The key to success when selecting the right tool and vendor is wrought with difficulties, misinformation, over zealous salespeople and downright confusion within your ranks.  Add to this the many facets of office politics on tool selection and vendors and you have a potential disaster on your hands.  The journey that tool selection is, does not have to be a disaster of epic proportions, however, you must be prepared in advance if you want to be successful.  The tool you select will be with you for many years to come, unless you have deep pockets, there are no second chances.

What are we trying to accomplish?
While this should be obvious, different groups with in your organization, group, team, etc. may have entirely different ideas as to what is needed.  You may want the group to be at CMMi Level 3 whereas the development group simply needs a good versioning tool just to keep your code straight.  So the main goal should be to fix the problem at hand, but be aware that this tool must be scalable for future needs.

What features do we want this tool to have?
This is where collaboration amongst the varying groups in your organization is paramount.  I advise getting the groups together separately and rank your needs on a three tier scale.  Those are, must have, nice to have and nice if it haves it but not essential.  The must haves are not negotiable if the tool doesn’t provide it then you drop that tool.  Nice to haves are things that would be great but not a deal breaker.  The not essentials are just that, nice if you get it but falls at the bottom of the list.

Once the groups write out their lists, representatives from each group should get together and compile the lists into a comprehensive list.  This should be approved by all groups once it is compiled and get buy in from management.  This list is probably the most important part of the process and must be adhered to in the tool selection process.

Do we go with a COTS tool or freeware?
I think this all depends on what you compilation of must haves and nice to haves is.  If freeware has everything you need and vendor support is not as important, then go with freeware.  But also be aware that many of the freeware tools have vendors that will support them and that can be modified by your development teams to fit your needs.  There are tradeoffs no matter which route you take.  With COTS you are stuck with a vendor for many years ahead, and this relationship is not always rosy.  With freeware you can move from one tool to another much easier.

How many tools should we look at?
This is where the list compiled by the groups comes in.  I recommend that you do some pre-screening of tools by visiting their websites and seeing what tools meet your criteria.  The last thing you need is 15 vendors coming on-site.  While there is no magic number, I would say no more than 5 vendors should be selected.  This will keep it simple because after viewing this many you have a lot of information to consider.  I also recommend not having all five vendors come in one right after another.  In other words keep their visits separated by a few days.  This will allow the people who go to the demos to sort out what they have seen and you reduce the risk of getting things confused.  Trust me on this one if you select 5 vendors and have them come in 5 days in a row things will bleed together and you will forget who said what.

What do I do after the first demo?
You need to right down your likes and dislikes of the demo.  Did it meet the criteria you set forth at the beginning? In other words, how many things did you check off of your list of must haves?  This leads to a good point, you can provide your vendor with your list before hand if you desire, they can focus their demo to this and you can make sure that their product delivers on your needs.  Make sure after the demo you get the group together to discuss their individual findings as soon as possible just so it’s fresh in everyone’s mind.

What next after all of the demos?
Now is where it gets tricky.  You have seen all of the demos and heard all of the sales pitches and a decision must be made as to who moves forward.  Again, this is where the list you compiled plays an important role.  The next step is to rank the 5 vendors on how they delivered on your list of must haves and nice to haves.  If they met all of your criteria then they should pass to the next step.  I would narrow the field down to 2 or 3 vendors.  Then have the vendors come back for a more detailed look at their toolset.

Should we mix and match vendor tools?
This question may come up.  You like Vendor A’s versioning tool and Vendor B’s issue management tool and Vendor C’s requirements tool.  What do you do with this situation?  Well be careful with this scenario for one reason.  Vendor A may say that “oh yeah our tool integrates with the other vendors tool.”  Be careful by what they mean by “integrate.”  Simply having pointers from one tool to another via a link of some sort is not integration.  Integration should mean you can operate and perform actions in one tool and never have to open the other at minimum.

Can we trust our salesperson?
This is wrought with controversy, but must be mentioned.  I would like to think everyone can be trusted no matter what, however, remember on thing when dealing with salespeople, their job is to sale you product, period.  No matter how nice they are, the meals they purchase or the way they treat you they are there to close the deal.  Do not let them sell you a sports car simply to drive one mile when a sub-compact will do the trick.  This is not to say that all salespeople are not sincere, they do want a long term relationship with you, they do want you to succeed, they do want you to achieve all of your gals, because this means more and more potential sales.  If you are not sure, ask them one question, “Can we get this in writing.”

Do we need a proof of concept?
Absolutely!  Do not buy a tool unless you have the vendor prove that their tool will work in your environment.  If they are not willing to install on your site or cannot otherwise prove it works with your hardware end all talks and discussion there.  The last thing you want to have happen is for them to come on site after the purchase only to find out that their tool doesn’t work with your particular OS or hardware.  By then its too late, the money has been spent and you are stuck with two choices, shelve the tools or upgrade your environment.  I have seen way too many tools end of being bookends on shelves.

