The End of the Scripted Scenario Demo Era

Naomi Bloom's recent posts (here and here) on scripted scenarios were a good memory jog to write this post.  I have thought a fair amount recently about the business application software selection process and I think it is going to change significantly over the next few years.  First, let me say that scripted scenarios are not going to go away - the vendor demos will.

Consider the following scenario.  Let's say you were going to buy a car and you were unsure which car to buy.  Maybe there are three or four that are in the size and price range you want (your short list, if you will).  You would likely go to dealers for each car and do a test drive.  You would get behind the wheel and drive the car and get a feel for how it operates and what you like and do not like (or would like to change depending on the options) about the car. 

Now, let's think about it how it would work if a car test drive was like selecting business applications.  In this case, you would have the car salesperson drive (demo) the car for you while you sat in the passenger seat and asked questions.  You could have each car salesperson drive the car along the same route (scripted scenarios) to see how each car handles the course you have outlined.  You would be able to compare "apples to apples" and probably gain some insight into what differentiates each car in terms of the driving experience.  However, you would not really know how well the car you select drives until you actually buy it and drive it home from the lot.

It sounds sort of ridiculous when put this way, but this is exactly how most organizations buy business applications today (and have for many years).  The emergence of SaaS and Cloud Computing is going to change that.  It will literally put the customer in the driver seat.  Instead of vendors doing scripted scenario-based demos, I see vendors setting up "sandboxes" where customers can run their own scripted scenarios with coaching and assistance from the vendors as needed.  Pretty much every vendor in the market today has a SaaS or hosted offering.  So, there is no reason that vendors cannot set up these customer "sandboxes".  Also, cloud computing infrastructure will help make it more economical because vendors will be able to scale their compute resources up and down based on demand.

Old ways die hard.  Am I way off base?  Is it too much work, too difficult, or does it take too much time to do a proper test drive of business applications?  What do you think? 

Comments

[Jason Corsello]

Great post Jim. I think business-based scenarios are still needed during an evaluation, though. The scenarios shouldn't be vanilla (ie "show me how you cascade goals in your system") though and should align with what the business is doing today or planning to do in the future (ie we have a corporate goal of increasing revenue by 20% next year. Show us how you can cascade goals eight layers down in a matrix organization).

I'm a big fan of "sandboxes" but its not as easy as getting in the car and press the ignition. It takes relevant data, configuration, workflow, etc for it to respond accordingly. Evaluating multiple sandbox environments in the selection process can be hard especially considering the short period of time most companies have to make a decision. Additionally, as someone that has purchased and deployed enterprise software, I often learn a lot about the system/technology after the first 30-60 days.

With that said, we often recommend a that a client create a "sandbox" as the last step before signing the purchase agreement. Keep in mind though, we still have a lot of vendors today that can't support a sandbox environment.

[Peter DeVries]

I agree with Jason - scenarios shouldn't be generic but should reflect specific business requirements for a company.

On the other hand, many vendors have a hard time demonstrating how their solution meets company specific requirements and revert back to demonstrating general functionality. This is where I agree that usability testing is critical. It allows the users of the system to truly get a sense of how the application would fit in their daily life.

As Jason mentioned, specific scenarios are essential and it does take time to work with the vendor to stage the sandbox to allow users to replicate "a day in the life".

Great post!

[Jim]

Thanks, Jason. I agree with you about the scenarios. They are not going away and they should be business-oriented. I also agree with how easy (or difficult) it is to do scenarios and "sandboxes". It takes work (which is why I posed the question at the end about if it is too hard). There are a lot of ramifications for consulting firms working with clients on selections that I could not explore in a short post. Maybe I will in a subsequent post.

[working girl]

I think you're right although I also think it will take a while to phase out. Logging onto an unfamiliar system can be intimidating, whereas looking at colorful slides and a well-thought out demo performed by a friendly, charismatic person while sipping coffee is not a bad way to spend a morning. Kind of like reading on paper v. reading online. Obviously paper books are going away for the masses but I think it will take a while. In the nearer term I think we'll see more short, scripted demos available online, rather than wide open sandboxes.

[Bill Kutik]

No disagreement here, Jim, only the observation made by Mike Krupa, who's helped buy a lot of HR technology for Charles Schwab, that many vendors haven't gotten the very first part right yet -- the demo -- let alone the next step of the scripted scenario and your suggestion for the sandbox.

Sorry your blog doesn't shorten URLs like Twitter (or that I don't have that software) because here's a gigantic one that leads to Mike's blog and comments about it on the new HR Technology Conference group on LinkedIn:

http://www.linkedin.com/groupAnswers?viewQuestions=&gid=1772602&forumID=3&sik=1260538494350&goback=.ana_1772602_1260537281124_3_1.ana_1772602_1260538494349_3_1

[Lisa Rowan]

The benefit of the scripted demo is that everyone in a decision-making capacity sees it together and at the same time. I don't think this can go away as it is not likely that everyone will find the time to get some (even minimal) training to undertake demoing on their own. I think giving buyers a sandbox is a lovely idea but I see it as supplemental due to the varied and numerous stakeholders normally involved in decisions.

[SylvieDahl]

I agree 100% that buyers need a process/workflow oriented demo script and hands-on access to the "sandbox" in order to focus on what the company needs and get buy-in from the end users.

We typically do either a hands on orientation or a show & tell demo a few key people before giving the buyer the car keys.

However, there are two things that buyers need to do before they 'get behind the wheel' and drive their own demo: 1) Document their business process and analyze what they have now with an eye toward where they want to go, and 2) Focus on what the company needs rather than the minor features/functions.

In other words - they need a roadmap and a destination.

We advise customers that everything on their wish list be RANKED on a scale of 1 to 3, being the 'must have' vs 'nice to have' vs 'pie in the sky' bells & whistles. This also helps us understand if our solution is a good fit, or not.