Prioritise and verify essential capabilities

Print MIS systems are sophisticated software solutions with a great many features and functions.

Implementing all of them right out of the box will probably be expensive, complicated, frustrating, and time-consuming. Here are some better ideas:

PRIORITISE WHAT YOU NEED

Work with your vendors to understand what their software provides and which features you need right now and in the future. Try to minimise your essential requirements but make sure you implement enough of a solution to have a positive impact.

Prioritise your requirements into three groups:

Essential elements: The minimum set of capabilities needed to implement a useful Print MIS solution to meet your needs right now
Enhanced requirements: The set of features which would help your business today, but which you will implement after the system is in place and running
Future needs: The capabilities you expect to need in the future as your business grows and changes

VERIFY THE SOLUTION

Bold claims and canned demos are easy to deliver. It is essential that you verify that the software can fulfil those promises in a way which fits with your organisation’s style and abilities. System operability is critical because your operators, CSRs, managers, and executives will be using this software for the next decade. You want to select a package which meets all your functional criteria and is comfortable to use.

MAP FEATURES TO NEEDS

Meet with vendors to carefully go through their software’s capabilities and understand which apply to your three groups of requirements. Ensure that they do meet your needs and that there are no gaps. Then get a demonstration of their system.

GET MEANINGFUL DEMONSTRATIONS

The best demos are the ones that get beyond the generic ‘canned’ demos which each vendor has down to a fine art. Those demos are great for getting a feel for what a vendor has to offer, but remember that they all stress their system’s strengths while avoiding weaknesses.

Create your own “demo script,” which addresses your shop’s requirements and processes. It should include use cases, sample jobs, and sample estimates. Such a script will allow you to see your data and how it will perform in the vendors’ software. You want to see how it handles meeting all your critical requirements in the way you intend to use it. Vendors should be happy to work with you to develop your script, and you can use this demo script template for creating a one.
Schedule several online demos early in your evaluation project plan additional, in-person demonstrations towards the end, once you have narrowed your search to 2 or 3 vendors. These demos will provide the information you need while minimising time and effort. Also, always give the vendors your demo script in advance so they can ensure that everything is set up and ready. Your objective is to verify how their offerings meet your needs, not to trip them up. Pick examples which represent your everyday work, and leave out that one impossible job you do once a year.
Maintain a “solution report card” to help rate each vendor and their software. Have all team members fill these out during each demo and share the results.

ASK YOUR PEERS

Listen to the people who already use these systems. Read the vendors’ case studies. Ask for references with whom you can speak who are similar to you. Reach out to peers through professional organisations like IPMA, ACUP, PODi, or via social media groups like LinkedIn’s Print Software: Web-to-Print and MIS, or Print Production Professionals, or In-plant Printer Forum.