Many businesses don’t leverage the immeasurable power of a great management software tool, mainly because the software they choose does not apply to their specific context. To assure you don’t make that same mistake, follow these three essential steps.

Define the problem

As a business manager, you should not choose new software just because you feel like giving it a try. Your choice of software needs to be made as a way to respond to a specific issue you want to solve or a process you want to upgrade.

To find the absolute best management software for your business, map out your current problems and needs. Common management problems include doubled data entry, fragmented information and tools, or lack of real-time assessment.

Define the issues as clearly and in detail as possible. Try to understand the reasons behind those issues. What are the possible solutions? This type of diagnostics will serve as the baseline requirements for your choice of business management software.

Analyse your current workflow

Just as you need to map out your current issues, it is also essential that you map out the current workflow. Think about the routine in your business and all the activities and information involved.

What are the daily tasks and how do I track them? How do I collect, maintain and manage information? What are the things that most frequently disturb the workflow? What in the day-to-day work needs to be facilitated?

After answering these questions from your perspective, ask them all over again in order to analyse the daily workflow of each team leader. If your business is small, you should do this exercise for every collaborator.

Besides analysing the different daily routines for yourself, it is best if you also ask those questions to the actual employees. Enquire about any type of problem and listen to their opinions and suggestions carefully.

After finishing the entire assessment effort, make a list of all the activities that you and your colleagues run regularly. It will give you a bigger picture of the business, and of course, valuable insight on what management software to acquire.

Find the sources and the solutions to the problems

In fact, most business management software products are designed around a particular process or problem that the developers intend to help improve or fix.

When you go over the aforementioned steps and relate the current issues in your company to the current workflow, you are finding out the exact things that need the intervention of management software.

To find the sources and the solutions to your business problems, complete the list of activities by defining which of them connect to the issues. Then, think about how the new software can solve them and which facets of your work need to be managed more competently.

Finally, you just need to look for the business management software that addresses the exact problems you have encountered and provides the solutions you have concluded to be necessary.

If you follow our three steps, getting started with a new software tool will be quicker, easier and much more efficient!