Contributed by David Barron ? david.barron@knowledge-infusion.com, Principal Consultant, Knowledge Infusion

In this installment, we will continue to investigate the six steps that I believe will lead companies to value in their software selections. The six steps are:

1. Define Desired Business Outcomes

2. Define the Decision Criteria

3. Assess the Potential Providers

4. Engage the Providers

5. Conduct Software Demonstrations

6. Selection

Fifth step ? Conduct Software Demonstrations

Now comes the part you have been waiting on for so long, the software demonstration. I know it has been a long process and its fun seeing new capabilities, but now is not the time to lose focus. Everyone on the team needs to keep those well thought out decision criteria in mind while looking at the bells and whistles that the providers will invariably show you. Don?t get distracted by the show, focus on the content.

Some steps that we use at Knowledge Infusion (thanks Mike Brennan) to keep our heads in the game are:

? Conduct pre-demo briefings. Set the context prior to face-to-face provider introductions by covering relevant highlights from any documentation provided as well as from any third party sources you have leveraged.

? Focus on the product capability that matters to you. Develop a high-level scorecard for the audience to use as a means to compare each provider using the business requirements you have documented as section headers. This will focus their attention to the value delivered for each business objective. Avoid overly detailed score sheets that tend to be completely ignored or too much of a distraction from the demonstration itself to be useful.

? Ask them to show you. Follow the scenarios in process flow order to get the feel of a fully implemented product. When asking a question of the salesperson or engineer leading the demonstration, encourage them not to tell you how something works, but to show you. For any particular capability that requires exorbitant setup time, make a note to follow up with the provider for a remote demonstration.

? Ask questions. This is your time for everyone on the selection team ? from IT to functional experts - to understand how well each provider will satisfy your organization?s needs for years to come.

? Close the loop. Post-demo briefings after each demonstration offer collective insight through gut reactions.

Some final tips and things to think about when it comes to demonstrations:

Make sure the provider is showing the latest generally available software. The providers are very anxious to show you everything you asked for and sometimes that means they may have to show some prototype or ?demoware? that is still in development. Just make sure you know what to expect when the software is shipped.

Not all presenters are equal. Some will be good and some not so good. When that happens, it is not as easy to see the benefits of the software. Stay focused on the scenarios and not the speaker.

Not all organizations will fit the exact way a software package has been designed. So, try to determine those areas that you know will have to be customized. Keep in mind that every customization will have a cost in both dollars and time.

Enjoy the demo. In the next installment we will talk about the selection.

Next Installment ? Selection