Introduction

With technology now underpinning every aspect of learning, teaching, research and administration, the range of technology options can be bewildering especially to the non-specialist. This resource replaces the very first of the infoKit series - the System Selection infoKit (now archived). The System Selection infoKit was created in the days when the options for administrative systems really boiled down to selecting and integrating a range of 'Best of Breed' products or choosing a monolithic 'enterprise resource planning (ERP)' type system with less specialised functionality and the range of systems supporting learning and teaching was limited.

The technology context has now changed significantly and the range of options is much broader. In deciding to archive the System Selection resource, we realised however that the underlying model on which the guidance was based remained valid. The model is about defining requirements and planning a means of evaluating different options. It is actually quite a generic model aimed at helping you take better decisions. We have therefore refreshed the model to take account of a much wider set of circumstances in which it might be used. You can find out more about the range of technology options currently available in the suite of resources on Improving Organisational Efficiency.

The core audience for this resource is still assumed to be people who have been charged with replacing legacy systems or infrastructure within their institution. The guidance does however apply equally well where you are selecting a tool to do something new. The model is applicable to any type of application/tool and any scale of implementation. We identify components which are key to the approach and others which are optional and generally suitable only in very large scale or costly projects. The model was adapted by JISC infoNet from commercial selection models and has been used successfully by a number of institutions.

The basic model assumes that some form of formal procurement process will take place although a possible outcome of following the model is that you discover ways of using and adapting existing data, applications and infrastructure to achieve the same result more efficiently and effectively (more on this in the section entitled 'Buy, Borrow or Mend?').

5 Steps to successful selection

As with most of the JISC infoNet resources, this infoKit assumes that the decision to select an IT application or tool is being approached as a project and that some form of formal project management framework is in place. Further guidance is available in our Project Management infoKit (part of the P3M suite of resources covering Portfolio, Programme and Project Management).