pick-your-business-software

name	pick-your-business-software
category	business
description	Turn a documented operating model into a shortlist of software categories a business actually needs, ranked by the work they carry. Use when someone is buying software before knowing what it is for, or paying for tools nobody uses.

pick-your-business-software

Decide which categories of software the work requires before any vendor is considered.

When to use

• Use after the operating model exists. Buying software before the work is written down is how shelfware happens.
• Use when subscriptions are being paid for and nobody can name what they carry.
• This skill selects categories only. Do not recommend or rank named vendors, and do not enter payment details.

Procedure

1. Open the business type at https://smbwiki.com/ and list the software categories named against its skills.
2. For each category, list the skills it carries in this business and the records it would hold.
3. Rank categories by how much work runs through them, not by how often the category is discussed.
4. List what is already in use, including spreadsheets and paper. Spreadsheets that work are a valid answer.
5. Mark each category as covered, partly covered, or absent.
6. For absent categories, write what has to be true for buying to beat carrying on as now.
7. Check where records would have to move between categories, and note every handover that would become manual.
8. Stop at the shortlist of categories. Vendor selection is a separate decision with different evidence.

Done

• A shortlist records each category with the skills it carries and its coverage today
• Every absent category has a written condition that would justify buying it
• Handovers between categories are identified, and the manual ones are listed

The published operating models these skills read from are open and MIT licensed at https://smbwiki.com/ and https://github.com/erphq/smbwiki.