Show Me the Documentation

There are many ways to evaluate facilities and real estate software providers. You can conduct web searches, consult industry analysts, issue a Request for Proposal (RFP), schedule demonstrations and even take advantage of free trial offers. Many organizations do all of the above. And while these evaluation methods are valid and highly recommended, most software vendors in the industry have polished their web sites, proposals, demonstrations and trial versions to a mirror-glaze. Often it takes the right questions and a discerning eye to get an accurate measure of strengths and weaknesses. However, there are several easy ways to measure the completeness of a facilities or real estate software package. One of the best ways to evaluate a software package is to weigh its documentation. After all, it’s not a complete product if it does not have documentation.

Nevertheless, for many software vendors, documentation is an after-thought. The developers write excellent code but don’t ask them to put together a coherent paragraph in plain English. The professional services team is often too busy and focused on billable hours to help. The marketing team has writers but they are focused on web sites, press releases, brochures and other communications. At these vendors, the documentation becomes a last-minute, ditch effort to meet the release deadline. The documentation becomes a project … a loosely coordinated team of internal “gurus” that bolt together manuals to just get it done. Only the vendors with dedicated, documentation writers follow structured and consistent processes to generate documentation as a core component of the development lifecycle. You can be confident that vendors with complete documentation offer a stronger product. It is an excellent indicator of completeness of vision and ability to execute.

So ask the basic questions. Do you have dedicated documentation writers? Do you have a complete set of documentation? Are there installation guides, system administration guides and user manuals? How often to you update the documentation? Does every release come out with a new, complete set of documentation? Can we see some samples of your documentation? The answers to these questions might well surprise you.

On samples of documentation, it is important to realize that software vendors are justifiably reluctant to provide a complete manual or set of manuals to prospective customers. Ours is an extremely competitive marketplace and freely distributing complete documentation is a recipe for trade-secret-disasters. For good reason, documentation is given to customers only, held under strict guidelines and enforced through Non-Disclosure Agreements. None of this, however, should preclude you from demanding a list of the most current documentation, the table of contents from each and a sample page or screen captures of the documentation as a proposal attachment. You can also make documentation part of the software demonstration. While the vendor will not leave the documentation behind, there is no reason why they can’t bring a complete set to pass around during the demonstration.

So, the next time you hear a software vendor claim they have the best real estate or facilities solution on the market, tell them to show you the documentation.

Visual Real Estate and Facilities Management

Ours is a visual world. Visual media and technology stream into our phones, our cars … even our refrigerators. Now we are approaching an age when these technologies converge. Now, we use mobile phones to see our cars on GPS maps to find the refrigerator store.

In the real estate and facilities management arenas, visual technology is nothing new. The ability to view floor plans in a facilities management context has been around for more than a decade. The past few years, however, have rendered amazing advancements when it comes to visualizing real estate and facilities assets. Bricsnet is on the forefront of these advancements, offering a broad range of visualization tools:

• Cutting Edge Maps: Combine Bricsnet’s powerful real estate and facilities management capabilities with a map application of your choice, including Google Earth, Google Maps or Microsoft Virtual Earth. View demographic reports directly on maps, drill into your facilities, perform powerful searches and conduct site selection with real time data.
• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Push KPI dashboards to end user portals based on role; measure the “health” of your projects, portfolio, maintenance operations and contracts at a glance; configure favorite reports and create graphics in a wide range of formats (e.g., pie, bar, table).
• Stacking: Run stacking reports to see which organizations, people and assets are occupying space, what they are using it for, and how that contributes to costs, productivity and efficiency. Create color coded reports and view floor plans by organizational assignments, vacancies, costs centers and more.
• Document Management: Attach CAD drawings, photographs and other images to any record throughout the system. Apply version control, check-in/check-out and discussion threads to visual documents in a controlled environment. Collaborate at new levels through Internet Explorer without the need for expensive applications installed on end-user machine.
• Visual Schedules: Manage the critical path through a variety of schedules views including Gantt charts, reports and unique summary views that are based on real time, accurate information.

In short, Bricsnet maintains its place on the forefront of real estate and facilities technology with a broad range of advanced visualization tools. It is worth looking into these advancements as Bricsnet delivers informed decisions based on real time, accurate data; increased performance as decision makers act from top-down views; competitive advantages when it comes to site selection and lowered space management costs; and improved end-user adoption through intuitive portals that match your organization’s style. To learn more about how Bricsnet’s visualization capabilities can improve performance and lower costs for your organization, contact Bricsnet at (415) 321-2650 or www.Bricsnet.com.