Defining and Measuring Value in OSS Projects (cont'd)

Exercise Your Value Proposition

The following value proposition format, made popular by Geoffrey Moore, is an excellent exercise for every OSS vendor. The idea is to fill in the blanks to create a concise, compelling and accurate proposition. It is much more difficult than it looks.

• For ___________________________________(Describe of the target customer)
• Who is dissatisfied with ___________________ (A business performance issue, or a competitor’s system)
• Our product is a _________________________ (Type or category)
• That provides _______________________ (A short description of an important client business problem)
• Unlike _______________________ (Other vendor or internal solutions)
• Our product ________________________ (Very concise statement of key feature or capability that makes a product the best solution for the stated business problem – without mentioning technology!)

Every OSS vendor struggles with this exercise, so to make it just a bit easier, here's an example of a completed statement: “For Large Global Network providers who are fed up with inaccurate settlement invoices from their international carrier partners, our product is a Co-Carrier management system that makes it simple to implement, track and control all aspects of international carrier relationships. Unlike Revenue Assurance Systems, our product automates the end-to-end business cycle, from Route Contract terms, through actual volume tracking, to authorization of charges and direct settlement to guarantee 100% accuracy in the settlement process and thereby eliminate overpayment and fraud.

Service Providers should also take a shot at this exercise and in the process consider what they would like to hear from a vendor and why. The more clearly the service provider team can articulate its demands and priorities, and specify how it determines value, the more likely vendors are to deliver.

Talk to Each Other, and Agree on the Business Metrics

By now, every service provider executive, OSS planner, and Operations Officer has learned – usually the hard way - that vendors cannot read minds. In fact, some vendors are not even skilled at reading business requirements documents. To improve the odds of success significantly, it's important for service providers to look for vendors whose people understand their specific businesses. It is just as important to tell those vendors exactly what is needed for success and how that success will be measured. With specifications and metrics in hand, a service provider and its chosen vendor have a solid opportunity to create real value – measured in terms the business understands .

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