Most construction companies develop organically over time, the people in these companies take an ownership in the company and like to do things their way. The more successful the company becomes the more they believe in their way.

They are successful, the company grows and the owner’s way quickly takes on new shapes and forms as new coordinators, managers and other roles are brought on. A status quo is formed, this is how we do it.

On the other hand construction management softwares are often developed on a theoretical level assuming construction companies follow certain principles. Then these companies make the best guess at what construction companies require.

With this product they go to the market and listen to what the market says and further develop their product to fit. Most software companies are after a solution that is relevant to as many companies as possible but that is still relevant enough to meet companies particular requirements.

With this understanding you can start to see the divide between the construction companies and the software companies. There is one who says this is what we do and it is how we have always done it and there is another who wishes to understand what all of them do, how they do it and the necessary services and software to enable them to become better at what they do.

Construction companies wish for improved results and software companies wish to deliver. There is a common desire and when the construction company sees no better way to alleviate their situation they buy.

This is a very common situation and the next step is to try and fit the construction company to the software, change the status quo and hope the software fulfills the company's needs.

The likelihood it does not fulfill the required needs are high. For a number of key reasons:

Most construction companies do not clearly understand their needs.

There are many different option on the market and without defined requirements it is impossible to pick the most relevant software.

Status Quo’s are not easy to shake and unless the people who have to use the software clearly understand it and can understand how it is going to make their lives better they will not want to change.

If companies senior management teams do not have a strong understanding of what is required they will all have differing views and want different outcomes which can easily filter down and create a feeling of doubt around what is happening.

Now I will briefly outline three key points that can help to achieve a successful implementation.

1. Understanding - The current processes, roles and responsibilities must be known to clearly understand what is required. Without these you can not determine where the current setup is lacking.

2. Unity - The senior management must have a common understanding of the current setup, where it is achieving and where it is failing. With this knowledge they must agree on what systems and processes they need to reform or implement as a whole.

3. Knowledge - With this information they can clearly identify the requirements of the company and begin to make enquiries into relevant construction management softwares.