Templates for Formalizing School Software/Hardware Purchase Requests

Purchase Request Samples 1 Produced in collaboration by the Council of Chief State School Officers, the Consortium for School Networking, and the Council of Great City Schools.

Overview and Objective This presentation introduces templates for formalizing the requests for software/hardware that school district s receive from their employees. A sample flowchart to illustrate the request approval process and a sample request form are discussed later in this presentation. Formalizing this purchase request process offer many benefits: Reduces the burden on users by offering a step-by-step guide to request new software/hardware Standardizes software/hardware requests so that requests are more quickly processed Ensures new software/hardware aligns to the district s interoperability standards Ensures that software/hardware meet the needs of users before money is spent Ensures that users requesting new software/hardware get the support they need from the district or vendor (at time of purchase and over the life of the product) Informs users what software/hardware the district is willing to support and what it is not able to support Helps clarify the funding sources for new software/hardware purchases 2 Produced in collaboration by the Council of Chief State School Officers, the Consortium for School Networking, and the Council of Great City Schools.

Purchase Request Flowchart On the next slide, there is a link to a flow chart that visually outlines the process a request goes through before the district will approve a request. This flowchart also includes a formal request form that is discussed later in this presentation. How to use this sample flowchart: Discuss the sample amongst your district s cross-functional governance team. The cross-functional team should edit the flowchart to reflect the approval process that they have developed as well as the interoperability standards they have agreed on. Pay particular attention to the departments and approvers mentioned in the flowchart. Consider the individuals or teams that should be involved in the approval process for any software/hardware. This will help determine what teams need to meet and collaborate to formalize your district s purchase approval process. Once the cross-functional team feels the flow chart is accurate to their district s processes, share this flowchart with users. This will ensure users are aware of the approval process in your district. 3 Produced in collaboration by the Council of Chief State School Officers, the Consortium for School Networking, and the Council of Great City Schools.

Link To Purchase Request Flowchart 4 Produced in collaboration by the Council of Chief State School Officers, the Consortium for School Networking, and the Council of Great City Schools.

Purchase Request Form On the next slide, there is a link to a sample form that employees would fill out if they want to request new software/hardware. How to use this sample form: Discuss the form with your district s cross-functional governance team. Are there pieces of information in this sample that your district does not currently collect about purchase requests? Discuss how this sample can be edited to reflect your district s governance processes. Consider how requests submitted through the form are handled in your district. What business rules will help determine if the request should go to Finance, IT, Legal or another department best suited to approve or deny the request? Test the form with users and request feedback. The form should be easy to fill out for technical and non-technical employees. Discuss with your district s enterprise project management office how this form might be integrated into your district s existing software for project management. Integrating with an existing ticketing system in your district can increase efficiency. 5 Produced in collaboration by the Council of Chief State School Officers, the Consortium for School Networking, and the Council of Great City Schools.

Technology Software Purchase Request Form 6 Produced in collaboration by the Council of Chief State School Officers, the Consortium for School Networking, and the Council of Great City Schools.

Next Steps Even if your district does not use these templates directly, consider the information and questions they contain. This information can help your district figure out what information it currently collects on software/hardware purchases and what information it may want to collect in the future Information collected here can help estimate the cost to the district of not having a formalized purchase request process. Showing the amount of money a formal process could save the district is a compelling narrative to help get buy-in to adopt this process. This information could also be used to create dashboards to track purchases and purchase requests across the district. If you are unable to achieve formal adoption of this process, consider if you can get buy-in from a particular department or team. If they successfully adopt this process they can become supporters and serve as evidence of the benefits of adopting a more formal process. This presentation has mentioned some governing body s like an enterprise project management office or a cross-functional governance team. Your district may not have these structures in place. The creation of these governance bodies can help a district become more efficient and are worth pursuing. Finally, meet with users who will be making requests to purchase new software/hardware. Ask them what their needs are and design your district s formal approval process to meet their needs as well. 7 Produced in collaboration by the Council of Chief State School Officers, the Consortium for School Networking, and the Council of Great City Schools.