1. Managing Vendor
Relationships in Development
Projects
Katherine Kott
Stanford University Libraries
DLF Project Managers Group
November 2, 2011

2. Why work with vendors?
• Project requires specialized resources
for brief duration
• Short term funding creates recruitment
challenges
• Shift from traditional service models
(ILS) to vendor participation in open
source communities

3. Processes, opportunities,
challenges
• Selecting
• Hiring and managing
• Integrating work cultures
– Work practices
– Tools

4. Find the right fit
Blue Footed Booby Courtship Display 5 of 7, A. Davey

5. Spend time on the pre-nup
108 Copy of Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban's pre-nuptial
agreement, Mirandala

6. They’re just like us!
A formally trained
librarian!!!

7. With slightly different priorities…
Library Vendor
• Service, linked to library • Bottom line, cost
mission containment
• Technical innovation (grant • Service to customer
funded) • Technical innovation (if a
• Get it done right start-up or customer funds)
• Get it done on time and on
budget

8. When the honeymoon is over
just a couple of dirty socks lying on the floor, terremonto

9. Get ready for daily life
together

10. Define expectations, terms, roles,
responsibilities and tools
• What does it mean to • Point person match-
iterate? ups
• How much must be – PM to PM
specified up front? – Developer to
Developer
• What are the feedback
mechanisms? • Whose tools to use?
– For bug fixing – PM
– For unsatisfactory – Communication
work? – Bug tracking

11. Case study background…
• Drupal-based library website redesign
• Complex project
– Library Executive Sponsor
– Library Governance Group
– Library User Experience Group
– Digital Library Systems and Service project
management and technical management
– And the vendor…

12. Notes from the trenches
Plus Delta
• Significant in-person • Co-presence of developers
meeting time at project did not create auto-magic
launch (local vendor) collaboration
• Weekly standup with • Insisting vendor use our
developer on site tracking tool
• Collaboration improved our • Proliferation of information
process channels is confusing
– Ability to estimate • Initial culture clash
– Ability to make decisions and
move forward

13. Lessons learned
• We could not have done this project without
vendor involvement
• We can learn a few things from vendors as
we scale-up digital library operations
– Service definitions
– Clearly defined project scope
– Estimating work
– Making decisions and moving forward

14. Other observations?
Questions? Discussion?
Thank you!
kkott@stanford.edu