Music Notation Software Analysis

Situation​
The Department is responsible for delivery of the Software for Connected Learners initiative, supporting students to develop contemporary ICT skills. The government schools have been provided with software as part of this initiative for the past decade.​

Since 2017, the Department has provided secondary schools with access to Avid Sibelius Ultimate (Sibelius) music notation software. Users have encountered compatibility issues when using Sibelius, as the current perpetual-licencing agreement only allows for 12-months of updates post-activation.​

Task
Grosvenor was engaged to conduct a market analysis of music notation software providers. The purpose of this analysis was to determine a benchmark for adequate software provision and identify potential solutions that meet or exceed this benchmark for the Department to explore further.​

Our Approach​
Grosvenor used the following steps to deliver a market scan report detailing findings, recommendations and implications for the Department:​

• project establishment and ongoing management – through conducting a project kick-off meeting with the project team and sponsor to confirm objectives, deliverables, timeframes, governance, stakeholders, risks, and reporting. This included ongoing status reports and updates​
• desktop research – this included review of existing the Department documentation regarding Avid Sibelius Ultimate to understand the current state, as well as a market scan of the music notation software industry and vendors to identify and understand key features and top performers​
• assessment approach – this included designing, testing and creating both software assessment criteria and a software vendor self-assessment template with the Department vendor engagement – the Department and Grosvenor identified a total of eight software solutions to be considered for a series of consultations, with seven software providers engaging. Each software provider was asked to complete the self-assessment questionnaire and provide evidence against the software assessment criteria. The consultations were used to gather additional insights into the suitability of each software solution​
• vendor analysis – Grosvenor then performed a desktop assessment of each software to validate the supplier self-assessments. From this cross-analysis Grosvenor developed findings, including implications for future the Department procurements, and tested these with the Department
• develop market scan report – after testing a writing plan with the Department, a market scan report detailing findings and recommendations including implications for future the Department procurements was provided to the Department. This included recommendations on best next steps.​

Grosvenor included an external music education subject matter expert within our team to lead the assessment criteria design and the vendor consultations. This enabled Grosvenor and the Department to benefit from direct experience in music training and teaching experience with the current software.​

The Result​
Grosvenor completed desktop research, market analysis, and vendor consultations with both “advanced” and “general-use” software solutions. This ensured a wide-breadth of solutions were considered, that could cater for all levels of use. Grosvenor provided a Market Scan Report detailing findings, recommendations and implications for the Department to explore forward.​

Client Feedback​
“[The final report] is very comprehensive and informative, and the information and recommendations will be extremely helpful as we approach the next stages of our procurement. From my perspective, the report definitely fulfills our criteria that were outlined in our request for proposal.”