How to conduct a needs assessment: a step-by-step guide
Seven practical steps for a needs assessment, from scoping and existing data to stakeholder input, gap analysis and priorities, plus common pitfalls.
Insights
Category: Guide
What is program evaluation? A plain-language guide for program leaders
What evaluation is, the questions it answers, the main types, the six steps in CDC's 2024 framework and what to prepare before you start.
Build, buy or integrate your business software?
How to decide between buying software, integrating what you already have and building your own, using a weighted worksheet that treats each option fairly.
Which business workflows should you automate first?
A practical way to rank candidate workflows by value and feasibility, with an editable prioritization matrix you can fill in with your own numbers.
Helping search engines and AI assistants understand your business
The practical basics that help search engines and AI assistants describe your business accurately, what does not help, and what you can and cannot measure.
What belongs in a business technology roadmap
The sections a useful technology roadmap needs, how to prioritize initiatives and a template you can adapt for the next 12 to 36 months.
How to choose a technology implementation provider
The criteria that separate a reliable implementation provider from a risky one, and the questions to ask any provider before you sign.
How to choose a managed service provider
What to define before you talk to managed IT providers, the questions that separate them, and a checklist for comparing proposals.
How to choose a software development partner
A practical way to compare software development partners on discovery, delivery, security, ownership and support, with a scoring worksheet and red flags.
Preparing your data for a CRM or ERP migration
What to settle before moving data into a new CRM or ERP, from owners and deduplication to test migrations, reconciliation and rollback.