tech for nonprofits · tech for nonprofits it's not a faith in technology. it's faith in...

UNAConference– September2017

TechforNonprofits

It'snotafaithintechnology.It'sfaithinpeople.

~SteveJobs


Agenda

What?Why?How?TheProcessQ&A


GoalforToday

Aprocessthathelpsyouevaluatebestsoftwareandtechnologysolutionsforyourorganization


Alittleaboutme…

NE->SUthereasonwhymakehersmilestillstandingamazingarchitectureSargeras!didImention…


Thatlittlebitofextratime….

UtahNonprofitsAssociation–SouthernUtahCommittee(UNASUC)GirlsontheRunSouthernUtahSouthernUtahCodeCampDevEngage


YourMission.MyFocus.

Technology:WebDevelopmentOnlineMarketing

Development:StrategicPlanningProcessImprovementOrganizationalDevelopment

EmpoweringYourOrganizationtoAchieveMore


SomeTermsYouMightEncounterSAAS

softwareasaservice;softwarethatislicensedonasubscriptionandcentrallyhosted;GoogleApps,QuickBooksOnline,Bloomerang

APIapplicationprograminterface;protocolsandtoolsthatspecifyhowsoftwareinteracts

CMScontentmanagementsystem;anapplicationthatsupportsthecreationandmodificationofdigitalcontent;WordPress

OpenSourcesoftwarewhereinthecopyrightisopentostudy,change,anddistributiontoanyoneforanypurposewithintherestrictionsofthelicense;Firefox,LibreOffice


What?Why?How?Identifyinganeedandfindingtherightsolution


FirstStep:

Doweneedit?


Itdoesn’thavetoberocketscience!


I_CARREPioneeredbyChristiePitzer,ChangLiu,JackT.Marchewka fortheLordofLifeCommunityChurch

Developedasatooltoassistnonprofitorganizationsevaluateawebdesignproject

Appliesprojectmanagementconceptstohelporganizationsidentifyrequirements,strategies,andgoalsfornewtechnology.

Pitzer,Christie;Liu,Chang;andMarchewka,JackT.(2006)"TheI_CARREMethodology:AnOrganizedApproachtoSelectingWebDesignSoftwareforNonprofits," JournalofInternationalTechnologyandInformationManagement:Vol.15:Iss.4,Article3.Availableat:http://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/jitim/vol15/iss4/3


WhatisI_CARRE?

Initialize- Whatisthedrivingforce?Whatisthevaluetotheorganization?

Champion- Assignachampion

Assess- Definerequirementsthatalignwiththegoalsoftheorganization

Research- Developalistofresources,organizeaknowledgebaseRank- Identifycriteriaandranktechnologytoreveal“bestfit”Evaluate- Definehowtoevaluatethetechnologybeforepurchasing


TheBasics(initialize)

alignwithgoals?whowilluse?skilllevel?haveresources?staffingchanges?buy-in?

whoisthechampion?whatdoesitbringthatwedon’talreadyhave?


YourChampion

Achampionshould:becomfortablewithtechnologyhavesomelevelofexpertisewithtechhavegoodcommunicationskillsstakeinfinaloutcome

Beware:don’tbecometoodependentonyourchampionbecautiousofownershipissues


Assessment

Whatisthenewtechnologysupposedtodo?Functionalityrequirements

#ofrecordsstored,#emailssent,security,availability

UserrequirementsTechnicalskill,timerequirement

SystemrequirementsOnline,on-premises,space

LegalrequirementsAccessibilityrequirements

Definerequirementsthatalignwiththegoalsoftheorganization


ResearchTime

Askatechnologyconsultant

Don’tgetboggeddowninjargon

Skillsinventoryofstaffand/orprimaryusers

AskforreferencesANDcheckthem

Document,document,documentContactinformation,notes,etc.

Resources:TechSoup

techsoup.org

NTENnten.org

Idealwareidealware.org

NonprofitTechforGoodnptechforgood.com

SocietyofNon-ProfitOrganizationssnpo.org


Ranking

UsetheSoftwareEvaluationWorksheettohelpintheevaluateneworreplacementtechnologyPossiblyuseaweightedscore

Lookforabalancebetweenease-of-use,costs,andefficiency

Identifycriteriaandranktechnologytoreveal“bestfit”


RankingExample– RegularScoringCategory Requirement Vendor

OneVendorTwo

VendorThree

System Browser Independent 9 9 9

User No previous programming experience required

8 7 7

User Strong Vendor technical support 6 8 6

User Staff member or volunteer has used the tool before

5 9 7

User Easy to maintain text and update 7 7 7

Functionality Includes sample Web pages and design templates

9 9 9

Functionality Offers tools for 508 adherence and accessibility 7 8 10

FunctionalityAvailable as a suite of products including graphics software and publishing software

5 8 10

Functionality Supports database driven Websites 7 9 9

Cost Affordable price after nonprofit and vendor discounts

5 10 3

Score 68 84 77


RankingExample– WeightedScoringCategory Requirement Weight Vendor

OneVendorTwo

VendorThree

System Browser Independent 5% 9 9 9

User No previous programming experience required

15% 8 7 7

User Strong Vendor technical support 15% 6 8 6

User Staff member or volunteer has used the tool before

10% 5 9 7

User Easy to maintain text and update 15% 7 7 7

Functionality Includes sample Web pages and design templates

15% 9 9 9

Functionality Offers tools for 508 adherence and accessibility 5% 7 8 10

FunctionalityAvailable as a suite of products including graphics software and publishing software

5% 5 8 10

Functionality Supports database driven Websites 10% 7 9 9

Cost Affordable price after nonprofit and vendor discounts

5% 5 10 3

Score 100% 7.0 8.2 7.55


Whichone?Whichone?

Reviewrankingsfromprevioussteps

Arethereanyitemsthatyouneedmoreinformationon?

Takeitfora“testdrive”.Askforademo,trial,etc.

Comparethe“best”anddeterminewhatfeaturesarecritical(showstoppersifyoudon’thavethem)

Identifycriteriaandranktechnologytoreveal“bestfit”


FurtherReadingHeatherMansfield’sarticle– “59UsefulMobileApp&OnlineToolsforNonprofits “

http://www.nptechforgood.com/2017/05/02/59-useful-mobile-apps-online-tools-for-nonprofits/

SoftwareAdvice– “Buyer’sGuide– NonprofitSoftware”http://www.softwareadvice.com/nonprofit/#buyers-guide

Techsoup’s donormanagementsoftwarecomparisonhttp://www.techsoup.org/support/articles-and-how-tos/choose-the-right-donor-management-software-through-techsoup

Buffer’s“ScientificGuidetoPosting…”https://blog.bufferapp.com/best-time-to-tweet-post-to-facebook-send-emails-publish-blogposts


ContactInfo:

[email protected]

(435)229-6423

YourMission.MyFocus.EmpoweringYourOrganization

toAchieveMore

tech for nonprofits · tech for nonprofits it's not a faith in technology. it's faith in...

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