Needs Analysis News & Articles

In my last article, I described how to avoid the analysis-paralysis trap and quickly make your way to a short list of content management software options. If you missed that article, check out Selecting a CMS: How to Build a Short List.  If you followed the recommended approach, you should have a good idea of your high-level vision (what type of website you need to manage), your financial and technical constraints and few promising products to look at.

In this article I describe how to define some practical usage scenarios which you will use to shape the product evaluation process.

Researching and selecting a web content management system is often an arduous process. On the outset, few organizations realize what they are getting into. And most team reps and decision makers have other daily responsibilities that compete for their attention. It's not surprising that simple looking decision making tools suddenly become attractive.

Once the requirements collection and product evaluation phases are complete, the most difficult part of a CMS selection process starts. In this phase the group must take all the information that was gathered and meaningfully use it to make an accurate decision. With project fatigue setting in, this is where things often go wrong.

During a short-lived stint as a science major in college, I used to write my biology labs in the narrative format, rather than using the mandated department guidelines of appropriate lab-speak.

I did this because I took pity on the teacher’s assistant, who’d be grading report after report, and who may find my descriptive narration of Petri dishes and mold to be a welcome respite.

Though the bio department was none too appreciative of my creative writing, narrative tendencies have proven effective in life outside the lab for helping explain how a website meets the needs of different users. Indeed, nothing paints a better picture than scenario-building to inspire a purchase.