Learning Objectives:

- To understand the process of software selection

- To understand characteristics of the software market

- To understand software contracting

Performance Objectives:

- List the steps to specifying software

- List the desired elements of software contracts

One of the most common questions we receive is: "How to I select the software I need?"

Our answer to this question is usually to look at the information needs, business processes and workflows first then look at software.

The real first question should be: "What data do I need to make better decisions?"  In order to answer this question, the Enterprise Architecture is a good approach that looks at the existing data architecture, information needs, institutional capabilities and puts these into the context of the guiding organizational principles.

We will assume that you have undergone a process such as the Enterprise Architecture approach prior to embarking on this Software Selection process.