This is the second article in our series titled “Guide For Finding The Best Inspection Software Online“.
The list of questions you should ask yourself in the search for good inspection software is not a small one. The more questions you have listed in your research, the better decision you will be able to make at the end of this process. After clarifying the major questions you should ask in the research for inspection platforms, it’s time to focus on some more secondary questions, but with undeniable influence on the quality of the inspection solutions research.
1. What about the User Experience?
Even though an inspection software may be described as the brightest bulb in the box on paper, from the user’s perspective this may not be the case. It means that the software must be easy to work with. If the inspection software promises great results, there’s no guarantee that the results will be achievable by the inspection teams.
It is a problem that the good products are usually solving with good UX design. So when you’re making your list with requirements for inspection software, make sure that it will include UX questions from this sort:
- How easy for use is the software?
- Are users managing to use it intuitively?
- Are long hours of training needed?
Related: How Inspection Management Platforms Are Bringing Customer Satisfaction
2. The inspection management team’s opinion
The user’s perspective doesn’t start and end with the UX. There are also other questions you should consider on your quest to finding the best inspection management solution. While an inspection software with good looking UX may leave lasting impression to you, the workforce that will operate with the software must also be able to create their own impressions. That’s why requiring a proof of concept is a key tactic to ensure that the software will not only look good, but will also work good.
Requiring proof of concept for inspection management software may sound like a very small detail. But if the solution integrates variety of functionalities like: case management, CRM, inspection management, inspection scheduling, self service portals, etc., this details become crucially significant. It’s so mostly because the proof of concept is the best way to make sure that a complex platform will work in a simple way.
We in Canalix use the proof of concept method as a key point in the interaction with our potential customers. This is the best way for them to experience the work with our product before buying it.
If you ignore this important step of your research, the inspection management team may end up going back to the old ways of manual operation mode and even stop using the inspection software you’ve found. That’s why the decision making process must involve inspectors, administrators and other participants in the inspection workflow. Our recommendation is to make a meeting with these parties, introduce them to the list of questions you made and ask them for their opinion.
3. Price of the inspection software?
Software prices, especially for complex all-in-one inspection solutions, are hard to be fixed. Anyway, having a budget range is a good start. If you have all this mapped out, then you will be up to a fast and productive research. The moment you have shortlisted all the possible solutions that might work for your organization, you may start contacting them. Giving them a budget range is only going tho make the communication faster and more clear.
Are you in the middle of software research for inspections? Send us your questions here.
Read also the first part of this article, if you haven’t already: A Guide To Finding The Best Inspection Software Online – Part One