A Poem About the Painful Process of Software Selection
By Chris Heard
Why? Why won’t they use it?
This new purchase from packard Hewlett
A decision process as lengthy as a climb to Everest summit
Only to find, no budget
Beauty is in the eye of the stakeholder
And yet they know not what they seek,
Or what they speak, or which technique
To maximize return for shareholders
Meeting, email, email, meeting
Gather requirements, vendor greeting
The process ever repeating
No true project near to completing
December, a decision now two years past
Implementation continues, ROI a faded memory
Decision maker steadfast,
This choice was right for us, just look at the forecast!
Perhaps, perhaps, scream the teams
A vote for change should be cast
We use Skype, we use slack
It’s Microsoft teams, a dev shouts from the back
And so the cycle begins anew
Marketing, sales, we need meetings with you
Removing you from your daily tasks
IT demands, more stakeholder interviews
With which vendor our data resides
How can we be fast and thorough,
And ensure success at Go live
And what of the vendor? A hamster on an endless wheel
A noble soul at the behest of two conflicting rulers
The customer, the boss each pulling, each demanding
Give me a deal, give me a deal
But boss, the leads, they aren’t qualified
Customer your needs not yet defined
I know not what each requires and yet I
Alone, I must answers provide
What do they want these buyers?
The finance, the IT,
Different functions, different geographies
How to decipher if we are the right supplier
If only we could know what cures their ills
What is it that give finance leaders thrills
Of what do they care in healthcare?
If only there was a way their needs they would share
Well my enraptured guests, here we stand
On the precipice of something grand
An idea, a vision, a new dreamland
Where supply meets on equal foot with demand
Olive is her name, and she will change our world
She comes to show you what you truly need
With thought, process and speed
Delivering value, instantly unfurled
December, a decision now two years past
Has delivered all it promised and at last
A partnership we could only dream of
Of vendor and buyer, connected by Olive
