I’m talking about an annual review of your systems, tools and software. It may be time to take a step back and revisit the functionality and processes around the systems and tools in your department. It’s so common to implement a tool or system, design the processes to support them and then move on to everything else on the plate and never go back to re-evaluate them once they have been up for a while.
We get so caught up in the day to day stuff (yes, that is a technical term) that we seldom if ever have a chance to revisit all the work that was done on the implementation. Are the processes still working efficiently? Is the data and information still relevant? Have information needs changed? What functionality has been updated and is it being used? Are the users still happy? Just a few questions to ask for each system or tool that’s being used.
What can be done to make sure everything is working the way it should? Review or evaluate each system, software and tool every year and/or at each major upgrade. If you choose the yearly route, make it part of your strategic planning process or as you renew your contract for the system if there is one. Pick one time so it will be easy to remember to do it. You can also conduct a review when a major upgrade is announced.
Which ever way you go remember to include users in the review. You want to make sure they are happy with the system and that it is serving their needs, from both the management and staff level.
How do you evaluate your systems, software and tools? Let me know.
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