Is your software the problem? How to find out

It’s easy to notice when things in a business aren’t working as they should. Information takes too long to find, certain processes rely on specific staff members, or discrepancies and errors begin to appear in your data.

What’s harder to understand is what is at the root of the problem.

Ill-fitting software, poor integration or incorrect set up are all common causes – but how can you tell which is behind your problems?

This is exactly what we aim to establish during an audit. Below is an outline of the steps we take to review a business when they approach us for an audit.

Understanding your workflow

Before we even begin looking at software, we need to understand the workflow as a whole.

This includes things such as:

• How the client journey begins
• How work is scheduled and assigned
• How collaborative tasks are managed
• How information is recorded
• How outcomes are delivered

Software can never be truly optimized for a business if the workflow it supports isn’t fully understood.

How information flows

The next thing we look at how information flows – where it enters, where it goes, and how it is processed between steps.

In a well-aligned set up, each piece of information should only need to be entered once. If this isn’t the case, you risk duplicated records, missing details and conflicting numbers start to appear.Staff then have to spend time carefully cross checking every result or searching for information that should be easy to access. 

Each time data is manually copied, transferred or re-entered, no matter how quick it may seem, over time it results in:

• Wasted time
• Opportunities for mistakes
• Frustrated staff

Understanding these movements often reveals whether the issue is more to do with the tools themselves, or how they are connected and used.

How the system fits into real life

We then look at how the system fits into day-to-day work.

For example:

• Are staff keeping their own spreadsheets and notes, or re-entering information, just to be safe? 
• Are they skipping steps when using the software because they feel they aren’t relevant?
• Are workarounds becoming part of normal behaviour?

These patterns are some of the clearest indicators that something isn’t aligned. Sometimes the software isn’t the right fit. Sometimes it performs well but isn’t configured properly. In other cases, it may simply be powerful but unintuitive without the right training.

Identifying which of these applies is a key step towards the right solution.

Where bottlenecks and delays appear

Bottlenecks can reveal a great deal about the relationship between software and the day-to-day running of a business.

They often aren’t caused by technical failures at all, but by the way the tools are used.

Some common examples we see are:

• copying data between spreadsheets and software
• relying on one or two staff members who fully understand the system
• re-entering customer information
• unclear responsibility or ownership, such as shared inboxes or logins
• staff avoiding features that they don’t understand

Looking at these areas often provides clarity on whether problems stem from the software itself or from how it is being used.

Whether the tools perform well individually

Once we understand workflow and behaviour, we assess the tools themselves.
We look at whether the software performs its core jobs well, with frustrations appearing round the edges or whether it struggles even with the tasks it was designed for. 

Indicators that a platform may not be the right fit include:

• staff relying heavily on workarounds
• core functionality missing or limited
• the tool not matching how the business actually operates

Making the distinction is crucial to deciding whether improvement comes from better configuration, integration, training or a different system entirely.

Scalability and future demand

Finally we look ahead.

Perhaps the system works well now, but won’t cope with demands as the business expands, introduces new services or changes direction. Considering future requirements helps prevent the same problems re-emerging later.

A simple self check

An audit provides a fresh, objective perspective, but there are also some useful questions you can ask yourself to start identifying potential issues:

• Does information get entered more than once?
• Do people keep their own versions of data?
• Are there steps that are reliant on specific individuals?
• Are there workarounds that everyone simply accepts?
• Do staff delay admin tasks because they take too long?

If you answer yes to more than one of these, then it’s time for a closer look.

The next steps

Once you understand what is causing the friction, you can decide how best to address it – whether that means changes to configuration, additional training, better integration between tools, or introducing something new. The important part is having enough clarity to make the right decision with confidence.

If you’d like a free audit of your systems, email us at [email protected].