Who should be involved in software selection within your company?
Selecting enterprise software is an important decision. It's also a costly decision, one that commits you to the future and can be critical to the success of your business. No organisation takes such a decision lightly. This checklist shows you who should be involved in this critical project, and who should be avoided.
Contents
- Taking the time and remaining objective in all circumstances
- Who should you invite to the software selection process?
- Appoint a project manager and a contact person to oversee the project
- Find a sponsor from among your managers to steer the change
- Identify and invite representatives of future users
- Involve other people in certain stages
- Conclusion: start well and finish well
Take your time and remain objective in all circumstances
Since software is an essential purchase that affects many aspects of your business, choosing the right software for your company needs to be an objective, fact-based decision. It's not simply a question of opting for the most popular brand, which is synonymous with security for you, or the cheapest solution in its category, or the one your IT expert heard about last week.
With management software, you are investing a large part of your capital in a system that will be intrinsically linked to a large number of business processes, and which will be used on a daily basis by employees in the various departments of your organisation. It is essential to consider how the software will impact not only your company's internal users, but also external parties (customers, partners, suppliers), who may suffer indirect consequences.
Take your time and do things properly.
Who should you leave out of the software selection process?
It can be useful to identify the people who should not be involved in the process. These are the people who have an interest in influencing the outcome of your evaluation:
- Software vendors. If you are in talks or negotiations with a software vendor at the start of your selection process, or if a vendor offers you free assistance during your project, do you really think that this vendor will recommend a competing solution that is better suited to your company's needs? If you answered no, you're right.
- Integrators. These consultancies are experts in the installation of newly acquired enterprise software. Most of them have established close relationships with a given software publisher or with a small group of publishers. As long as that vendor, once selected, will appoint them as installation specialists, they have a vested interest in recommending that vendor as "the best option for your business". What's more, this well-established relationship can be difficult to manage from the outset. Their expertise is in software installation, not software selection.
- Personal recommendations. A former colleague or well-known executive from another company may offer advice or opinions at a conference or on the golf course, but they don't know your business as well as you do. You may share similarities in terms of size, competitive space and other characteristics, but the needs of their business and yours may still be different. For example, they may be looking to expand into other markets, whereas you are concentrating on your own geographical area. You may employ a large number of field staff and traditional salespeople, whereas his company offers after-sales services and uses e-commerce for almost all its sales. In short, there can be a large number of significant differences, which means that the perfect system for one organisation may be a poor choice for another.
Appoint a project manager and a contact person to oversee the project
If done properly, a software selection project follows a number of stages, starting with a thorough assessment of your company's needs, based on information and opinions from each of the different stakeholders. It is important to appoint someone to oversee the whole process, from start to finish.
The role of the project manager is essential. In particular, he or she needs to have the necessary organisational skills and project management experience, as well as the ability to liaise with people in different departments to get the views of all the stakeholders involved. A member of the IT department who understands what the new software should enable will be a good candidate, provided they also have the skills described above.
Find a sponsor among your managers to steer the change
Change can be difficult for many people, even skilled professionals. Adopting a completely different system often means that you will encounter resistance. A sponsor can change this, so it's wise to identify someone who can provide the necessary support and act as a 'champion' for the selection and installation of new software.
The person appointed should be a respected figure in your organisation, and should control several departments. Your sponsor must be sufficiently qualified to find a solution to any problems that may arise.
Identify and invite representatives of future users
Management software affects several aspects of your business, so it makes sense to involve someone from each of the divisions concerned in the process. The most complicated software implementations can usually be explained by the fact that future users are not consulted when the choice is made.
It may seem obvious to include the head of each department that will be using the software, but be careful before adopting such an approach. Sometimes the head of the department may not be the most appropriate choice to represent the stakeholders. While the involvement of an executive can be a valuable option, it is wiser to use someone from the department to represent the other stakeholders, someone who will be using the system as part of their day-to-day activities. Don't forget that the user interface, ease of use and training issues are the key to whether or not your employees will adopt a new piece of software and how quickly and easily they will learn to use it.
Finally, depending on the type of software, it may be useful to involve an external stakeholder. For example, if your company is looking to purchase supply chain management software, you should ensure that your suppliers or partners can interact with the solution you are considering.
Always bear in mind that you need to satisfy several groups of people involved. The solution must work for everyone who will be using the new software.
Other people to involve in certain stages
- IT experts or technical ambassadors. Someone needs to be able to lift the bonnet of the proposed solution. This is particularly important in the case of local or hybrid deployment. Does your organisation have the tools and human resources to support the software? If not, you need to determine the additional costs that will be incurred to install and then update the software.
- Legal representative. While it is not necessary to involve a legal representative from the outset of the software selection project, it can be useful to ask him or her to be present at the most advanced stages - particularly contract negotiations. During negotiations with the supplier you select, someone needs to be able to record aspects of the contract so that it is properly executed.
- Trainer. What training will be required for end users to get to grips with the software? Does the supplier offer training materials? Can they organise training for users in good time? A trainer can help you answer these questions. Your training needs may be significant if you choose a system that is very different from the one you have been using until now.
- An impartial outside expert, like TEC
Depending on your corporate culture, your own expertise, your ability to select software, and a host of other factors, outside help can be extremely beneficial. If you are considering using an external consultant, you should consider not only their experience, but also their impartiality. Beware of consultants who offer you very limited solutions - they may have an interest in seeing you choose the tools of a particular supplier.
As an impartial consultancy, TEC is not tied to any particular vendor or type of software. TEC's service selection team has a wealth of experience and has helped hundreds of companies in over twenty years. In addition, TEC's Service Selection Team can act as your organisation's advocate in negotiations with the supplier of your choice. In terms of return on investment, this service can be very beneficial.
If you feel that you need outside help, but your organisation does not have the resources to employ a consultant, you should still approach TEC. We offer a number of self-service solutions and options, including an online software evaluation application (TEC Advisor), and resources - RFP templates and comparison reports - that can help you.
Conclusion: start well and finish well
As with most complex projects, taking the time to prepare can make the difference between ease and difficulty, and can even save you from an epic failure.
Finally, don't forget that implementing the software you eventually choose is a separate stage. When the installation doesn't go well, you can find yourself in a nightmarish and very expensive situation. The most important success factor in installation is whether or not the software you choose is right for your organisation.
If you take the time to assess your business requirements and compare them with what the various suppliers are offering, and if you are open to advice from all the parties involved who will be using your software, then you will have already started on your road to success.
Article translated from French