How to choose enterprise software: types, functions and adaptation

When orders are entered on multiple sites, each person consults different data or a task depends on remembering the next step, it is easy to conclude that "a program is needed." The useful decision is to compare what type of software covers the need: a standard tool, a configurable solution or an application adapted to their own rules.

By completing this guide you will be able to identify needs and functions, compare standard solutions to adaptation and prepare a proportional choice. If you have already decided to build your own solution, see the guide on the software development process.

Direct answer: choose the type of software from the need

Business software is a tool that helps manage part of a company's activity: customers, orders, documents, operations, reservations, tasks or internal information, among other areas.

But its value is not to accumulate screens or functions. It is to get the right people to complete an action with the right information and following understandable rules.

For example, if the problem is that orders are lost between calls, mails and spreadsheets, the goal is not to "have an app." The goal can be to register each order, assign a status to it and allow the team to check its situation without chasing information through different channels.

With that starting point, you can decide whether an existing tool covers the need or whether to propose a solution of your own. Not all companies need the same type of software or the same scope.

6 elements to be defined before choosing business software

The problem you want to fix It describes what happens now without using technical labels. Instead of "needing to digitize", it says: "two people update the same order in different documents" or "we don't know which requests are pending".

An observable problem allows you to check afterwards if the solution really helps. If the need remains too wide, the software will be too, and it will be difficult to decide what to include.

People who use It is not the same as a customer portal or an application for staff working outside the office. It defines who enters data, who consults them, who authorizes changes and who should manage the system.

These profiles determine permissions. A permit is the rule that limits what each person can see or modify. Defining them soon avoids designing a tool where everyone accesses everything or where a simple task depends on a single person.

The main action to be completed Identify the essential path. It can be to create a request, approve a budget, update the status of a file, register an intervention or download a document.

If you cannot explain that step by step action, decisions are still missing. It is important to note what data is entered, what validations they need and what should happen when information is missing or an error occurs.

Information to be kept up to date The software not only displays screens: saves and links data. Lists the relevant data, their origin and the person responsible for keeping them.

For example, an order management system may need customer data, products, dates, status, observations and associated documents. It is also important to decide what data is valid when it exists in more than one tool.

Connections with other tools An integration is a connection to exchange data or activate actions between systems. Before ordering, it defines what information travels, in which direction, when it is updated, and what happens if the connection fails.

Nominating an external tool is not enough. "Connecting with billing" may involve consulting clients, creating documents, updating states or just exporting information. They are different scopes and require technical and operational validation.

Who will maintain the system when the business changes Processes change: services, new profiles, internal rules or required fields appear. That's why you have to decide who will update content and parameters, who will report incidents and what foreseeable changes should be incorporated later.

It is also reasonable to clarify what access, documentation and training equipment will need. A useful solution should be able to be used and maintained with clear responsibilities.

How to prioritize functions without converting the first version into an unstoppable project

A practical way is to classify each function according to its relationship to the objective:

-Resistible: without this function the main action is not completed, or the problem remains practically the same. -Desirable: improves usage, but the process can initially work without it. -Future: makes sense later, when the first part has been validated or needs changed. -Out of reach: belongs to another process, another tool or does not contribute to the defined target.

To assign a category, answer five questions for each function:

1. What goal does he support?
2. Who's gonna use it?
3. What if it doesn't exist at first?
4. What data, people, or external systems does it depend on?
5. How will you verify that he meets his expectations?

A function that has no clear user, objective or test criteria is usually formulated too soon. It does not mean that you should discard it; it can move on to the list of pending decisions until you better understand its usefulness.

The priority should also not be based solely on how attractive an idea seems. A visually striking function may depend on data that is not yet sorted. Instead, a simple screen to correctly record a request can support the entire process after.

Example applied: sorting requests

Imagine, hypothetically, a company that receives requests by phone, mail and forms. The team uses a shared spreadsheet, but there are duplicates, data are missing and no one has a clear view of which requests are still open.

Its aim could be to centralize applications and allow them to be followed up until closure.

A first version of enterprise software could prioritize:

• registration of each application with defined minimum data;
• assignment to a responsible person;
• clear, as new, ongoing, information-pending and closed;
• consultation and updating of applications according to the permission of each profile;
• basic history of changes or comments needed to continue the work.

Instead, they could be left for a later phase:

• advanced panels with custom indicators;
• warning automations for all possible cases;
• connection to other tools if the data flow is not yet defined;
• a specific mobile application if the computer can initially work from an adapted web version.

And functions that do not meet the objective, such as a public content section or full billing management, could be out of reach. A function is not invalidated by simply avoiding mixing different problems in a first decision.

What to leave out of the first conversation

There are requests that seem concrete, but they add uncertainty if they are not detailed. Before incorporating them into reach, turn them into questions:

-"Make it simple": what task should be simple, for whom and how often? -"A complete panel": What data is needed to make what decision? -"Connecting with everything": What systems, what information and with what rules? -"Who has artificial intelligence": What specific task should you attend or automate, and who will review the result? -"Let it grow": what predictable change should it be able to withstand: more users, more operations, new locations or new services?

It is also important to separate what should be built from what the company should contribute: content, business rules, access to external services, data that will be migrated and people who will validate each decision. These elements can change the scope even if they are not a screen or a visible function.

It is not necessary to resolve all decisions before asking for help. It is useful to make visible the unknowns that can modify the approach, priority or subsequent maintenance.

Next step: turn the problem into a useful scope

If you can already describe the process you want to sort, the people involved and the main action, the next step is to check whether a standard solution is enough or if you need development tailored to your rules and integrations.

You can explain your application project or business software to AVSISTEC by indicating the current process, the change you are looking for, and the doubts you still have. This will make it easier to assess the scope before deciding functions or technology.