In COTS (Commercial Off-The-Shelf) implementations, engaging both internal and external SMEs during the Requirements Definition phase is critical for several interconnected reasons:

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Bridging the gap between business needs and system capabilities

​Internal SMEs deeply understand your organization's unique processes, pain points, and operational nuances. External SMEs (often from the vendor or implementation partners) know what the COTS product can and cannot do. Bringing them together early prevents the common pitfall of defining requirements that either don't align with how the software actually works or miss leveraging powerful out-of-the-box features you didn't know existed.

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Minimizing costly customizations

​COTS solutions are designed around industry best practices and standard processes. When SMEs collaborate early, they can identify where your requirements can be met through configuration rather than custom development. This is crucial because customizations increase costs, extend timelines, complicate upgrades, and create technical debt. External SMEs can often suggest alternative approaches that achieve the same business outcome using standard functionality.

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Reducing rework and scope creep

​Without proper SME involvement, you risk discovering midway through implementation that critical requirements were missed, misunderstood, or are impossible to achieve with the chosen solution. Internal SMEs ensure completeness from a business perspective, while external SMEs provide early reality checks on feasibility and effort, helping you make informed trade-off decisions upfront rather than during expensive later phases.

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Knowledge transfer and change management foundation

​Early engagement starts building internal capability and buy-in. Internal SMEs become champions who understand not just what the system does, but why certain approaches were chosen. This grassroots knowledge becomes invaluable during training, testing, and user adoption phases.

The Requirements Definition phase sets the trajectory for the entire project—getting the right expertise involved at this stage dramatically improves your chances of delivering on time, on budget, and with a solution that actually works for your organization.

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