
Decisions are made every day in our lives sometimes
others make decisions for us and other times we make our own decisions.
The need to make a change is not always clear and in many
cases the old adage of making a change for change sake appears to be the main
instigator, the question is why.
Perhaps it's a human trait we all have, wanting to be
stimulated by something new, something different, keeping things fresh and
whilst this may apply in our personal lives should this also apply in business?
Making a decision on changing your business software
typically stems from an obvious need and is usually conveyed by someone in your
business who is dealing with an ongoing set of business needs, perhaps processes
which they must undertake and which the current system cannot cater for.

Think about this, if
one person in your business comes to you with what is a clear issue, how many more people in your business might also be facing the same daily frustration.
This brings us back to the earlier statement, decisions
in business are made on a personal level, not on the basic principles of black
or white, the yes or no.
So who do we involve?
Everyone in our business, after all we are building a
case here and without canvassing those that the decision will impact is
tantamount to making a case without substance and that can't be good in business
or in a personal sense.
Let’s Build the Case
So let’s build a case, here are some basic tools and guides that can assist in building your case for change
1. Ask the question- Prepare a set of
basic questions, in a survey format, which will be provided to your staff, this
should be presented to staff on a suggested quarterly basis and should deal
with general questions on areas where they feel the execution of processes
undertaken in their job is either not being supported or in fact being hampered
by the current system
4. Escalation
plan- On the basis of the overall rating, if the mark dictates escalation,
a committee will need to be formed, this will be a cross section of staff who
will be charged with the responsibility to undertake the following:-
·
Frame the terms of reference for the engagement
of a software vendor
·
Seek expressions of interest
·
Execute requirements plan
·
Follow plan to conclusion
5- Final outcome
(Decision to proceed)
At this stage all that could be taken into account has
been, the making of the case for change has been either made or not and therefore
acted upon or not.
Return on Effort
Let’s recap on what we have undertaken and achieved
through adopting the activities and processes involved in building a case for
change.
Inclusiveness- By involving employees in the process of review and decision making, provides individuals with a sense of inclusion in the decision making process, a feeling of respect and worth to the business.
Understanding what we do- We all undertake multiple processes and activities every day, many of which are either handed down from one person to another without so much as a consideration, the outcome from building a case is a high level understanding of what tasks are undertaken and why.
This in itself may raise more
questions than anticipated, in many cases it has provided a real and tangible
justification for the change.

“I knew it seemed to take me a long
time, however I didn’t realise I was actually having to undertake so many steps
to get this job done”
Provides a solid grounding- The analysis gained through building the case can be used in many ways, regardless of the decision and as to whether a decision to seek a new system has been executed.
The intelligence on processes, where issues have been identified or where the operating procedures are not effective will be documented, allow the business to address and rectify inefficient practices.




