At Plume, Needs Analysis (NA) is the research phase that precedes any design or development. It gives us the opportunity to take a deep-dive into your business to better understand how an LMS should work for you and provide some clarity/direction for the project. At a minimum, our research includes:
This information allows us to match you to an LMS framework, agree on a scope of requirements, visualise the project and even plan for future phases.
Through a series of collaborative workshops, the documentation we’ll create together from this process uses non-technical language that everybody on your team can understand - creating a plan that everybody can be a part of.
We create systems and solutions that are tailored to each end user, from your internal teams to your customers or clients.
Projects that fail to complete a Needs Analysis often face challenges down the line as stakeholders identify new needs not previously outlined in the initial requirements phase. This can extend delivery times and result in unforeseen costs as we are presented with hurdles we had not previously anticipated.
By working with us on Needs Analysis, we’ll produce a fully-considered report that provides essential groundwork which can be used to enter the design and development process with greater clarity and direction.
This means you’ll be in a position to deploy a more cost-effective project that delivers value more quickly.
The Needs Analysis is an independent assessment. The process is just as much an opportunity for us to assess our own suitability to undertake the work as it is for you to decide if we’re the right partner. Should we find a solution that we feel might be better delivered elsewhere, we are happy to provide you with a recommendation.
Andy Pearce, On Track Learning
“As a business we pride ourselves on taking a no nonsense and simple approach to meeting the needs of our customers. But as customers ourselves relying on a variety of partners we are all too often left disenchanted by specification documents or technical analysis which are shrouded in jargon, formatted for scientists or just poorly developed without any consideration of the person reading it….us!
“But this week we received a needs analysis report written as a story, where the information, or plot, unfolded in a sensible order and a language that mirrored our own. There was less tech jargon and more descriptive text to paint the pictures we needed, no nonsense tabled information that reflected the words we had used which were matched to a solution, not just a solution written in the format preferred by the writer.
“In fact, it was so good, we shared the report with our entire staff and they were all able to engage in the process, it landed as opposed to flying overhead. We completed multiple reviews as elements cemented through discussion, without finding it a chore or putting it off. Both directors reflected how easy the entire process was and even wondered what we had missed, as it was almost too easy. But nothing was missed, the process was just professionally carried out in an informal way that mirrored our values.
“We highly recommend the needs analysis carried by Kaine at Plume, from the initial proposal to the delivery of the outcomes we have felt listened to and understood, challenged and guided as needed, but most of all we actually felt like partners not new customers.
We developed three NA programmes designed to suit any LMS project.
“Rapid” is our quickest NA service, designed to determine or validate the viability of a system or determine the needs of the business and its users. Ideal for simpler projects with costs estimated under £25,000.
“Enhanced” is suitable for projects estimated between £25,000 - £50,000. These projects may have multiple stakeholders, have requirements to connect to third-party systems, or need to tackle some unique challenges.
“Full” is suitable for larger businesses or businesses with more unique systems where there may be many stakeholders, often with project costs estimated at over £50,000. These are complex projects with multiple unknowns that require a deeper level of research, planning and understanding.
Should you choose to, you’re free to say goodbye at this stage – there’s no obligation to continue working with us and you’re free to take this document elsewhere for other quotes.
Sometimes, the Needs Analysis documents sheds light onto unsustainable business models and the client chooses not to continue with the project at all. Although it may not seem like it at the time, this is a blessing in disguise – detecting fatal flaws early, before the monetary investment of the complete build.
In most cases though, the Needs Analysis documents acts as the foundational structure of the rest of the build. Because we’ve taken the time to fully understand your business, the project and your customers, we become more efficient with the build and your business generates the results it needs in a shorter period of time.
The first step is to identify the stakeholders and to book in a discovery session to discuss the project in detail. To get the ball moving, email hello@plume.co.uk.
