Soliciting Project Specifications

In our excitement about what new technology can do for us, we can be overzealous to be sell technology to our clients. We are not in the computer programming, screen building, system implementation or IT business. We are in the business of solving real problems for the healthcare community. The problems we solve: 1) transforming paper processes into new electronic processes and solutions and 2) improving electronic processes.

Instead of promising a solution through a specific technology, just take the specs. We'll meet the business needs using all the tools and technologies available. Mock up the user's request (currently MS Word works well for this purpose) just as they would want it to look like. Once all the requirements and constraints are known, we can select the best tools necessary to meet the business need. If the best solution is a $T, PDI, NPR or AEF; we don't want to let the customer down because they didn't get their favorite TLA (three letter acronym).

Don't tell the customer about the labor pains for example: how hard it is or which technologies are necessary if they don't need to know. Just show them the baby (read end result of your labors)! As problem solvers we are expected to produce results and save the requestor of our services the pain of the details. Be brief (don't burden them with acronyms and technologies), be bright (use the best combination of resources available) & be gone. Let's not sell specific technology; let's sell great solutions.

















http://www.despair.com/