SSI Model

The SSI Model is a pre RFP tool used to conduct market research predominantly in the project management space. It's abbreviation means Subject Matter Expertise, Site Visits & Industry consultation. It is based on the assumption that IP in your particular space is available and one only requires a systematic process in place to obtain this information.

Prior to releasing an RFP to the market, this model if done successfully will provide the project team should solid industry of the industry as a whole and an appreciate into the scope of the execution their teams are AbOUT to embark on. This model was developed by Philip Grech and has been used in numerous locations in both Canada and Australia. More recently however, it was used by the Queensland Police Services to conduct their market research exercise prior to releasing a tender to the market place.

To expand, Subject Matter Expertise could be anything from workshopping with knowledgeable and experienced employees to interviewing X- project managers, business analyst, engineers, etc who have Delivered or have been part of a similar delivery.

Site Visits could include visiting other locations (business, government agencies, etc) that have similar requirements and investigate how they implemented their completed solution that may or may not include an actual market based product. These visits are important to understand in that they will provide you with a lessons learnt bible that could be the difference success and failure.

Industry Consultation is allowing your top "known" vendors to pay you a visit and allow them to demonstrate their product, service or solution to your team. In some cases, you may wish to provide them with a list of specific requirements that you would like to see "met" during these demonstrations.

The consolidation of the SSI model will then provide you with a very good framework to A) build and release a high quality RFP to the market B) provide a strong foundation to plan you project management strategy moving forward.

Subsequently, once a tender has been released and a vendor chosen, the SSI model provides a means to then reassess the original findings and highlight any gaps that may have been overlooked/precluded. These findings should then be an input into your lessons learnt documentation that can then be actively managed by your Project Management Office (PMO).