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How To Short List Your Shop Management Software Research In Two Questions

Choosing a shop management system is a daunting proposition. There are so many that it would take years of full time research to evaluate them all. So... how can you quickly rule out 95% of the whole field, and get yourself down to a short list of eligible candidates? You can do this by asking two test questions that are so fundamental that they must be answered before engaging in any in-depth research about software functionality. Both must be answered satisfactorily; it doesn't really matter which one you ask first. An unsatisfactory answer to either question is fatal.

Question #1: The DNA Test
Who brought this system into the world, and why?

There are only 3 possible answers to this question (only one of which is acceptable).

Possible Answer #1We want to provide you with a real shop management system...
because that's what we do - shop management. In fact it's all that we do, and all that we care about. 
The system was brought into the world as a real shop management system, by a company that wanted to provide a solid shop management system, for the purpose of properly and effectively managing a shop. Shop management is this company's core competency.

Possible Answer #2: We want you to order lots of parts from distributors that we have relationships with...
and we're willing to pretend to care about shop management to make that happen.
The system was brought into the world as a parts ordering mechanism in disguise as a shop management system, by a parts manufacturer or distributor, for the purpose of directing parts orders back to a specific parts distributor. Other viewpoints that are reflected by these systems and those that like them: Parts can be processed through the system like greased lightening, cost of parts information be damned. Who cares about that? It'll just slow us down. Who cares about profit anyway? That'll slow us down too. Technician time management? What's that? Whatever it is, it's too cumbersome. Writing purchase orders? Not a chance. Accounting? That's for accountants.

Possible Answer #3: We have a hole in our product line as compared to our primary competition...
and guess what it is? That's right, you guessed it: shop management. Now how fast can we come up with something to fill this hole? And by the way, we don't give two cents about shop management, but we're betting you won't even notice that because the price will be almost as attractive as Tyra Banks. 
The system was brought into the world to fill a hole in a product line, by a company who's core product and competency is really something else completely, for the purpose of rounding  (e.g., they are a data provider). These functionality of systems have more holes than a storeful of Crispy Kremes, but the price is definitely right.

Accept only Answer #1.
Every system on the market will fit neatly into one of these three categories. And yes, #1 is the only acceptable answer, even though there are comparatively few systems that can claim such legitimacy in their DNA. Answers 2 & 3 clearly indicate self-serving motivation behind the product's very existence; these are red flag answers and any products that land in either of these two categories should be eliminated from further consideration.

Shop management software is a highly-specialized and highly focused product that should come from an equally specialized and focused company. Buying a mission-critical product like this from a company that was doing a thousand other things and then suddenly decided to go into shop management because it fills a hole in the product line or because it will force parts purchases back to them will result in a product that is lacking in solid shop management processes. Worse yet, such a company might just as suddenly decide to get out of shop management -  quickly as they might have gotten in. The industry has seen this occur several times.

Test Question #2: The Core Technology Test
What's the programming language and database?

There are many possible answers to this question. There are a small number of acceptable answers, but that in our market (shop management software), most of them will be unacceptable. And just because you might not be able to interpret the answer doesn't mean you shouldn't ask. You can always research it later. 

The technology equivalent of the Pre-Purchase Inspection
Asking this question is a t
echnological parallel to performing a
Pre-Purchase Inspection. Do you offer this service? Most conscientious shops do. And when you do, what is the first thing you want to knowThe structural integrity of the vehicle, of courseAfter all, who cares what the interior looks like if the car has been hit? And you can't find that out from a walk around or a road test. You've got to get the car into the shop, on a lift, and up in the air, and then and take a slow, careful walk under it with a drop light to find that out.

Development language criteria
The development environment should be written in a modern, robust programming language which is provided my a company that is still in business. The language should be in widespread use, and should be well-suited for developing networked business applications. The development community associated with it should be identifiable and thriving. The development community for any development language is a delicate ecosystem and must be well-supported.

Database criteria
The database should be something meant to handle commercial business applications, where many users are connected to the database at the same time - simultaneously making data requests, and writing to the database as well. It should also be capable of storing large amounts of data (several hundred megabytes) without becoming unstable. It should be able to handle considerably more than the largest number of users you can envision having in your shop. For example, even if you only envision connecting 5 users or less, a database than can only handle 5 users is simply not adequate; this would represent an extremely light-duty database that most likely cannot handle the load you'll be placing on it. If the database is not adequate, you have yourself a house of cards.

Examples of undesirable databases:
Microsoft Access (commonly used), Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express, MS FoxPro, Btrieve (now called Pervasive), Clipper, anything unrecognizable or home-brewed

Examples of desirable databases:
Progress, Oracle, Informix, Sybase, Borland and DB2

Looking at question #2 in the context of question #1
Systems falling into categories #2 and #3 of Question #1 will generally fail Question #2 entirely. In other words, systems brought into the world with primary mission of parts ordering, or to fill a hole in a product line generally suffer from technological shortcomings of some sort (hastily thrown together, written a limiting programming language, based on a light-duty database engine, etc.).

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