All of the questions I have presented here should be asked and many more that you may come up with.  Remember the tool you purchase will be with you a long time and your reputation and very job may depend on its successful implementation so make sure you choose wisely.  The main thing is if you ask the right questions and get proof of everything that is said and your journey to the right tool and vendor will be smooth.

Joe Townsend has been working in the Configuration Management field for 12 years.  He has worked for CNA Life Insurance, RCA, Boeing, UPS and in State Government.  Joe has primarily worked with Serena tools, including PVCS Version Manager, Tracker, TeamTrack(Mashups) and Dimensions including support and training.  Joe is also an administrator for WebFocus and supports Eclipse users. Joe is also responsible for building all of the applications at my current location which includes a desktop and web based client.  In addition to this work Joe is also an avid gardener and history buff.  He have studied history for over 25 years mainly concentrating in European History.  Joe keeps busy with his wife and 4 children; a 4 year old, 3 year old, 22 month old and a 5 month old.  You can reach Joe online at CM Crossroads

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Joe P. Townsend said:

... Jim, I was not trying to offend anyone by the salespeople comment. I know most do have a vested interest in their clients success, both monetarily and from a sense of pride in their work and their clients success. However, when making a purchase of this magnitude, you have to be on your toes as the purchaser and make sure that everything that is promised is written down and can be delivered. Regards, Joe

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July 06, 2010
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Joe P. Townsend said:

... Mark, When I mentioned COTS versus Freeware I was looking simply at the cost factor of the tool not time and labor. Of course you lose money no matter what when you look at total cost of switching tools. Its one thing to go to your boss and say hey that 750,0000 dollar solution we bought isn't working out and another to say we are moving from one freeware tool to another and lost 75,000 dollars on time and labor. Regards, Joe

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July 06, 2010
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Bob Aiello said:

... Jim - we've lost writers - really good writers because they didn't like being binged by colleagues. Our writers are busy trench level people who really know CM - but often don't have a lot of free cycles to work on articles. I encourage them to contribute anyway - because these are the people who really REALLY know CM. I promise everyone a safe environment to contribute. If you see something wrong just friend me and drop me a note and I will fix asap. When you start writing for us - you get the same deal - ok buddy? Bob Aiello Editor in Chief

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July 04, 2010
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Jim Winder said:

... Hi Bob - I am not throwing stones - gee I also made mistakes in my spelling so I messed up too! I wanted to note the great work above because it is useful but point out that the spelling detracts from the work to some degree and makes it less professional. Also I think this web site should allow later edit or at least within a timeframe like Linkedin forums do - it's easy to make a mistake and once you commit the text it's unchangeable as far as I can tell. I am using Word first and then pasting so I can really proof read first.

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July 04, 2010
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Bob Aiello said:

	... Jim - I am extremely available. Please just send me a note on what you need edited and I will be glad to help you. Please also remember that we are all colleagues here and lots of people make mistakes. Let's just work together to make things better please. Bob Aiello Editor in Chief
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July 03, 2010
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Jim Winder said:

... Well I just read my own post and I had spelling errors...why doesn't the forum allow us to edit after the fact....oh well here is my reposting with my errors fixed! Regarding the sales person commentary, I just want to go on record as a sales person who cares deeply for my customers and I never deceive or mislead. In fact in several cases I have advised my customers to buy another solution and integrate with mine for a better overall solution. I really do believe in a long term relationship based on giving the best technical and personal help. I have been successful in this style because it is genuine and at the heart truly puts my customer first. So there are a few of us at least out there trying to do the right thing

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July 03, 2010
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Jim Winder said:

... This is comprehensive but please someone - spell check this and re-publish it! Great content with spelling errors detracts from your work. Regarding the sales person commentary, I just want to go on record as a sales person who cares deeply for my customers and I never deceive or mislead. In fact in several cases I have advised mu customers to buy another solution and integrate with mine for a better overall solution. I really do believe in a long term relationship base don given the best technical and personal help. I have been successful in this style because it is genuine and at the heart truly puts my customer first. So there are a few of us at least out there trying to do the right thing ?.

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July 03, 2010
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Bob Aiello said:

	... Mark, why would you say that you are any more free to move from one tool to another with freeware (versus COTS)? Bob
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June 17, 2010
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Mark McLaughlin said:

... "With COTS you are stuck with a vendor for many years ahead" and "With freeware you can move from one tool to another much easier". The implication (I think) is that if you spent money on something you won't change it. No matter what tool(s) you choose (COTS or freeware) you are "stuck with it" if you invest time and money into a solution based on it. You can't just change at the drop of a hat.

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June 16, 2010
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