dstraito
TB Fanatic
This example is an analogy of a poorly conceived companies procurement process and the lack of building solid requirements.
Here is a procurement analogy I thought I would share with everyone:
Let’s assume you are a highly detail-oriented engineer that designs engines for GM. Your neighbor asks you to buy them a car, because you are so knowledgeable.
You ask them what type of car they want and they tell you it needs to be able to drive at speeds up to 100 miles per hour and it needs to get reasonable gas mileage. You go to Ford because their family has always purchased Ford cars, even though there are a lot of other cars on the market that will meet their basic needs.
You ask them what kind of options they want on their car. They tell you that they just need a basic car that drives at speeds up to 100 miles per hour and gets reasonable gas mileage. You are about to leave to go to the dealer’s when they call you and tell you “Oh yeah, I decided I needed to have a radio.”
You make a note of that and travel to the dealership.
At the dealership, you walk in and announce to a salesperson, “I want to buy a car.”
“What kind of car” the salesperson asks?
“A car that will go 100 miles per hour and get reasonable gas mileage” you reply. “And have a radio” you pipe up.
The salesperson says “We have many cars like that, just fill out this form that tells me what you need and I will get it for you.”
“What are the options?” you ask.
The salesperson replies “You are supposed to know that in advance, you tell me exactly what you want and I will get it for you. Oh, and by the way, on the form you need to include the part numbers and a description”.
You reply “But I don’t know what options are available, much less the part numbers or descriptions”.
You call back to the neighbor and tell them, “They have a lot of models here, what options do you need?”
The neighbor says “What options are available?”
You reply “I don’t know, the salesperson said I needed to know the option part number and description, but they would not tell me what is available.”
The neighbor says “Well do your best, I trust you since you are such a knowledgeable engineer. I would like a car that gets better gas mileage than anyone else but it goes faster. Oh, and ABS brakes would be cool”
“Well I will be here until 8:00pm tonight if you want to go fill the form out and bring it back” the salesperson tells you.
Dejected you go to lunch and think about it. You revisit the showroom and tell the salesperson “How about letting me just buy one of your cars that is at one of your other dealerships?”
The salesperson says “No problem, which one do you want?”
You say “Can you tell me what is available?”
He says “I am not sure what is at the other dealerships, they are a separate group and I do not have a convenient method of finding out. I know they have some cars there, but I don’t know if they will go 100 miles per hour and get good gas mileage”.
“What if I decided to buy one, and it does not meet my requirements?” you ask.
“I guess you are stuck with it” the salesperson says.
“Can you at least tell me if there is a car that has the ability to be upgraded?” you ask.
“No, I can only tell you that we have a few different models there, I am not sure how they are configured” he replies.
You call your neighbor and tell them of your dilemma and how the dealer is not providing much help in providing a car.
The neighbor says “Well, you are smart, I am sure you will figure it out. Oh, and by-the-way, I need the car tomorrow. If I don’t get the car tomorrow, I will lose my job.”
You redouble your efforts. Determined not to let the neighbor lose their job, you get a list of parts from the local automotive parts store. You assemble the information and take it to the dealer.
The dealer is checking the parts list you have put together. “Let’s see, here is an engine, you need to tell me what size.”
“Well, I just need it to go 100 miles per hour and get reasonable gas mileage” you tell them.
“I need the specific part number” the salesperson replies.
Down the list the salesperson says “Uh oh, you requested an ABS braking system that does not come on this model.”
“Can’t you tell me what does come on this model” you plead?
“No, our lawyers have said that we may be liable if we provide the information to you, so we are going to just give you what you specifically request, if it is available.” The salesperson said.
“But there are so many different possible configurations, it could take me months to figure out the exact details” you say in desperation.
“Well then, I will see you in a couple of months” the salesperson says, as he stands up and shouts “Next”.
You finally get a car bought for your neighbor two months later, but they can’t pay for it because you went over their budget and they lost their job early in this process.
You lost your job because you were spending so much time on this project, you were not able to devote enough time to your work so you were given a performance write-up and let go.
The dealership is thriving, because you had to pay up front so they get their money no matter what.
