The Process-Ranking Benchmarking (PRB) Model: Simplifying the IT-Procurement Decisional Process

The decisional process involved in IT procurement is complex, largely because it entails a large investment and because it takes time to make the decision. Another layer of complexity arises from the fact that the decision will influence every employee working in the environment supported by the system. This increases the importance of choosing an IT system that improves rather than hinders productivity. The supplier of the IT system can also influence the success of IT procurement, but this aspect is often left out of the equation. This study presents an approach that simplifies the complex decisional process regarding IT procurement. This approach considers not only the IT system to be purchased but also the supplier of the system. The approach combines process mapping of the IT systems (Business Process Modelling and Notation), ranking aggregation of desirable characteristics of the IT systems (Kemeny-Young) and benchmarking through data envelopment analysis. Together, these methods constitute the process-ranking benchmarking model, which is shown to enable a fictional group of decision-makers to reduce the number of prospective IT systems from 10 to just one, thus greatly simplifying their task.