The software selection process can be long and complicated, and your decision on specific software solutions will impact your business operations for the next 10-15 years. Finding the right system takes time and money. The research should be done with appropriate care and consideration.
To make this task a little easier, we’ve looked at five common mistakes in the software selection process and offer tips on how to avoid them.
5 common mistakes in the software selection process and how to avoid them
1. Not including enough perspectives
One of the most common mistakes in the software selection process is to have only a vague idea of what is needed, rather than listing specific requirements. Testing and selecting the right software is much easier when you know exactly what you want your new system to do.
Sean Nguyen, head of Internet Advisor, told us what he learned in his own software selection process.
We had a general idea that we needed a software upgrade, but we didn’t know more specifically what we actually needed assistance with. This led us to get distracted by tempting-sounding offers and special features that we didn’t actually need. This lesson cost us some money, but it was valuable. I would encourage all business owners to think carefully within their teams about what they want from a system before making a purchase.
Sean Nguyen
Sometimes requirements are missed because the software selection process is led only by technical staff or a small group of executives. To avoid this, involve as many different stakeholders as possible in the selection process.
It’s not enough to just consider the perspective of individual people or departments, especially if multiple departments will be using the system on a daily basis (for example, project management software or ERP systems). That’s why it pays to assemble a software selection team of diverse employees who can champion the needs of their respective departments.
Once you have gathered feedback from a number of future users, create a requirements document that you will use in the rest of the software selection process. The requirements document should list not only the business problems you want to solve, but also the must-have and nice-to-have features you want from the new tool.
2. Too much (or too little) information in requests to vendors
Your requirements document serves as a compass with which you can start the next step of software selection: vendor research. During the research process, you should send different requests to the vendors to find out if their solution fits your company’s needs and budget. Examples are directory assistance or. Requests for services or quotes and prices.
Often the process is delayed because these requests contain too much or too little information. Not enough information can lead you to buy an incomplete solution without all the features you need.
However, a request that is too specific, including not only details about desired features, but also every single exception or customization desired, can prevent a vendor from being innovative and creative in problem solving.
A balanced request makes a big difference to vendors and goes a long way toward successfully finding a good solution.
3. Relying on the wrong recommendations
This mistake happens all the time: companies buy software on the recommendation of friends or colleagues, and after a while they realize that their problems just got more complicated with that software.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t listen to what others have to say about the software in your selection, but with success stories, it all comes down to context.
Even if a colleague you trust confidently recommends a project management system she used three years ago, you don’t know how much the software has changed in that time – and change is fast in the software world. Also, your colleague may have been in a completely different industry or job at the time.
Jeremy Owens, chief marketing officer at Seriously Smoked, has the following advice:
The most important thing our team learned from this experience was to look at the target market of the software we were interested in. Reviews are meaningless if they all come from large corporations and you run a small business yourself.
Jeremy Owens
User reviews are only helpful if the context is right. When using online reviews to make your decision, look for recommendations from similar-sized companies in your industry and with similar use cases.
Another strategy is to ask the vendors on your list to send you industry-relevant references and contact those individuals directly. Here’s how to ask them questions about their experience with the vendor and the software.
4. Don’t think about the future
Depending on the type of solution you choose, your company may be using this software for the next ten years. Accordingly, it’s important to think about how your business needs will change over the next few years during the software selection process. Otherwise, you may make the mistake of buying software that fits your current needs but is not scalable.
Growth Marketing founder Stacy Caprio told us a familiar story: she chose a popular software solution when she got into email marketing, but soon found it wasn’t financially viable.
Once I reach the threshold of 2.000 subscribers, I realized how expensive the solution was becoming, even with little more than 2.000 subscribers had. It was no longer worth it for me to continue using it.
Stacy Caprio
Consider the planned evolution of your business, including your plans for hiring new staff, product and service development, and possible expansions. It usually pays to have a flexible solution that can grow with your business.
Flexibility also includes choosing an innovative vendor that keeps up with new technologies. Forward-thinking vendors help you stay competitive as your system evolves and adapts to your future business needs.
5. Choose the best value option
The most common mistake in the software selection process is choosing the solution for which you got the best deal. Of course, it makes sense to set a budget and stick to it, but it’s equally important to factor in the total cost of ownership (TCO) over the planned lifecycle of the software.
Jay Allen, publisher of Unseen Japan, told us that when he started his online publication, he went with the “cheapest, lowest cost” option for hosting content. Because of complications with the free hosting software, he eventually switched to a paid alternative, but before doing so he had to migrate more than 300 pieces of content to the new platform.
What I learned from this? That you get what you pay for – and if you don’t pay anything, it’s not much.
Jay Allen
Total cost of ownership includes hardware that may be needed to run the software (or subscription fees for software-as-a-service), as well as implementation, maintenance, integration and training costs. Integration costs in particular can add up to a large sum over time, depending on how frequently upgrades or additional applications are needed.
Would you like to calculate the total cost of ownership of the software solutions on your shortlist?? Our TCO calculator makes it easy.
The software selection process requires a lot of planning and research
On average, it takes 9 to 18 months to successfully select and implement new software.
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