Your Software is Not the Answer

The difference between software and a system

The word “system” has been hijacked by the software and technology industry! Let’s roll back the clock—what is a system?

“A business system is a repeatable process that people understand and use to achieve a desired purpose.”

For example, you will ideally have a system for business development i.e. generating leads, creating opportunities and converting these into projects. The elements of the system could include:

• Forecasting the work in the office and the potential projects on a monthly basis

• Generating and reviewing a list of potential projects and clients

• Assigning responsibility amongst your team for each of these

• Maintaining regular contact with your potential clients

• Conducting and attending regular networking events

• Allocating resources to the activity

Most of these activities require people to act, to monitor, review, and communicate progress. All of this requires regularity, accountability, and feedback to be effective. Where does the software fit in?

Potentially you will be using a database or application to keep track of the progress and to capture information and review the performance. Your software is only a small piece of the overall marketing solution. So, when you are investigating and implementing a software solution, don’t think you are implementing a system—all you are doing is putting in place a repository of information and a way to communicate that information. It’s the people that utilise the software that make it work.

When your software is surrounded by supportive, consistent and effective behaviour, you have a system.

Several of our clients have been discussing the systems in their business and they look to the software application for the solution. But often they are actually describing the software, and not the system and the root cause of ineffectiveness and inefficiency. In our experience, this is exacerbated by:

• The lack of system expertise (and we’re not talking about software expertise)

• Unskilled resources

• Lack of internal expertise

• Inability to effectively change behaviour

• Conflicting priorities

• Not understanding the work required to implement a new set of behaviours

• Lack of commitment to the change process

• Blaming the software

This inability to implement a system leads to confusion, mistakes, client complaints, and failed communication between employees.

The problem in many businesses is that the system is not defined. When it is defined, it’s often not documented. This leads to people following their interpretation or variation of what should be done. A good system needs standards and quantification. What are the metrics for producing the result? We suggest four steps to creating successful systems:

1. Clarify the purpose

2. Assign responsibilities for each step

3. Document the process

4. Make sure it’s repeatable

What’s going wrong with current software solutions

There is a proliferation of software solutions for architects, engineers, and designers available. In fact, Management for Design recently conducted a survey of Business and Practice Management Systems, to research and assess the functionality, effectiveness and importantly the use of the various business systems used in practice. The results identified that:

“There are no systems across project control, resource management, CRM and document management that are consistently rated “very effective” by our respondents”

And

“The level of effectiveness of project control systems is very low — a concern considering this is one of the key foundations of any project centred business”

What’s behind this?

With so much investment in software and implementation, why is this happening throughout the industry? Our research indicates that there is a myriad of reasons for this failure to realise the promised benefits. Most of these reasons are not related to the actual software application and relate to ineffective system implementation.

What’s required

What’s required is a cultural and behavioural change in your business to support your software solution. And this won’t be achieved by investing in and implementing the latest and greatest software application.

Successful system implementation is more than just downloading and creating a new application.

The certain key elements for a successful implementation are: leadership, planning, communication, support, resources, training, follow up, and measurement.