Building an Effective Tech Stack

Building a tech stack for your company is a daunting process.Not only do you need to balance often competing business needs and priorities to first decide which type of software to evaluate, you then have to evaluate, implement and change your company’s current workflow.

Despite the number of considerations, however, building an effective tech stack for your company can be accomplished in a programmatic, predictable manner to reduce the decision-making and change management burden.Ultimately, putting time upfront to decide how your company will purchase and use software lays the foundation to harness the value promised by the various software providers.

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A proactive, programmatic software purchasing process involves several steps:

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1. Identify  your business needs and goals in the near and long term. With that strategic roadmap, you will have a clearer understanding of what you want to achieve with your technology and how it will support your business operations. Questions to consider while determining business needs and goals may be: Is there a particular division that is routinely under-resourced? Are we missing forecasts on a particular line item of our P&L statement? Is there a change we can make to better attract and retain our team? Where will our company be in 5 years? What will we need to improve or change to accomplish that vision?
2. Template  a tech diligence framework for your company. What are general requirements do you have for a new construction software (ie SOC 2 compliant, open API, integrates with existing tech stack, etc)? Then create the problem-specific requirements (ie must have a database of subcontractors, etc).
3. Research different technologies and tools that can help you achieve your goals. Look for tools that are widely used and have a strong user community.
4. Assess the cost and benefits of each option using your tech diligence framework. Once you have identified the options that meet your requirements, ask for test or pilot periods for the one or two remaining contenders.
5. Select the technologies and tools that best fit your needs, budget, and timeline.    
6. Plan and design how the various products will work together to create a cohesive and effective tech stack. The construction software provider should be a good first resource to help you answer these questions.
7. Plan the roll out of the new software. See below for roll-out specific information.
8. ‍Implement the technologies and tools, making sure to properly configure and test them before going live.
9. Continuously monitor and maintain your tech stack, making sure to stay up to date with the latest updates and security patches.
10. Monitor your Conditions of Success. Be prepared to make changes as needed and adapt to new technologies as they emerge.
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To successfully roll-out a new software to company-wide, we suggest the following:

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1. Nominate a champion: We find it best practice to identify a champion within your company to be the point person internally and externally.
2. Decide the timeline: Is there a compelling event that will require you to have the system fully implemented?
3. If your timeline is staged, quantify milestones and deadlines for each stage.
4. Determine conditions of success: What are your business goals in relation to this software? How will you know you have achieved them? The more specific and quantifiable your goals are, the more confidence you will have you made the right choice or need to make some adjustments in the future.

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Ultimately, you can keep the risk of not adopting the right technology at bay with a thoughtful approach to selection, purchase and adoption. This will ensure your company sees the desired return on time, effort and money from each purchase.

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