Technology Acquisition by A. Eskelin

Technology Acquisition by Allen Eskelin (summurized by Beth Francisco)

Shift from building technology to buying technology (i.e. Technology Acquisition)

Project Life Cycle for Managing a Technology Acquisition project

Initiation Planning Research Evaluation Negotiation Implementation Operation A.Initiation Phase Includes all activities that defines a new project. Purpose is to clearly define the business need, define & develop a solution to address the need, create a business case to justify the solution, and begin to define the initiative in a project charter.

There are 2 sub-processes:

The Business Need A defined change to the current state of a business that will benefit the business in some way. Can be an opportunity for improvement or a problem that must be resolved. Includes the business context, business need supporting facts, assumptions and approvals.

The Project Charter Clearly define what the project is; answers the question what, why, how, when, where and who Includes the following: Executive Summary, a narrative of the Business Need, Project Objectives, Impact Assessment, Measurement for Success, Scope, Risks, Time Constraints, Stakeholder / Sponsor Approvals

Project Sponsor – project champion; leadership; decision-making; accountability. Responsible for the success or failure of the project; ensures that the objectives of the tech. acquisition project are achieved as stated in the project charter

Project Manager – gathers & manages resources required to complete the project objectives. The ff. are internal obstacles & influences the PM has to deal with within the organization: (1) Stakeholder motives; (2) Budget constraints; (3) Executive Mgt; and (4) Change Mgt. The ff. are external obstacles & influences the PM has to deal with outside the organization: (1) Vendor situation; (2) New technology; (3) Competitor solutions; (4) Economic conditions; and (5) Vendor Market conditions.

Project Stakeholders – individual or organization impacted by the success or failure of the tech. acquisition project. The ff. are some considerations in dealing with stakeholders: ( 1) Stakeholder motives; (2) Managing stakeholder expectations; (3) Organizational influence (getting buy-in); (4) Defining priorities; and (5) getting consensus.