ACC - Mark Mitton, the liaison to the IS department

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 21-4 to help him select the best system.

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

TABLE 21-4 An Evaluation Matrix
System
________________________________________
Selection Criteria Weight 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

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?