When more complete software becomes less useful

A manufacturing client recently evaluated several ERP/MRP platforms.

His reaction was remarkably consistent: too many features, too much complexity, and too much effort required from employees just to make the system work.

What interested me most was his explanation.

The technical implementation itself wasn't necessarily the problem. His concern was that software teams often understand programming much better than they understand the day-to-day operation of the business.

The result is software that may be very capable, but asks too much from the people using it.

Employees have to learn the system's terminology, understand its workflows, enter information the software expects, and adapt the way they work to the product.

Eventually, people disengage.

That observation reinforced something we're seeing at DEVTom:

For many SMBs, the problem isn't a lack of software.

It's software that requires the business to adapt to it rather than the other way around.

This doesn't mean every business needs custom software, or that a large ERP is the wrong answer. For many organizations, those systems are exactly what they need.

But there is another situation we encounter frequently: a company has a relatively clear operational problem and needs a focused tool that fits the way its people already work.

In those cases, adding more functionality can actually make the solution less useful.

Sometimes the right system isn't the one with the most features.

It's the one people will actually use.