Ensure your business is ready to start a software evaluation project
The idea of rolling out new software that can make great improvements to the overall business and bottom line can be exciting. But too often, businesses jump right into the evaluation process before laying the right foundation, which leads to a very costly or failed project. Avoid this mistake by ensuring you have the below factors in place before you start talking with vendors:
1. Define the ROI
Work with your team and executive management to set clear expectations for your return on investment (ROI) with each software vendor you are considering, so they can help you understand how their solution can help you achieve these expectations. You will use these goals to help measure the health of an implementation project down the road.
2. Pull your resources together
Identify dedicated personnel and budget to ensure not only that the project can be taken to completion, but that it can be done in a timely manner and staff is properly trained. Having one key team member to represent each department will be helpful in ensuring the software selected is the best option for the entire business.
3. Identify a project champion
Your champion, also considered the internal project manager, should have the personnel, budget, support, and power to ensure that timelines are adhered to, training is arranged, and things get done. For investments that are so substantial, it is not uncommon for these team members to focus their efforts entirely on the software evaluation and implementation process.
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4. Get stakeholder buy-in
For a successful implementation, you must have buy-in from stakeholders at all levels. This ensures you have continued support for the project and minimizes the potential for skepticism and roadblocks along the way.
5. Embrace (and communicate) change
One of the biggest reasons business management software projects fail is employees being reluctant to change. Invest time in helping them embrace the change, move out of their silos, and understand how the other departments work. If they have a clear understanding of why there is a change, they will be more open to changing how things are done.
Read our Ultimate Guide to Finding the Right Business Management Software to help you be successful in your software evaluation process. In this guide, you will learn how to: