Mark Mitton, the liaison to the IS department, has eliminated all but the best three systems. Mark developed a list of required features, carefully reviewed each system, talked to other users, and interviewed appropriate systems representatives. Mark used a point-scoring system to assign weights to each requirement. Mark developed Table to help him select the best system.
TABLE An Evaluation Matrix
SELECTION CRITERIA | WEIGHT | SYSTEM | ||
1 | 2 | 3 | ||
Software | ||||
Fulfillment of business needs | 100 | 6 | 8 | 9 |
Acceptance in marketplace | 30 | 6 | 7 | 6 |
Quality of documentation | 50 | 7 | 9 | 8 |
Quality of warranty | 50 | 4 | 8 | 7 |
Ease of use | 80 | 7 | 6 | 5 |
Control features | 50 | 9 | 7 | 9 |
Flexibility | 20 | 4 | 5 | 9 |
Security features | 30 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
Modularity | 30 | 8 | 5 | 4 |
Integration with other software | 30 | 8 | 9 | 6 |
Quality of support utilities | 50 | 9 | 8 | 5 |
Vendor | ||||
Reputation and reliability | 10 | 3 | 9 | 6 |
Experience with similar systems | 20 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
Installation assistance | 70 | 9 | 4 | 6 |
Training assistance | 35 | 4 | 8 | 6 |
Timeliness of maintenance | 35 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
Hardware | ||||
Internal memory size (RAM) | 70 | 5 | 6 | 8 |
Hard-drive capacity | 40 | 9 | 9 | 5 |
Graphics capabilities | 50 | 7 | 7 | 8 |
Processing speed | 30 | 8 | 8 | 5 |
Overall performance | 40 | 9 | 4 | 4 |
Expandability | 50 | 7 | 2 | 5 |
Support for network technology | 30 | 3 | 4 | 7 |
REQUIRED
a. Use a spreadsheet to develop a point-scoring matrix and determine which system Mark should select.
b. Susan Shelton did not agree with Mark’s weightings and suggested the following changes:
Flexibility
60
Reputation and reliability
50
Quality of support utilities
10
Graphics capability
10
When the changes are made, which vendor should Mark recommend?
c. Mark’s manager suggested the following changes to Susan’s weightings:
Reputation and reliability
90
Installation assistance
40
Experience with similar systems
40
Training assistance
65
Internal memory size
10
Will the manager’s changes affect the decision about which system to buy?
d. What can you conclude about point scoring from the changes made by Susan and Mark’s manager? Develop your own weighting scale to evaluate the software packages. What other selection criteria would you use? Be prepared to discuss your results with the class.
e. What are the weaknesses of the point-scoring method?
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