{"id":1344,"date":"2011-01-10T13:16:21","date_gmt":"2011-01-10T19:16:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/?p=1344"},"modified":"2022-11-22T10:29:27","modified_gmt":"2022-11-22T16:29:27","slug":"4-reasons-why-software-purchases-fail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/2011\/01\/4-reasons-why-software-purchases-fail\/","title":{"rendered":"4 reasons why software purchases fail"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>\"SaveHave you ever been in a \u201cblame\u201d meeting? It\u2019s one of those meetings called when numbers are down or after a project or purchase failed miserably. As you might guess, there\u2019s a lot of finger pointing and blame spreading. Not only are these meetings painful, they are completely unproductive. Since everyone is too busy deflecting blame, no one learns from their mistakes.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d like to help you avoid these meetings. Obviously, I can\u2019t write a definitive guide on how to avoid failure, as every business and situation is different. However, I can help you avoid failure in one area that applies to most companies: Software purchases. In my experience, software purchases usually fail for one of four reasons. I\u2019d like to explain those reasons and then tell you how to avoid them.<\/p>\n

Take a look at the image below. This stool illustrates the 4 most common causes of failure. Just like the stool would fail if just one piece was missing, software purchases fail if every element is not in place. Make sense so far? Now, let me explain the pieces and why each is necessary.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Software<\/strong>: I made \u201csoftware\u201d the seat of the stool because it\u2019s the most important element. Obviously, if it doesn\u2019t work correctly or doesn\u2019t accomplish everything it\u2019s supposed to accomplish, the project fails. In short, if you don\u2019t start with good software, nothing else matters.
\n How to avoid failure<\/strong>: Make sure you know the software\u2019s limitations and capabilities before purchasing. Create a list of must-have requirements and ask the vendor to develop a proof of concept demonstrating these requirements.<\/p>\n

Training<\/strong>: Okay, you bought software that meets every requirement and more, so you can\u2019t possibly fail, right? Of course not…that\u2019s like saying I\u2019d be the world\u2019s greatest pilot if I had the best airplane. Without proper training, your software is useless.
\n How to avoid failure<\/strong>: Understand the training options before you purchase. Is the training online or in-person? Are the training classes large or small? \u00a0In my experience, in-person training with a small class size gives you the greatest chance of success.<\/p>\n

People<\/strong>: Like it or not, the very people using the software can also lead to its failure. This usually happens for one of two reasons.
\n -The users don\u2019t understand it<\/em>. Some users aren\u2019t very technical, and won\u2019t be able to use more advanced software regardless of training.
\n -The users don\u2019t like it<\/em>. Some users are capable of using the software, but flat out don\u2019t like it. As a result, they refuse to use it, or don\u2019t use it correctly.
\n How to avoid failure<\/strong>: Include users in the purchase process. If the software is aimed at less technical users, make sure they understand how to use it before purchasing. Also, regardless of technical proficiency, make sure the users are on board with the purchase.<\/p>\n

Plan<\/strong>: Many companies go into a software purchase with an idea of what they want instead of a concrete plan. Of course, this is a mistake. \u00a0If you don\u2019t understand what you want\/need, how will you know if you\u2019ve succeeded?
\n How to avoid failure<\/strong>: Create a concrete plan before you begin your software search. You must understand what problems you want to fix, what you need, what you want, who will use it, etc… Vague ideas usually lead to failure.<\/p>\n

To conclude, in order to avoid software purchase failure, you must have the right software, good training, the right people, and a concrete plan. \u00a0If even one of these components is missing from your software purchase, it will most likely fail. If you want to read more about avoiding IT failure in general, here’s nice blog post that will help you notice early warning signs: The IT project failure dilemma: how to get early warnings<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Have you ever been in a \u201cblame\u201d meeting? It\u2019s one of those meetings called when numbers are down or after a project or purchase failed miserably. As you might guess, there\u2019s a lot of finger pointing and blame spreading. Not only are these meetings painful, they are completely unproductive. Since everyone is too busy deflecting …<\/p>\n

4 reasons why software purchases fail<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","slim_seo":{"title":"4 reasons why software purchases fail - mrc's Cup of Joe Blog","description":"Have you ever been in a \u201cblame\u201d meeting? It\u2019s one of those meetings called when numbers are down or after a project or purchase failed miserably. As you might g"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[39],"class_list":["post-1344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-save-money","tag-software-purchasing-advice"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1344"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1344\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13733,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1344\/revisions\/13733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}