2 minutes

Choosing Software: The Devil is in the Details

When looking for software, once you have shortlisted the most promising ones, the first validation step will be to confirm whether the desired features are included.

This is when a huge trap can open up if we just stay on the surface...

Just because the feature exists doesn't mean it will meet the needs!

A case in point in recent weeks was when we were identifying software for a client's HR management. When we came up with a shortlist of the three most promising solutions and conducted a more in-depth analysis, we hit a dead end with a key feature: remote work management.

For our client: We need to know who will be working remotely so we can assign tasks to the right people. In short, some things can't be done remotely.

Solution #1: The employee can enter their time under the label telework if they were remote that day.

Solution #2: The employee can be placed under a telework group if he or she is permanently remote.

Solution #3: The manager can assign the employee to a mandate carried out outside the office.

3 solutions, 3 ways of doing things, but none of them work.

We managed to find a workaround and the final choice was based on the solution that allowed us to implement it most easily, even if it was not the number #1 after the pre-selection phase.

Moral of the story: When a feature is a must-have, make it non-negotiable and make sure you can implement it according to your needs and processes. This will prevent you from having to change solutions in a few months or create yet another Excel spreadsheet to compensate.

Written in 2025