Software as a Service (SaaS) Checklist
Considerations prior to acquiring a SaaS solution.
| Client | Comments | |||
| Have you clearly identified your business requirements and processes regarding this software? | yes | unsure | no | |
| Are you confident that the software meets your business requirements and process? | yes | unsure | no | |
| Have you ensured there are no other systems on campus that can meet your needs? | yes | unsure | no | |
| Have you checked that there are no other units on campus looking to fulfill the same needs? | yes | unsure | no | |
| Have you reviewed at least two other products? | yes | unsure | no | |
| Will the application be used for no more than 3 years? | yes | unsure | no | |
| Did the system demonstration address your use cases? | yes | unsure | no | |
| Have the impacts to your unit's roles and responsibilities been identified? | yes | unsure | no | |
| Do you have the data you need for input into the system? | yes | unsure | no | |
| Have impacts to your business processes been identified? | yes | unsure | no | |
| Are you prepared to change your business processes to align with the proposed solution? | yes | unsure | no | |
| Do you know of other Canadian Universities using this software? If yes, have you consulted with them? | yes | unsure | no | |
| Has SMS been involved or consulted? | yes | unsure | no | |
| Data | ||||
| The software needs to integrate with another system on campus: | no | unsure | yes |
If "yes" the proposal will need to be reviewed and approved through IT Governance
|
| • CCID - single sign-on | no | unsure | yes | |
| • PeopleSoft - Campus Solutions, HCM, Financials | no | unsure | yes | |
| • eClass | no | unsure | yes | |
| no | unsure | yes | ||
| Are the data ownership, sharing, retention, encryption, and portability compliant with the U of A policies? | yes | unsure | no | |
| Do you know how you will get the data out of the system when you wish to stop using it? Will it be in a format that can be archived and/or moved into a different service? Have provisions for data return been agreed to in the contract? This might be required, for example, if you decided to switch to another service. | yes | unsure | no | |
| Private, personal or sensitive data will be used in the system | no | unsure | yes | If "yes" the software will need a security and privacy review and may need to go through the appropriate governance committee |
| Support | ||||
| Will the vendor provide helpdesk support for the Application? | yes | unsure | no | |
| Does the support address your needs? | yes | unsure | no | |
| Does the training content and delivery method meet your needs? | yes | unsure | no | |
| Is there ongoing support and maintenance provided by the vendor? | yes | unsure | no | |
| If ongoing vendor support is provided, do they do so onsite, remotely, or both? | yes | unsure | no | |
| Product | ||||
| The product has been available over 2 years | yes | unsure | no | |
| The product is upgraded at least once a year | yes | unsure | no | |
| The product is used by over 100 organisations | yes | unsure | no | |
| The references from users have been positive | yes | unsure | no | |
| The service contract includes all costs for: | ||||
| • User Licenses for all your users | yes | unsure | no | |
| • Storage | yes | unsure | no | |
| • Training | yes | unsure | no | |
| • Support | yes | unsure | no | |
| • Upgrades | yes | unsure | no | |
| • Data repatriation | yes | unsure | no |