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.