Decision Process (Dp)
While the decision criteria are all about what the decision is based upon, the Decision Process is about the route it.
We primarily separate this process into the route to a technical decision (Technical Decision Making), the route to money (Business Decision Making) and the route to paper (Paper Process).
Technical Decision Making (TDM)
Based on the TDC, companies setup formal or informal processes that lead to a technical decision. It is important to understand what these steps are and who is involved in it.
As the decision criteria, this process should also be documented and confirmed by the client.
Business Decision Making (BDM)
Who needs to approve? Are there any formal boards? Is there a formal process in a project approval workflow or paper forms? How long does this usually take?
Paper Process (PP)
Rigorous regulatory or business compliance needs often lead into time intensive negotiations. These can take weeks or even months, but are necessary to have a legal agreement.
This process is reason No. 1 why contracts get postponed and deals slip out of a quarter. Make sure you have executive sponsorship to give negotiations with Purchasing and Legal the right focus, the right time and the right resources. Be paranoid about the details!
Questions to ask:
- Which people are involved and what are the steps to reach the decision?
- How is this put in a sequential order and on which timeline is it based?
- How does the approval process look like for $100K, $500K or $1 million?
- Paper: How is the legal construct set up? Are there frame agreements in place? What are the critical mandatory terms and conditions? Which contractual paperwork is the basis of negotiation?