Technology & AI for Business
Most software regrets are decided before the purchase.
A persuasive demonstration, a discount that ends today, a friend's recommendation. Then six months later the team is back on the spreadsheet and the subscription is still being paid. This session gives owners a calm method for choosing: start with the job, test with your own work, count the real cost and make sure you can leave. It does not recommend any product.
Explore this page6 sections
Software changes how your team works for years. It deserves a few days of thought.
The cost of a poor choice is not just the subscription. It is the weeks of set-up, the data you move in, the habits the team forms, and the difficulty of moving out. Tools are easy to start and surprisingly hard to leave.
Most owners are choosing without a method: whichever vendor responds fastest, whichever tool a competitor uses. A method does not need to be heavy. A clear problem, a few honest requirements, a real trial and a few awkward questions will prevent most regrets. We teach the method and name no products, because the right tool depends on your business, not on a ranking.
What the session covers
35 topics across 7 areas. Seven steps, in the order they are best done.
Define the Job FirstA problem, not a product category.5
- What is slow, error-prone or being dropped today
- Who does the work and how often
- What “better” would look like, in a number or a sentence
- Whether the problem is the tool or the process
- Whether you need software at all yet
If the process is unclear, software will make the confusion faster.
Requirements: Must, Should, NiceDecide before you see a demo.5
- Three to seven must-haves tied to real tasks
- The people who will use it, and what each needs
- What it must connect with: your accounting, billing, messaging
- Language, mobile use and low-bandwidth realities
- Features you are drawn to that you will probably never use
Shortlisting FairlyTwo or three, compared on the same terms.5
- Where to look: peers in your trade, associations, review sites read critically
- Asking the same questions of every vendor
- Being careful with sponsored lists and glowing reviews
- Asking for names of similar-sized customers to speak with
- Not rushing because of a deadline offer
Trial With Your Own WorkA demo shows the best day. A trial shows a normal one.5
- Running a real week of work through each shortlisted tool
- Including the person who will use it most
- Trying the awkward cases: a return, a correction, a month-end
- Testing support: asking a question and noting the answer
- Using made-up or limited data until you trust the provider
The Full CostThe price on the page is only the start.5
- Per-user, per-feature and usage-based pricing
- Set-up, data migration, training and customisation
- Add-ons you will find you need, and renewal terms
- Time lost during the switch
- Taxes and currency if the provider charges in another currency
Data, Security and LeavingAsk before you commit, not after.5
If the software will hold customers' personal information, read the provider's data terms and consider the DPDP Act and Rules, ideally with professional advice.
- Who owns the data, and can you export all of it in a usable format
- How access is controlled and whether two-step verification is available
- What the provider says about storing and protecting your data, and your customers' data
- What happens if the provider shuts down or changes terms
- How to cancel, and what you can take with you
Making People Use ItAdoption is the real project.5
- One person responsible for the roll-out
- Starting with one process, not everything at once
- Training and a short guide in your own words
- Running old and new side by side, briefly, and then stopping the old
- A review after thirty and ninety days: is it working?
What participants leave with
- A one-page software brief for a real decision they are facing
- A must/should/nice requirements sheet
- A vendor questions list, including data and exit questions
- A simple comparison table that avoids scoring tricks
- A thirty- and ninety-day review checklist
What this session is not
- A product comparison, a ranking or a recommendation
- A sponsored demonstration of any vendor
- An IT consultancy for a particular business
- A promise that a good process guarantees a good result
How the session runs
A practitioner who has chosen and run software in a business walks through the method with hypothetical examples. Participants then pick one real decision, such as billing, stock, customer follow-up or scheduling, and fill in their brief, requirements and vendor questions. Pairs challenge each other's must-haves. No vendor is invited or named, and nobody is asked to buy anything.
What your students leave with
- A one-paragraph statement of the problem the software must solve
- A short list of must-have requirements, separated from nice-to-haves
- A trial plan using their own real work instead of the vendor's demo data
- A full-cost view that goes beyond the monthly subscription
- Questions to ask on data, security, support and leaving
- A realistic plan for getting the team to use it
Scheduled sessions
Nothing scheduled yet
Sessions are arranged with a college once a date is agreed. Ask us and we will find the right person for it.
A student rather than a college? See what is coming up, or ask your placement team to host this.
Define the job, test with real work, count the full cost, and check you can leave.
Tell us who your students are and what stage they are at. Sessions are free for participants.