PublisherSol Minion Developmenthttps:https://assets.solminion.co/logo.svgPublished
July 25, 2022
Custom Software
strategyplanningapplication development
You made the move to create a custom software solution for your business. This software enables your business performance success by automating processes and securing your data. Now it’s been six months or more since you rolled it out to your users and you’re ready for a mid-year review. Doing a mid-year review of your custom software is vital to making sure it continues to aid business growth. Here are our recommendations for a mid-year review of your custom software.
Goal Alignment
You created this software in order to achieve your business goals. How is that going? A good custom software solution will provide you with reports and analytics. Hopefully, you’ve been using those regularly to manage your business. Now, you can use those to manage your software.
We all know that goals change. You may have accomplished some, added some, and adjusted some. Update your goals, including measurement and metrics. This will be key to assessing how your software is performing.
Assessment
As you update your goals and key performance indicators, you’ll be able to assess how the software is helping you achieve those. When doing this exercise, consider the following aspects of your software:
Automation: One of the key benefits of your custom solution was likely to automate tasks and free up your people to focus on what they do best. Is the software doing that?
Integration: When your software integrates with 3rd-party solutions, those can change -- sometimes even for the better. Do a review of your integration to make sure they’re still working and taking advantage of features offered by those other apps.
Cloud Apps: What many businesses find is that they aren’t even using the cloud apps they’re paying for. These can actually introduce security vulnerabilities. Also, take a look at any integrations with your custom software.
Updates: It’s vital to keep your software updated. As you assess your solution, identify any application in the software stack that needs updating, as well as any software that integrates into your solution.
Upgrades: When you first developed your solution, you may have put some features on the back burner. Is now the time to bring those to the forefront and implement them? Your software should grow and expand along with your business.
Feedback: What feedback are you getting from your users? Users can be your internal team, your vendors, and your customers. They will typically have the best ideas for adjustments.
Making Adjustments
Once you’ve made the assessments above, you’ll need to implement the changes. This is where many companies drop the ball. Creating a plan around this comes down to three key components:
Software Updates: You found outdated software, so update it.
Timeline: Identify target dates for all fixes, updates, and upgrades.
Budget: Allocate needed funds to ensure that the adjustments can be made.
The Time For A Software Review Is Now
Just like an oil change for that prized vehicle, doing a regular review and update to your custom software will keep it running smoothly and do the same for your business. Your software should enable achieving performance goals, automate processes, and create a secure environment, protecting your key data and information.
We can help. Contact us today to schedule an assessment and review of your custom software and ensure that your business continues to thrive.