Know Your Objective
This first step in choosing the correct software tools is knowing what you want the software to do.
This can often be broken down into three areas:
- What must the system do?
- What problems must the new solution solve?
- What would a solution be worth?
It is important to involve your team right from the start. Bring in anyone who will be dealing with the system. They will know better than anyone the issues associated with the current system.
Create A List Of Software Requirements
You’ll want to put together an all-inclusive list of requirements for the new system. Important requirements to think about are:
- Functional requirements – what do you need the software to do?
- Technological preferences – do you need a cloud-based system or on-premises?
- Budget considerations – what is your budget, and what is the system worth to your business?
Now go through the requirements and rank them on a scale from “necessary” to “good to have”.
Start Searching For Relevant Applications
Now, you would want to create a long list of all possible software available. However, don’t waste time evaluating the systems, just list them out.
Start Excluding Solutions
Now that you have your long list, it’s time to start eliminating.
Your objective in this step is to identify unsuitable entries. There’s no point wasting time evaluating a system that will ultimately turn out to be incompatible. Go through the list one at a time and concentrate on a few criterions from your requirements.
Start Trialing Your Selected Software
Concentrate on assessing the software against your criteria. A requirements matrix will help you. To create a requirements matrix, list all your short-listed software in the first column and all your requirements across the first row. Then check the requirements as you evaluate each solution.
Although a demonstration from the vendor is the most excellent way of assessing functional and reporting requirements, get both a demo and a trial. Start with the demonstration and then take a trial.
Do Your Due Diligence
By now, you will probably have an idea of which software is “winning”.
Having almost selected a software, it is now time to do some homework. This is where you need to address the vendor requirements. If the software is sold through a partner or reseller program, you’ll want to investigate the reseller.