it might not be a perfectly precise analogy of system development life cycle, it does share characteristics with the traditional waterfall model of SDLC (system development life cycle).

A typical process of traditional SDLC is usually comprised of the following steps:

1. Project planning, feasibility study

2. Systems analysis, requirements definition

3. Systems design

4. Implementation

5. Integration and testing

6. Acceptance, installation, deployment

7. Maintenance

In Timberjack's case, the life cycle starts with the decision from headquarter that a unified software package will be implemented for the whole organization, even for distributed locations. During this phase, the organization identified its current short coming of the existing solution and the necessity to move to a new system, as well as cost-benefit implications and a rough schedule. A decision of "to build or to buy" has also been reached, which is to buy.

During the second phase of the SDLC, there are various types of implementation model. According to Timberjack, it seems that it is following a waterfall model which characterizes with a prolonged need analysis phase. Once a whole list of function requirement is made, it is hardly changed later on. As a matter of fact, Timberjack devoted major time and investment into this phase. The RFP spanned nearly as long as four months and cost 75,000 USD. Although the RFP was treated as valuable outcome, the effort was less appreciated by the Sweden operations because they were in need of a quick replacement of their current software system.

The following steps of SDLC, including system design, implementation and etc will depend on which vendor Timberjack eventually selected. Therefore, again, Timberjack took the time evaluated and investigated extensively. Timberjack considered several key metrics that were: cost, time of development and deployment, flexibility of customization and etc. Using the criteria, Timberjack was able to narrow down the vendor list to two bidders. With further review and consideration, Timberjack would finally be able to locked down one vendor that suited best to their situation.

What type of investment is this and what leads you to believe this?

The investment is a strategic long term investment. There is quite a bit of money, time and man power spent into finalizing the Request for Proposal (RFP). Then again, a decent amount of resources are invested in researching and finalizing the vendor. At the first glance it appears as if the company takes up a lot of initiatives, but finally decides to outsource the work. It is an intelligent decision taken by the company to buy-in the consent of the employees to zero-in on the IT solution by closely interacting with them, as the employees are the final entities to use it. Also, developing the RFP reduces the duration of the project and the total cost , providing a good ROI.

What do you recommend for Timberjack and why?

• Using Oracle for implementation since it scores higher in terms of functionality (compliance rate of 95%), automated safety stock program, and recommendations from the Garter Group publications as the ideal ERP implementation. Oracle solution might be higher in terms of cost (referring vendor cost evaluation summary), but its feature set was also greater, thus providing a long term solution for the company

• The dealer system which has been used only in Northern America so far can be implemented in Scandinavian division also, thus furthering the sales via third party equipment