Database Reference
In-Depth Information
decision to go outside the organization, a procurement plan should be cre-
ated. While all companies do things differently, there are still some very
common elements in a procurement plan. A sample plan will be described
in this section.
Description of the Project
The description provides an overview of the proposed procurement
request. The project itself should be described. At a minimum, the proj-
ect plan should be referenced. Those practicing configuration manage-
ment will have the benefit of a standardized policy for configuration
identification. The policy for configuration identification incrementally
establishes and maintains the definitive current basis for control and
status accounting of a system and its configuration items (CIs) through-
out their life cycles. The configuration-identification process ensures
that all processes have common sets of documentation as the basis for
developing a new system or modifying an old one. Hence, a project plan
in this environment would have a unique identifying number and would
be easily referenced.
The description should also indicate whether the project requires com-
mercial off-the-shelf (COTS), modified off-the-shelf (MOTS), or custom
software development. The percentage of each should be calculated.
Other questions that should be answered by this section are:
1. Does the project require integration, or is the project a stand-alone
system with minimal integration?
2. What is the system maintenance strategy?
3. Which databases or legacy systems are required to be used or created?
Market Research
Market research, which is a marketing term, is related to the research one
typically does when performing a feasibility study. Research needs to be
done to determine what is available on the market. Who are the vendors
and what are their products or services? It is advisable to request meet-
ings with customers of each product, preferably in a related industry. At a
minimum, you will want to conduct a reference check detailing your find-
ings, as shown in Table
8.6.
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