Hearing more and more talk about COTS? We’re not surprised! COTS implementation is becoming a popular topic for evolving organizations, but it’s not always clear what’s involved in using a commercial off the shelf solution, or whether a COTS experience will benefit your organization and its UX maturity level.
In today’s blog, we’ll look at these questions:
- What is COTS / What is a COTS solution?
- What is COTS implementation?
- What is the advantage of using COTS?
What is a COTS Solution?
COTS stands for “commercial off-the-shelf solution.” It’s a ready-made hardware or software product that organizations can use to optimize business processes with little to no customization. It’s used as an alternative to developing custom solutions (although COTS are not always suitable alternatives!).
Organizations commonly look to COTS for their operating systems, HR and payroll, case and file management, email/messaging, specific task tools, etc.
What’s an example of a COTS solution?
Some examples of popular software-based COTS solutions are:
Here are some general examples of hardware-based COTS:
- Point-of-sale (POS) systems
- Scanning and printing systems
- Virtual desktop client devices
What’s the difference between Saas and COTS?
SaaS and COTS aren’t mutually exclusive terms: SaaS (“software as a service”) products are licensed to organizations via an ongoing subscription plan, while a COTS can be a one-time purchased solution, a leased solution or a subscription-based solution.
What’s the difference between COTS and Non-COTS?
The difference between COTS and non-COTS is the amount of customization required: COTS solutions are more or less ready to use “off the shelf,” and non-COTS are custom-developed to fit an organization’s unique needs.
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What is COTS Implementation?
COTS implementation is the process of putting your commercial off-the-shelf solution to work for your organization. Sounds straightforward, right? Well, that’s not always the case. Read on for tips on how to predict and measure success for your chosen COTS.
If you’re familiar with the Outwitly blog, you know that we’re big on proper project management, since it can make or break even the best UX design ideas!
Successful COTS Product Implementation
When planning for the implementation of COTS, there are six questions that will help set you up for success:
- Is this COTS easy for you to use? If you can’t understand how it works in the demo, chances are, few other people in your organization will.
- Does it fit the scale of your organization? Is there a user limit or maximum, and do the capabilities make sense for your business size?
- Is it compatible with your processes? Are there gaps or redundancies between this solution and your existing system?
- Is it a true COTS? Or does the application allow for small adjustments? (We recommend finding one that does.)
- How much user training will be needed? Are your users tech-savvy? (Developing user personas could help with answering this.)
- Who will provide user training? Is training included? If not, does your team have the bandwidth?
Answering these questions will help you figure out if a COTS solution will be cost-effective or worth your time. Take your time with them, and make sure you’re answering them based on facts instead of assumptions.
COTS Project Implementation Methodologies
These methodologies will help you choose the right COTS experience:
Discovery Research
Doing some methodical research can help you account for the biggest challenges your users are having with your current system. Otherwise, you’re just guessing at your users’ needs.
Start by creating a plan for discovery research and consider methods like user interviews and surveys to gather as much information as possible. This doesn’t have to be a massive research project! You can interview a smaller number of staff as long as they represent each role.
Technical Discovery
Once you have a shortlist of possible COTS, we suggest you dig deeper into how much customization is actually feasible with each COTS tool. This should be done by your IT lead, technical architect, or software developer.
The findings you gather can be used to renegotiate your terms with your COTS vendor and customize your COTS experience. This can reduce required training and lead to higher adoption rates. Once you’ve chosen a COTS, these methodologies can help you ensure that your COTS package implementation is actually successful:
Usability Testing
Usability testing lets you observe users as they interact with the current COTS tool and identify any usability issues to address. (Highly recommended before you commit to the full cost!) Outline your findings in a usability test report and share it with stakeholders to assess next steps.
UX Design
Depending on the COTS you chose and issues identified during testing, you may need to bring in a UX designer to map out any adjustments needed for your COTS experience.
(Note: Need some help with UX staffing? We’re happy to chat.)
Agile Methodology
We recommend using an Agile COTS implementation, e.g. breaking your plan down into small, approachable segments (or sprints), with testing, retrospectives and iteration at each stage to ensure you’re on the right track.
What is the advantage of using COTS?
The main advantage of using COTS is the low up-front investment, particularly for smaller teams. It will be most beneficial if you’re using COTS to support a simple set of processes. That being said, we don’t recommend this option for pivotal processes that are part of your main business model.
Are COTS cheaper?
A COTS is usually thought of as cheaper than a custom solution, but there are pitfalls, especially if the processes it supports are cross-functional, complex, or crucial to your profitability. Read more in our post on comparing custom and off the shelf software.
We hope you now have a better idea of how to choose and implement a successful COTS. Whatever you decide, if you’re truly listening to your users, you’re golden!
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