Twelve questions for every vendor, including us
Every vendor will tell you it is configurable, integrated, and a partner. The claims sound alike where the architectures differ, so each of these is written to be answered in a demonstration room, on screen, while you watch. We ask that they be put to every vendor, and we ask to be measured against every one of them.
Accountability
An organization answers for its records: who saw them, under which rules decisions were made, and whether statutory timelines are met. Ask to see each one live, on screen.
-
01
Who viewed this record, and when?
If a complaint file is opened by someone with no reason to open it, would you ever know?
A strong answer A view log with names and timestamps, on screen. "Comprehensive audit trails" usually means changes only.
-
02
Who changed this rule, when, and why, and what did it say before?
Years later, an appeal will ask which rule an applicant was assessed under.
A strong answer Before and after text, with a recorded reason.
-
03
Show the legislated clocks.
Every open application against the standards your own legislation sets, live.
A strong answer A current screen, ready to look at now.
Change
Bylaws change and Acts are modernized. These three reveal what a change costs, who performs it, and whether work already in flight survives it.
-
04
Make this small change now, in the room.
Bring your own change to every demonstration: reword a renewal declaration, add an award category.
A strong answer Done in minutes by a member of your own staff, and visible immediately.
-
05
Implement the bylaw amendments your board approved this year.
What is configuration, what is a change order, and what does each cost?
A strong answer A walkthrough carrying the split and the numbers.
-
06
Change a process while applications are in flight.
Work already under way is where the cost of a change actually lands.
A strong answer An in-progress application completing under its original rules beside a new one following the new rules. If changes take effect at the next cycle, that is the answer.
Fit
Some platforms begin by asking which of their features you want, and the rest of your work becomes a workaround or a change order. These three test whose shape wins.
-
07
What is step one of your implementation?
And what happens to the parts of our work that fit no feature?
A strong answer An answer about your work, before any answer about price.
-
08
Which of our current tools can stay?
The tools your staff already like are the ones worth keeping, if the process behind them can be governed.
A strong answer A form your team already uses feeding a governed process, and the same case opened from a login that lacks the right, showing the refusal.
-
09
Show one change appearing everywhere.
Portal, staff queue, correspondence, register. Count how many places the vendor touches.
A strong answer One is the answer.
Ownership
A ten-year system is entered easily and left with difficulty. Establish what is yours before signing, when the answers are cheapest.
-
10
Show us through the documented interface everything you just showed on screen.
Homework for your technical staff: they choose the three things, and they watch.
A strong answer The same three results, retrieved through the interface while they watch.
-
11
Which parts are your own product?
And which are partner products, with their own contracts, support paths, and price lists?
A strong answer A plain list.
-
12
What do we receive on the day we leave you?
The terms of leaving are cheapest to agree before you arrive.
A strong answer Formats, completeness, cost, and timeline, in writing.
Take these into any demonstration, ours included. Each one has an answer you can watch someone produce on screen. Ask us to answer them on your own processes.
Print the one-page sheet All twelve on one page, with a box to mark beside each.