projectfacts 2022.2

Define the goal

Digitalisation is on everyone’s lips. Especially in recent years, many companies have found that digital business processes are not just a means to an end but offer concrete advantages — whether through more efficient workflows, better customer service or less administrative overhead.

Setting out to find business software with the vague idea of digitalising your company is commendable but not very effective. It is better to set yourself a clear goal that is to be achieved with the help of digital processes.

Such a goal could be, for example …

• All our prospective buyers should be recorded digitally and receive an offer within two weeks at the latest.
• Our accounts department should spend 50% less time per month writing invoices.
• Our employees should document their project hours online and invoice them to our customers.

The more specifically you formulate your goal, the easier it will be to find the right software solution.

Analyse processes

Depending on which goal you are aiming for with the software solution, different processes are affected — e.g. creating contacts, preparing quotes, recording project hours or writing invoices. The next step is to map these processes digitally.

Many business owners or project managers opt for the (seemingly) obvious approach of digitally “rebuilding” existing processes. However, company processes are often historically grown and, on closer inspection, not as efficient as assumed. In many cases they are only retained because employees have grown accustomed to them over time.

If you are investing time and money in business software, you should rather seize the opportunity to fundamentally question the processes in your company. Focus on the desired outcome, not the existing process. This is where it pays to draw on the know-how of consultants. They help you to organise your processes and show you ways to digitalise them as effectively as possible.

You can recognise recommended software companies by the fact that they talk to you as equals. They do not want to sell a standard product but instead work with you to develop a suitable concept that you will be comfortable with in the long term.

As 5 POINT AG we have been supporting companies with digitalisation for over 20 years. More than 20,000 users already benefit from the advantages of digital processes.

Make use of our experience too. Talk to our consulting team.

Document requirements

Once you are clear about your goal, you have already documented the first and most important requirement. We call it the core requirement. It is a “must have”, i.e. a requirement that a suitable software solution must fulfil in any case. In order to achieve the goal, further requirements often need to be met as well. You should document these requirements too.

When evaluating and selecting suitable software solutions, it helps if you categorise your requirements, e.g. “Must have”, “Nice to have” or “A”, “B” and “C”. Orientate yourself according to your goal.

• Requirements that must be met to achieve the goal receive a high priority (“A” or “Must have”).
• Less central requirements that make your (working) life easier but are not decisive for the goal are assigned to category “B” or “C” or “Nice to have”.

The requirements list can simultaneously be used as a criteria catalogue for your purchasing decision. The must-have requirements are your exclusion criteria. If a product fails to meet one or more of these requirements, simply remove it from the list. This saves you valuable time and creates clarity from the outset about what you expect from the software — for yourself and for the software provider.

The responsible consultants review your criteria and discuss which requirements can be fulfilled, which cannot, and where there may still be a need for adjustments. The general rule applies: No software will be perfectly tailored to your requirements “out of the box”. Therefore orientate yourself according to the most important points on your list and discuss with the provider which adjustments are feasible beyond that.

If a software fulfils all the important requirements, you can begin testing the software itself.

Evaluate the application

The trial phase serves to get a first impression of the software interface and understand the key operating concepts. You should not try to “upload” your company into the test account and work productively with it. Data migration requires too much time and experience for that. If you ultimately decide against the system, the effort was in vain and in the worst case you may even lose important data.

If you want to look more closely at how certain business processes are mapped in the software, it is best to ask your consultant. They have years of experience, know many tips and tricks and will be happy to show you the process using prepared test data.

Tip: Nobody expects you to “master” the software after just a few minutes and find your way around on your own. Make better use of your time, have the process shown to you and only then try it out yourself.

In order to usefully test a software solution yourself, you should be clear about the possibilities and limitations of the trial phase.

What you can achieve in the software trial phase:

• Get a rough overview of the software’s functions.
• Get an impression of the “look & feel” and user guidance.
• Try out selected processes using test data as examples.

What you CANNOT achieve in the software trial phase:

• Set up the system independently (user groups, rights etc.).
• Import real data from your existing systems and work with it.
• Run through processes exactly as they are intended to work later.

Create a shortlist

Once you have gained an insight into the software solutions, move on to the final decision round. To do this, bundle all remaining tools in a list and evaluate them against your requirements catalogue, e.g. on a scale of ten.

You can also weight individual requirements against each other using a points system. But also give subjective criteria space in the evaluation, e.g. how much your employees like the look of the software or how good they find the user guidance.

Now there is only one thing left to do: make a decision. We wish you every success with your new business software!

PS: After the purchase comes the implementation. In this article we present 5 typical mistakes in software implementations and give you tips on how to do it better in your company.

Want to find out more?

Would you like to digitalise your company but are still looking for the right software? Feel free to contact our consulting team. We support you in analysing your processes and discuss your requirements.

Would you like to get a first impression of projectfacts? Get your free trial account here.