Off the shelf software: Like searching for love?

Buying standard software is like finding the perfect partner. Is it possible or do you have to let go of something to succeed? (Photo: Alexander Sinn/Unsplash)

Off the shelf item. Among IT consultants, it denotes standard software, a system that is ready to use straight out of the box, so to speak (read straight from the cloud). The advantages are peace of mind that the system works, the implementation time is short and familiar, and the price is low.

On the other hand, we have tailoring: developing the business system from scratch – line of code by line of code. So that the system is fully adapted exactly to the company's processes, workflow and ways of working. However, the disadvantages can be great. We will return to that below.

Tailoring or off the shelf?

Most companies will at one time or another be faced with the choice of developing software themselves or buying a finished product. In most cases, this involves asking the question; should we have a tailor-made system adapted to our needs, or should we take the chance on an "almost match"?

It is said that the most significant disadvantage of off-the-shelf products is that the company must adapt its work routines to a new system, but is this really a disadvantage? I mean the opposite; this is a golden opportunity to ask the question: Can we work differently?

When a company goes out into the market to find a system that best covers their business processes, you rarely experience "full throttle" on all set requirements. The company should therefore clarify which business needs are central and which can be more flexible.

This can be a difficult internal process for many businesses. You often struggle with a culture that is unwilling to change, where ingrained thoughts that "we need a very special system to do our job" prevail. Everyone sees themselves and the importance of their own tasks. Only a few see the big picture.

The search for love

We can compare such a process to going out into the market to find a partner. Should you wait for the perfect match or should you be open and welcoming to get to know a different partner, who at best can help to change you?

In most cases, you have to relax a bit on your requirements in order to reach your goal and you realize that it is probably time to change ingrained and peculiar habits..

Whether you go to the market to buy off-the-shelf goods or to find a new partner, you must be open to change. Entering into a relationship with the expectation that your new partner will support all your peculiarities is often short-lived and unfruitful. In the same way, a system that is created to support all subtle variations in a work process will, in the long run, not be fruitful for the business. The custom software is not adaptable, has low robustness and is not scalable. This in turn makes the business less innovative, less light-hearted, while the change processes become more difficult.

Off-the-shelf software require changes

Those businesses that choose to buy off-the-shelf products in the market must also make the choice to change work processes, roles and in some cases, competence. Such conversion work is a necessary consequence if one is to succeed in implementing new standard software.

In order to ease the various challenges that the company faces in an implementation process, the software supplier should contribute with knowledge of the product and implementation method. A well-thought-out implementation is important to safeguard and support the need for changes in the customer's employees from the start.

Three factors for success

The following three factors contribute to the success of an off-the-shelf implementation:

1. Set up the implementation course according to the ADKAR model. This is to have a steady focus on the people in the company and which mechanisms govern their willingness to change. Through a step-by-step process, you build understanding and acceptance. Remember that these mechanisms apply just as much to the management and the customer's project owners as to the employees.

• Awareness – awakening and realize the need for change.
• Desire – desire for the change.
• Knowledge – knowledge about the change that is to take place.
• Ability – ability to make the change.
• Reinforcement – ​​the change gets a foothold.

2. The implementation project should consist of an interdisciplinary team, represented by technical and functional resources at both the customer and the supplier. The customer should, in the same way as the supplier, dedicate full-time resources to the project. An implementation project where the customer is not actively involved from start to finish is doomed to fail, as the project does not adhere to the principles of ADKAR. The customer does not feel any ownership of the new system and will naturally soon become more difficult to cooperate with.

3. Active and strategic use of test strategy and test management will take care of the company's need to achieve change according to the ADKAR model. Done correctly, early test involvement of the customer will prepare employees for the change that will take place (Awareness) and eventually contribute to the employees themselves wanting the change (Desire). In addition, regular testing of the new software is the best form of training (Knowledge). It also avoids hand-over and training sessions at the end of the project. A test manager is therefore an important change agent in the project. Through involvement in test planning and implementation, the test manager can prepare, anchor and reinforce the effect of the change widely throughout the customer's business (Reinforcement).

Search for a supporting player

In order to succeed in implementing standard software, the company must dare to challenge its working methods. Do we really have to have all this, exactly this way, or can we work differently? The customer must work internally to create fertile ground for restructuring, while the supplier of the product must have expertise and experience that supports the customer's need for change, learning and anchoring.

For many, comparing a business system with a partner is almost an insult to romance. But there are some similarities. For example, in the case of a match, the relationship often becomes long-lasting. In fact, business systems relationships last longer than the average marriage.

Regardless, if you are going out into the market to find your dream partner, remember that the most important thing is to find a good supporting partner not someone who delivers on all the listed requirements.

Is your business continuing with product development, or are you in the starting pit, for purchasing new off-the-shelf products?
Cegal has people and complete teams who have the expertise, tools and methods required to achieve a well-functioning product development or a successful product implementation. In the spirit of digitalization, we are concerned that our deliveries should have a customer focus, both in terms of product and process.

Read about how we work with project management in Cegal>