by Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology End User Support Chapter 8 Beisse by Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology

by Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology Objectives How Product and Support Standards Emerged Common tools and methods support specialists use to evaluate and select computer products How organizations develop and implement support standards by Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology

How Product Standards Emerged Product incompatibility Competition by Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology

Problems Caused by Product Incompatibility Incompatible systems Excessive parts inventories Lack of skills transfer Increased support costs by Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology

by Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology Incompatible Systems Difficulty sharing data by Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology

Excessive Parts Inventories Need for large inventory of different and incompatible components Increased cost to an organization to make simple component repairs by Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology

Lack of Skills Transfer Reduced productivity (employees unable to fill in for each other) Substantial cost to train and retrain employees by Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology

Increased Support Costs Information centres confronted with trying to support very large number of incompatible hardware and software products Training sessions may not meet needs of a significant number of employees who work with systems by Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology

Development of Product Standards Companies standardized a few selected hardware platforms selected to meet users’ needs. They adopted standard operating systems, and in the 1990s, standard network operating systems. They limited the choice of applications software to a few standard applications packages in each software category. by Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology

Methods for Evaluating and Selecting Computer Products Product evaluation: A process of researching and analysing computer product features, capabilities, and suitability to solve a specific user need Product evaluation process Collect product information Test, compare, and evaluate competing products Publish results by Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology

Resources Available to Help Evaluate Computer Products Vendor literature, marketing information Web sites, and user manuals Product demonstrations and evaluation versions Product reviews and comparison articles in computer periodicals Opinions from industry experts available in trade publications and Internet news groups by Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology

Product Decision-making Tools Industry standard or best-selling products Products used by competitors Benchmarks Weighted point evaluation method Acknowledged subjective criteria A request for proposal (RFP) by Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology

Advantages of Using Industry Standard/Best-selling Products Can reduce support costs Likely to be targeted by trade book publishers, training material developers, and support service vendors by Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology

Disadvantages of Using Industry Standard/Best-selling Products May not meet unique requirements of end users with specialized needs Market leadership changes over time; potential for obsolescence by Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology

Using Industry Standard or Best-selling Products Get user input before making software selection decision Find out which products end users have experience with Find out advantages and disadvantages of competing products for specific tasks Find out whether users have preferences among products by Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology

Products Competitors Use Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of products that competitors use Competitors may have thoroughly researched the market and identified strategic reasons for adopting the computer products they use by Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology

by Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology Benchmarks An objective test used to compare competing products Popular because they are objective and provide an unbiased evaluation of a product Objective evaluation criteria: Measurable factors that are not influenced by personal opinion by Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology

Companies that Provide Hardware/Software Benchmarks Business Applications Performance (BAPCO) Symantec Ziff-Davis by Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology

Weighted Point Evaluation Method Uses evaluation criteria of predefined importance to arrive at a numerical score for each product Goal is to make the evaluation/selection process as objective as possible by: Treating competing products equally Eliminating possible favouritism or bias among evaluators Forcing evaluators to specify in advance the important factors in evaluation by Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology

Subjective Evaluation Criteria Are based on personal relationships, convenience, personal preferences, and traditional practices Do not give much weight to the match between end user needs and the features of the hardware or software Are neither measurable nor repeatable by Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology

The Request for Proposal (RFP) A product selection or competitive bidding procedure that uses objective criteria to distinguish among products proposed by vendors Often used as the basis for awarding a contract to provide computer products One of the most common and most objective decision-making tools by Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology

Primary Steps in the RFP Process An agency or organization conducts a needs analysis. Based on needs analysis, the agency develops a procurement specification for the equipment or software. The agency defines the decision criteria and the importance of each criteria. by Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology

Primary Steps in the RFP Process The agency writes the RFP document. The RFP document is sent to prospective vendors. Interested vendors respond to the RFP with a written proposal that addresses how their products meet or exceed the user requirements; includes bid price. The agency analyzes the response to the RFP, often using weighted point evaluation tools. The company or agency chooses a vendor and awards the contract. Feedback may be given to all vendors. by Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology

Mechanics of the Weighted Point Evaluation Method Decide on the evaluation criteria. Decide on the importance of each criterion. Rate each competing product on all the evaluation criteria. If more than one evaluator rates products, compute the average rating for each product for each criterion. Weight the product ratings for each criterion by the importance of the criterion. Compute the total rating for each product. Compare product ratings. by Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology

Criteria in Weighted Point Evaluation Method Specific type of hardware or software product to be evaluated Needs of end users Support issues Cost by Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology

Advantages of Weighted Point Evaluation Method Forces evaluators to address two important issues early in the process Identification of important criteria in product purchase decision or recommendation Importance of each criterion in relation to the others Uses measurable criteria in place of subjective beliefs by Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology

Computer Product Standards Help control user support costs by limiting the number of hardware and software options users can choose Often adopted by larger companies with a substantial investment in computer technology because the potential for waste is so large by Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology

How Companies Develop Computer Product Standards Company culture and traditions Product standards committee: Composed of support specialists and end users whose task is to define the current company standards and coordinate their use in the company by Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology

Requirements for Computer Product Standards Effective Evenly administered Enforced by Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology

How Companies Implement Computer Product Standards Adoption and implementation of product and service standards influenced by: Investment in existing hardware and software Continual arrival of new products, services, and product upgrades Loss of employee productivity during conversion to new standards by Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology

Adopting or Modifying Technology Standards Requires analysis and evaluation of products and services Triggers potential support cost increases for installation, upgrades, training, documentation, trouble-shooting, and help desk services by Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology