Don't Rush to Buy Software

I was reading “Key Performance Indicators”, by David Parmenter today, and came across an interesting passage. Mr. Parmenter says, “Much can be done with existing application such as Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint Team Services, and Access. There is often no need to purchase specialized software at this stage. Any such purchases can be done more efficiently and effectively 12 months down the track.”

Wow, finally someone is speaking my language. Managing a business through effective KPIs is such a drastic culture change, that most organizations fail at it. Instead of introducing new tools and applications, organizations should really take a hard look at the software they already own and use. Once the KPI project is in place and a seamless part of the atmosphere of the company, then new and more effective tools can be researched.

Though Mr. Parmenter is a technology agnostic consultant, I find it interesting that he lists all Microsoft applications. I suppose he does this because it is safe to assume that most organizations already own these products.