Title: Do you need software ?  Can you trust a management consultant's advice?

Most companies with a Performance Management (PM) initiative ask themselves the questions if and when they need software to support their PM initiative.

There is no simple answer, and I hear "neutral" advice from different sources. The software vendors respond, "You need software – you need a data warehouse."  The management consultants recommend waiting with software investment.

I offer this advice:

Start early with software involvement if:

-  it can help you document your PM initiative as you develop your PM model
- you need a dynamic documentation system that allows people to use the software to specify the PM model
- you have a big model and you need to structure and communicate to everyone involved
- only start early if the software supports the implementation of your PM model (ease of use, it supports your processes)

Do not start early (or probably not at all) if you experience the following:

- the software itself gets more focus than the actual PM model
- if the software project becomes a big, multi-million dollar data warehouse project
- if you do not have time or resources

Author : Tor Inge Vasshus

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