Want to make sure your software project succeeds? Read this.

If you want your upcoming software project to be successful, you need to establish a foundation of equal responsibility from day one. That’s right, whether you are the client or the supplier, you both need to play an active part in this project’s success. In my experience, software projects often fail for a few reasons, but the number one obstacle is communication. So, I’ve put together this article to help you navigate potential pitfalls and to ensure that the result is as good as everyone needs it to be.

Get in the right mindset

Software suppliers, you should take a moment to get clear on the importance of the work you are undertaking. You’ve been commissioned because this project is going to have a real impact on your client’s operation. Your software is going to help them streamline their process or make them more efficient. Either way, the work you are doing is vital to their success and growth.

Clients, given the importance of this project, this software supplier will be working at the heart of your operation. Done correctly, the results can be terrific, but that success depends on your co-operation, direction and collaboration. Poorly done, it can cost your business time, money and staff.

Appoint your leader

Given that the stakes are so high, you’d presume that every client would be proactive in putting one of their people in charge of overseeing the software project. Sadly, plenty just sit back and let their supplier get on with it. The problem with that approach is that everyone in your company already has a day job to do. Slinging it to somebody who has the capacity to take it on, but no real understanding of what the project is trying to achieve is the wrong move.

Instead, you need to prioritise and delegate the project manager role to a trusted employee who fully understands the purpose of the work. If no-one in-house has the time, parachute in a freelance expert to take it on. I can’t stress how important it is to have somebody across this, making sure everything that’s implemented is correct, that deadlines are met, and communication is clear.

A good software provider will have a project manager their end to schedule in the implementations and make sure everything happens on time and budget. If they don’t, clients should ask why. In some instances, there may be a consultant allocated who specialises in this software to advise on various aspects of the process. This expert can look at what the customer wants to get out of the project and ensure that the software the supplier is using can match those expectations.

If you think that’s an extravagance, you’ve never experienced the nightmare that is changing processes after implementation. Let’s just say mistakes at that stage are very costly to put right and a take up a lot of your time.

Double-check the software works

Forgive me for stating the obvious, but please take the time to make sure you are supplying or buying the right software for the project. Once again, this is a task with collective responsibility.

Say you are a legal company who’ve seen competitors working with a particular product and think it’s suitable for you. Don’t just assume that, make sure you are right. At the beginning of any software project, you need to create a wish list of everything you want or need from the suppliers you are engaging with. Once those software experts start coming back to you with options, go through that list and the end goals the software must meet.

As any good software supplier knows, all systems are not created equal. If you have clients in the property industry, you wouldn’t slot in the same system to deal with residential management and commercial management, nor would you use a conveyancing system for a legal aid process. This approach was paramount to us when it came to building CPL Software and Insight Legal - two very specific software packages for clients with very specific requirements.

Both sides need to do their due diligence to make sure the product/client fit is right.

Great expectations need to be communicated

Finally, let’s talk about expectations and why you need to say them out loud and agree on them. An expectation, particularly an unspoken one, is doomed to end in disappointment if the other party hasn’t agreed to meet it.

For any organisation, the implementation of a software project could be disruptive, and therefore they may plan holidays, schedules and many other things around the work. Given the juggling that no doubt involves, the client is going to be seriously hacked off if the software isn’t delivered in the time frame that meets their expectations.

That said, the client needs to make sure they fulfil their role in making sure the project runs smoothly and understand where they might contribute to any delays. Their project manager is there to meet the agreement the client has made to the supplier and to mitigate the chance of an organisation getting in its own way.

On their end, any good software supplier will have their order book running like clockwork. They’ll have an implementation schedule that they fit together like a jigsaw to make sure the relevant people are in the right place at the right time. If an implementation date is moved at short notice by a client, expect a fine because the disruption to their schedule could be significant and have a domino effect on other clients.

Ready for software success?

I hope this article will help you to begin your next software project with the right strategies in place. What’s exciting is that a smooth-running and successful software project could lay a foundation for you to maximise your productivity and profitability. Once you’ve forged an excellent client/software supplier relationship, you can rely on that partnership in the future. Together, you could be destined for great things, so make sure you begin as you mean to go on.  

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