Business Processes

Lesson B1: The use of COTS products will likely require changes in the business processes for a system's end users.

COTS products have built-in models of use, meaning that they are created with the developer's expectations of how they will be used. It is very likely that at least some aspects of these built-in models will not match what the current end users are accustomed to doing.

Lesson B2: It may not be easy to change the business processes.

Resistance to change may become a critical factor in success with COTS products. Even without resistance, there is a danger of underestimating the time and effort required to understand and convert business processes. The use of business process models may help.

Business processes may not always be easy to change for other reasons. The decision to use a COTS product may require a change in business processes that are outside the control of the program, such as a business process within a supplier or peer organization. It may also be the case that an organization's current practices are more advanced than those reflected in available COTS products. In this case, it may be possible for the organization to work with vendors to bring the products up to the advanced processes. In general, it is important to determine which business processes can realistically be changed and to involve all stakeholder groups in any business process changes. In coping with this, you must be particularly aware of COTS products that have significantly less functionality than the end users are accustomed to having.

Lesson B3: Expectations of all participants must be managed.

Difficulties arise if there is a divergence between the expectations of the end users and of the management. In some cases, the move to COTS products is motivated in part by the opportunity for an organization (particularly a government one) to operate with processes more closely resembling those that have been successful in the commercial world; such a process change in turn affords greater opportunity for the use of COTS products.