In order to leverage the benefits of technology against the accountability requirements of NCLB, many 21st Century schools have adopted, or are in the process of adopting, some form of curriculum management system tied to a data warehouse. All too often, disappointment with other technology-based solutions in the past is proving to be the biggest barrier to making an implementation decision for a promising application today.

When a large software purchase does not go smoothly for any reason, the results can be disastrous-financially and politically. By some accounts, up to 31% of all software projects are canceled before they fully mature-and usually for similar reasons (Boehm, 2001). In some cases, commitments are made to a particular application when the total cost of ownership (TCO) was not fully evaluated prior to purchase - a problem that can severely impact future budget cycles. In others, key stakeholders are not consulted at important points in the implementation cycle-a mistake that could reduce “buy-in” from large blocks of staff or constituents before the application is ever put into use. More often, the school or district did not fully assess a vendor’s product on the basis of a pre-defined set of software requirements-or perhaps didn’t take the time to develop these at all.

As a provider of accountability solutions by educators for educators, UpSlope can help you identify and fully document your LEA’s needs before you purchase your next mission critical NCLB-related software application. Experienced in both education and enterprise level learning management system design, UpSlope uses best practice-based methodologies adapted from both of these domains to develop the important pre-purchase requirements definition documentation that research has shown can favorably impact the success of your software initiative and reduce implementation risk in several key areas.