Selecting the right software package

When it comes to software selection, getting it right the first time is important, and means having your employees involved in the process.

Industrial Distribution - August 1, 2005

Steve Epner and Jeff Gusdorf

There is an old joke that says there are only two steps to software selection. Step one is to select a solution, and step two is to throw it out.

With forethought and a little effort, you can make a successful software selection the first time, and skip step two altogether. The trick, you see, is all about people—it's your people who must participate in choosing a solution that meets your business needs, and then take ownership of its implementation and use.

When you break it down, there are four key 'people' factors that can make or break a successful selection and implementation.

Selecting the package

First and foremost, 'he (or she) who makes the decision is stuck with it.'

The best solutions include a team that represents all of the various levels of your business, from management, marketing and sales, purchasing and the warehouse, to logistics and finance. When you bring in representation from multiple venues within the business, you create a situation for success. When your selection team includes multiple voices, the selection becomes a matter of pride—everyone wants to participate in finding the best solution for the company.

In addition to creating pride of ownership, a team consisting of a representative sample of end users will help distribute the selection burden by helping to define requirements—which will vary from department to department—attend demonstrations, call the references, and be invested in the final selection.

Creating 'buy-in'

Another old saying goes, 'the only person who likes change...is a wet baby.' We all resist change. New systems can wreak havoc on our daily lives. Introducing new procedures, and changing why we do things the way we do, can be pure torture—and too often is.

To succeed, make the selection and implementation a top priority. Let everyone know that the owners and top management are part of the team. Pick the most senior executive possible to lead the effort, and make sure they take an active and visible role throughout the project. Give your employees a leader worth following.

Accurate and complete data

The third area relates to moving data from the old system to the new one. Don't create an opportunity to fail by not following through with the conversion.

We've found that the best thing to do is have a small group of employees and support personnel from the vendors implement and test the conversion.

Make sure the team has procedures in place to ensure that all of the data has been converted. Check the simple things; compare the number of vendors, customers and outstanding invoices from one system to another.

Make sure everything is accurate. Audit the data before going live, and you minimize potential problems. Find the problems before an existing customer cannot be found or data is obviously wrong.

Training and test time

Finally, there is training and testing. More systems fail because companies underestimate the need to train their employees.

It doesn't matter how much the employees say they want the solution, or how computer literate the staff may be. Without a dedicated effort to train and test the system, you will fail.

The first two weeks with any new system are critical. If all of the time is spent fighting educational problems, you risk creating the perception that the new application is error prone, hard to learn, hard to use, not user friendly, and probably the wrong choice.

Once that happens, it can be a fast death spiral into the ground. Users lose faith, and then they start to doubt the system, its capabilities, and their ability to get any of the advantages promised by the salespeople.

Helpful hints

Here are a few hints to make sure you keep the training at a sufficient level:

First, if budgets are really an issue, try to negotiate a reduction in the total cost of training. Keep the courses and support that the vendor suggests, but explore using CD or Web-based training instead of instructor-based training. This is much less expensive.

Or, have your best employees get trained and have them train other users. It is in your and your vendor's best interest to make sure the implementation is smooth and successful. They want you to be a showcase site. That means they will often work with you on the approach to and cost of training if you let them know how serious you are about doing it right—the first time.

Second, set up a test environment. We call it a sandbox. Let everyone play on the systems as they get trained. The positive effects of training are reduced by the square of the time in hours between the end of training and when they get to next use the system. That means that if after training, a week goes by with no system use, about 50 percent of the training is lost.

Make sure that there is not only a place to play on the system, but that there is time, as well. Get temps to help with the everyday work so your best people can be trying out the new systems.

Run full days of activity against a subset of all accounts and inventory. Print out all the reports and make sure you and your staff understand where and how the numbers show up. Test everything to make sure it is right for the way you want to use it before it is mission critical.

Successfully implementing a system is a big challenge. It is important that your team and the vendor's consulting organization work together to achieve this goal. The important thing to remember is that you are not alone. There are experts out there who have successfully done this before, and who are willing to guide you through the process.