Product Evaluation & Acquisition

Lesson EA1: Choosing an appropriate vendor is important to success.

When you choose a COTS product, you are also choosing its vendor. Your relationship with that vendor will be critical to your success, so the qualities of the vendors must be factored into your evaluation and acquisition process.

Lesson EA2: Knowledge of the marketplace and of specific technologies and products is critical. Assumptions and naïveté are deadly.

One of the best ways to manage the risks associated with the use of COTS products is to be a smart buyer. It is important to know and understand your marketplace and to keep up with its trends and developments.

Lesson EA3: Cultivate COTS knowledge and expertise in your procurement organization.

Knowledge and competence in dealing with COTS products and the COTS marketplace are as important for procurement organizations as for technical and engineering organizations. However, because different considerations exist, your procurement organization must become better educated on these facets.