The software organisations run on.
WHAT THEY ARE
Applications supporting the operation of a business rather than its product.
WHAT THEY TYPICALLY COVER
Finance and accounting Customers and sales People and payroll Inventory and supply Operations specific to the industry Reporting across all of it
WHAT DISTINGUISHES THEM FROM OTHER SOFTWARE
They encode how the organisation works They are used by people whose job is not technology They hold records the business cannot operate without They are replaced rarely, and painfully
WHY THAT LAST POINT MATTERS
A system chosen badly is lived with for years.
WHAT THEY ACTUALLY DELIVER
A shared record everyone works from Process enforced consistently Visibility of what is happening Evidence for audit and compliance
WHY THE SHARED RECORD MATTERS MOST
Without one, departments hold conflicting versions and spend their time reconciling.
WHAT THEY REPLACE
Spreadsheets, paper, and knowledge held in people's heads.
WHAT THAT LAST ONE MEANS
Process that exists only because someone remembers it.
WHAT THAT COSTS
Inconsistency, and total dependence on individuals.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH BEFORE ANY SYSTEM DISCUSSION
What the organisation actually does, and where it currently breaks.