Everyone who wants to buy a car from this dealership, “RAISE THEIR HAND”
Here is a procurement analogy I thought I would share with everyone:
Let’s assume you are a highly detail-oriented engineer that designs engines for GM. Your neighbor asks you to buy them a car, because you are so knowledgeable.
You ask them what type of car they want and they tell you it needs to be able to drive at speeds up to 100 miles per hour and it needs to get reasonable gas mileage. You go to Ford because their family has always purchased Ford cars, even though there are a lot of other cars on the market that will meet their basic needs.
You ask them what kind of options they want on their car. They tell you that they just need a basic car that drives at speeds up to 100 miles per hour and gets reasonable gas mileage. You are about to leave to go to the dealer’s when they call you and tell you “Oh yeah, I decided I needed to have a radio.”
You make a note of that and travel to the dealership.
At the dealership, you walk in and announce to a salesperson, “I want to buy a car.”
“What kind of car” the salesperson asks?
“A car that will go 100 miles per hour and get reasonable gas mileage” you reply. “And have a radio” you pipe up.
The salesperson says “We have many cars like that, just fill out this form that tells me what you need and I will get it for you.”
“What are the options?” you ask.
The salesperson replies “You are supposed to know that in advance, you tell me exactly what you want and I will get it for you. Oh, and by the way, on the form you need to include the part numbers and a description”.
You reply “But I don’t know what options are available, much less the part numbers or descriptions”.
You call back to the neighbor and tell them, “They have a lot of models here, what options do you need?”
The neighbor says “What options are available?”
You reply “I don’t know, the salesperson said I needed to know the option part number and description, but they would not tell me what is available.”
The neighbor says “Well do your best, I trust you since you are such a knowledgeable engineer. I would like a car that gets better gas mileage than anyone else but it goes faster. Oh, and ABS brakes would be cool”
“Well I will be here until 8:00pm tonight if you want to go fill the form out and bring it back” the salesperson tells you.
Dejected you go to lunch and think about it. You revisit the showroom and tell the salesperson “How about letting me just buy one of your cars that is at one of your other dealerships?”
The salesperson says “No problem, which one do you want?”
You say “Can you tell me what is available?”
He says “I am not sure what is at the other dealerships, they are a separate group and I do not have a convenient method of finding out. I know they have some cars there, but I don’t know if they will go 100 miles per hour and get good gas mileage”.
“What if I decided to buy one, and it does not meet my requirements?” you ask.
“I guess you are stuck with it” the salesperson says.
“Can you at least tell me if there is a car that has the ability to be upgraded?” you ask.
“No, I can only tell you that we have a few different models there, I am not sure how they are configured” he replies.
You call your neighbor and tell them of your dilemma and how the dealer is not providing much help in providing a car.
The neighbor says “Well, you are smart, I am sure you will figure it out. Oh, and by-the-way, I need the car tomorrow. If I don’t get the car tomorrow, I will lose my job.”
You redouble your efforts. Determined not to let the neighbor lose their job, you get a list of parts from the local automotive parts store. You assemble the information and take it to the dealer.
The dealer is checking the parts list you have put together. “Let’s see, here is an engine, you need to tell me what size.”
“Well, I just need it to go 100 miles per hour and get reasonable gas mileage” you tell them.
“I need the specific part number” the salesperson replies.
Down the list the salesperson says “Uh oh, you requested an ABS braking system that does not come on this model.”
“Can’t you tell me what does come on this model” you plead?
“No, our lawyers have said that we may be liable if we provide the information to you, so we are going to just give you what you specifically request, if it is available.” The salesperson said.
“But there are so many different possible configurations, it could take me months to figure out the exact details” you say in desperation.
“Well then, I will see you in a couple of months” the salesperson says, as he stands up and shouts “Next”.
You finally get a car bought for your neighbor two months later, but they can’t pay for it because you went over their budget and they lost their job early in this process.
You lost your job because you were spending so much time on this project, you were not able to devote enough time to your work so you were given a performance write-up and let go.
The dealership is thriving, because you had to pay up front so they get their money no matter what.
Everyone who wants to buy a car from this dealership, “RAISE THEIR HAND”