Tips for Choosing your Next Construction Software Package

Once the decision has been made to implement new construction software, the goal is to make the process of selecting new software as easy and successful as possible.  A number of factors will need to be considered when you review potential software solutions.

Every company will come to the table with existing processes in place, regardless of whether or not those processes are the most efficient or are best practices.

However, in most cases, companies are better off looking for new construction software that fits their specific business models.  There are a number of commonalities in nearly all construction businesses that are accounted for in most software, so being aware of how well a piece of software matches with your unique business models is the key.

Construction projects all require manpower, materials, equipment, vendors, and other components that are similar for most projects.  Therefore, when selecting new construction software, make sure your new solution includes a user-friendly workflow module that will give you the ability to monitor and manage resources in real time with a certain degree of flexibility.

Workflow processes in the construction industry are pretty similar from company to company and many projects need the same resources to be executed effectively and efficiently.  Thus, although the workflow module is important to have, rest assured that most construction management software packages have a workflow module.

Additionally, construction software should be flexible enough to change orders when confronted with inevitable unforeseen circumstances.

Also important is to ensure that the new construction software has an integrated accounting module.  Construction accounting software gives companies the ability to track and control costs in real time.

Finally, consider the new software’s functionality in relation to field operators.  Many field supervisors use wireless devices to keep projects up to date and manage data.  If your company uses field operates to this degree, make sure that your next construction software package has web-based applications that will allow these activities to take place.

In searching for the next software for your company, make sure that you begin by mapping out the busineeses processes.  Once you can see how things are done within your organization, you can check to ensure that any new software will align well with your processes to provide your company the greatest benefit.

Selecting New Construction Software with End-User Input

When selecting a new construction software package, one of the most important things you can do is make sure that you involve an entire team in the selection process.  We’ve already talked about the importance of having a software champion, but more individuals need to be involved in the process from multiple departments within the company.

One group that is extremely to include in this group is the end-user community – those that will eventually be using the construction software on a daily basis.  They need to be represented in the software selection team and consulted with as they are the ones that will be using the software the most and will eventually have a key role in whether or not the new software “works.”

Depending on the size of the company and the size of the system, “end-users” could be a very large or small group.  If they span a variety of disciplines and have varying degrees of system privileges, you should do your best to ensure that all sub groups of the end-user group are represented and/or consulted with.  The bottom line is that anyone in the company involved with data creation, input, manipulation, or system maintenance needs to have a voice in the selection process through a single or multiple end-user representatives in the software selection group.

When soliciting input from the end-user community, be sure that all groups are considered.  Each company will be unique in regards to who uses the software and who does not, but in every case it is important to consider all involved with the software since everyone that interacts with the software will play a role in the eventual success or failure of the new system.

If proper care is taken in establishing the initial protocols of the new construction software functionality, the impact on the end-users should be on par with the latest best practices.  The other side of the coin to this statement is that all company procedures and practices must also be up to date with industry best practices for the software to do all that it can.

Keeping a new system healthy is also a concern.  In general, the more automation that a software system offers, the easier it will be to keep the system healthy, provided the end-users are using the new software properly.

Thus, if end-users are not consulted when new software is selected and instead are forced to deal with a change in which they had no ability for their voice to be heard, the chances for maintaining a healthy system will decrease.  End-users will likely take longer to learn a new system that they had no input selecting and may even resist change to the new system to show their resentment towards management for not valuing their opinion.

In the end, the end-user community is probably the most important part in whether or not the transition to new construction accounting software is smooth or not.  If they are not happy with the new system or are not involved in selecting it, the implementation of new software will likely not be a smooth process.

Additionally, the importance of training cannot be understated.  It is extremely unlikely that all end-users will be directly involved in selecting new software, so it is important to beging training end users on the new system as soon as possible.

Training can be the most critical aspect of how well and fast your company implements a new software system.  See previous posts for more information about the importance of training – here and here.

New Construction Software Success Depends Largely on Training

Success with software depends, of course, on what the  software can potentially do for your business. Notice I said potentially because the truth is that construction software is only as good as the people who use it and the people who use it are only good as the training they have received from the software vendor.

Whether you are talking about job cost, project management or financial accounting or more specialized applications like purchase and inventory control, there are literally  hundreds of ways of entering, editing and processing transactions in  most construction management software systems.

I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that the quality of training and implementation may actually be more important than the software itself!

So once users understand the critical function that training plays in software successes, the next question is how is that training going to be  delivered?

There are three primary models that vendors offer for training:
* On site
* At vendor headquarters
* On-line  or a blend of the first two

On-site (user location)

The main argument for on-site is simply that your company location is where the software is going to be used and it makes most sense to train people in their home environment. You can also “read” people better as to how they are catching on to the new software as well as their openness to new software.   There is total focus on you and communications between staff is optimal when questions come up as they always do. You can also have hands on access to old reports, information, etc that is needed for setup and training.    If you are away at a vendor’s location and only certain staff is there for training, it’s a lot more difficult to get answers from executive management on how certain things must be done, for example.

It is during software setup that key decisions must be made on how to go about configuring the software to accomplish certain tasks.  Examples might be how configure job and phase codes, the way purchase orders and inventory transactions will be accepted, and deciding how to handle month-end payroll accruals. When specific information is required, it is much easier to access when staff is on-site.

One major  disadvantage of on-site training is that, due to travel time and cost, on-site training usually needs to cover several consecutive days.   This can be overwhelming and when the session is done the employee(s) may not have time to do their “assigned tasks” since they just lost a day or two working on the new software.  They can also suffer from “burn out” and not absorb everything over multi-day intensive sessions.

Vendor headquarters

There are some vendors who do not offer the option for on-site training and  require that you go to their headquarters for training. This can be successful if all key personnel are involved in the training and the company can afford to pay for all their travel expenses.  The vendor’s technical staff will be available if and when difficult questions come up.

It may  also be helpful in terms of avoiding distractions by being away from their regular work place.

On-line Training

The major advantage of on-line training is the flexibility of scheduling training sessions – both in terms of when they are scheduled and for how long.   For example, it could just take an  hour or two to show a client how to enter customer, vendor, and general ledger accounts in new construction accounting software.   Trainees could then complete their assigned task of entering this information and then schedule another on-line session.   A strong  argument  can be made for numerous, shorter training sessions in implementing new software for smaller, less formal companies.

Summary

There are a number of approaches to training, all of which can be useful ways of preparing company personnel for software success. They key to making it all work is employee and management commitment based on realistic expectations of what has to be done and allocating the necessary resources to do it.