Deliverables

• Customer Journey and requirement analysis
• Interface concept
• System selection
• Profitability analysis
• Project assistance

...please feel free to contact us without any obligation!

Core areas

• Marketing portals for brand companies and organizations with a focus on local marketing and trade marketing.
• Web editors for integration into CMS or online stores (individualization of articles and promotional material).
• Web-to-print/web-to-publish systems with a focus on solutions with a closed user group (closed stores).
• Editorial systems for the collaborative creation of publications in the area of corporate and editorial publishing.
• Translation management systems for database- and document-based multilingual publication creation.

Providers with headquarters or sales in German-speaking countries are included in the system selection.

Approach

The system selection consultations with Melaschuk-Medien are vendor-neutral, transparent, comprehensible and documented.

Melaschuk-Medien works vendor-neutral, i.e. no pre-selected provider pool defined in advance. Depending on the individual requirements, the providers that are essential for a project are first selected and then "filtered" step by step.

System selection can be performed using "classic" or "agile" methods. Agile methods have become established in software development ("Scrum") and can also be usefully applied to the software selection to shorten the selection procedure.

System selection with classic method

In the classical method, a detailed requirement specification (system­independent catalogue of requirements) is drawn up in the conception phase and the most precise processes are described, as part of the system setup (implementation). Costs and expenses are estimated as accurately as possible in advance, leading to a binding offer and, if necessary, secured with risk surcharges.

If changes occur during the course of the project, these must be taken into account as extensions in the existing documents. These often lead to delays in the planned timeline of the project and affect the budget.

System selection with agile method

With the agile method, the requirements are defined within the framework of the concept in the form of a minimum scope and on the basis of important "key requirements" instead of detailed functions. A disadvantage may be that certain detail functions are not included in the standard system and must be implemented later as an individual adjustment. On the basis of agile methods, costs and efforts can be determined less accurately compared to the classic method, but they can be secured by cost caps or empirical values.

System selection with an agile method usually requires less time and money than the classic method. Nevertheless, certain tasks are indispensable in order to make the system selection transparent and comprehensible. This includes project description, market research, requirements validation, test systems or contacting reference customers (see illustration).

During the subsequent project setup (implementation), individual project steps are then implemented at short intervals of approx. two to four weeks in such a way that results are produced that can be tested. The resulting change requests can be flexibly implemented and taken into account in further project steps. In this way, it is also possible to react more quickly to changes in market conditions or technology.

System selection process

Important: The individual requirements are at the beginning of every system selection. Suitable systems are those that most closely meet these requirements.

The following process can be designed flexibly according to the need and use of classic or agile methods:

1. Appointment of a project team at the customer
2. Workshop: Orientation, goals, customer journey and media channels, requirements, processes and user stories
3. Pre-selection of suitable systems
4. Creation of a project description (tender document) based on the workshop
5. Compilation of detailed requirements (specifications, classic method) or key requirements (agile method)
6. Sending of project documents to the providers of the pre-selection (if required, multi-level with exclusion criteria)
7. Evaluation of assessment of responses (objectively by means of value analysis)
8. Provider selection
9. Preparation and moderation of provider presentation
10. Contacting of reference customers
11. Testing of demo systems
12. Performance of test projects
13. Final decision
14. Workshop with selected providers for the development of provider-specific project implementation as a basis for a binding offer
15. Contract negotiations
16. Start of project set-up and gradual project implementation

You determine the extent of the consulting project and in-house services yourself. If the requirements are known, e.g. through YOUR preparatory work or have already been compiled in a workshop, Melaschuk-Medien can also create "recommendation lists" with short profiles of relevant providers. An existing system pre-selection can also be checked, supplemented and evaluated.

The basis

• Comprehensive market and system knowledge of Melaschuk-Medien
• Transparent costs of consulting services
• Comprehensible mediation of know-how
• Database-based market overview
• Comprehensive know-how basis as the base for individual requirement catalogues
• Objective and provider-neutral system consulting without commission arrangements
• Quick and effective information procurement through direct link to over 100 system providers
• Constantly active communication network with manufacturers, users, service providers and experts

Vendor neutrality

Vendor neutrality must be demonstrable. Request references from consultants who will guide you in the important selection decision. MELASCHUK-MEDIEN can provide different types of references:

• Confirmation about practical work by numerous customers.
• Written declaration and guarantee that before, during and after the selection consultancy, no commissions are accepted from vendors and that there are no sales partner contracts in place.
• Reference list with disclosure of providers selected in previous projects - An indication for neutrality arises from a wide variety of providers, without the frequent use of one.
• Reasons for the selection or rejection of individual providers – in particular within the framework of the pre-selection, this ensures a well-founded decision.
• Comprehensible procedure in the system selection and evaluation of the results by objective, measurable methods.
• Clear project process – You know what and why something is happening in the project at all times.

... to the contact form of Melaschuk-Medien

"Mrs Melaschuk supported us in the provider selection for a marketing management system. Especially her independent, neutral and professionally oriented opinion was very helpful for us. Thank you for the great support!"
Diana Pelzl, Marketing Department, HUK COBURG