Software Comparison Based on Requisite Functionality - Essay Example

Project Creative Designs SOFTWARE COMPARISON BASED ON REQUISITE FUNCTIONALITY The table below identifies 3 critical job functions that a software application can assist with: Mary Thomas Jim Parker Howard Rice Molly Asher Bob Williams Preparing documents Prepare presentations Prepare invoices - Prepare quotations Review monthly, quarterly and annual figures Record incoming calls Maintain presentation diary Maintain client contact details - Maintain electronic diary Maintain electronic diary Internal and external communications Internal and external communications Internal and external communications Internal and external communications Internal and external communications 2. The table below identifies at least 2 key features per task the preferred software must have. Mary Thomas Jim Parker Howard Rice Molly Asher Bob Williams The ability to create, edit and save documents. Create templates. The ability to create, edit and save documents. Would also like it to have automated slideshows. The ability to create, edit and store invoices. The ability to perform automated calculations. Create templates. The ability to create, edit and store quotations. To convert quotations into invoices, and email them to Bookkeeper. Inbuilt formula and functions. Modifiable templates. Automated calculations. Automatic conversion into graphs and charts. Analysis software. The ability to create, edit, print reports and save incoming calls. The ability to record against a calendar the contact details, time, date and venue of a presentation. To produce reports on personal activity. The ability to record against a contact the time and date of last contact and to allocate it to another team member for further action. To produce reports on personal activity. The ability to record against a calendar the contact details, time and date and venue with comments and date/time of next action. To produce reports on personal activity. The ability to record against a calendar the contact details, time and date and venue with comments and date/time of next action. To produce reports on personal activity. The ability to communicate internally and externally, reply, forward, find and store electronic communications. To organize meetings, check availability of key attendees and invite them. Book resources for meeting. The ability to communicate internally and externally, reply, forward, find and store electronic communications To organize meetings, check availability of key attendees and invite them. To accept invitations to meetings. The ability to communicate internally and externally, reply, forward, find and store electronic communications. To organize meetings, check availability of key attendees and invite them. To accept invitations to meetings. The ability to communicate internally and externally, reply, forward, find and store electronic communications. To organize meetings, check availability of key attendees and invite them. To accept invitations to meetings. The ability to communicate internally and externally, reply, forward, find and store electronic communications. To organize meetings, check availability of key attendees and invite them. To accept invitations to meetings. 3. The table below compares the three short-listed office automation applications and compares them against identified criteria. KEY TO FUNCTIONALITY: A - WORD PROCESSING B - SPREADSHEETS C - PRESENTATIONS D - DATABASE E - E-MAIL Mary Thomas - Office Secretary Job Function Lotus Notes v 7.0 MS Office WordPerfect FUNCTIONALITY A B C D E A B C D E A B C D E Document preparation x x x Record incoming calls x x x x x x Email x x x TOTAL: 0 0 0 0 3 1 1 0 1 2 1 1 0 0 2 Jim Parker - Sales Person Job Function Lotus Notes v 7.0 MS Office 2007 SBE WordPerfect FUNCTIONALITY A B C D E A B C D E A B C D E Presentations x x Maintain presentation diary x x x x x x Email x x x TOTAL: 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 1 2 0 1 1 0 2 Howard Rice - Bookkeeper/Database Administrator Job Function Lotus Notes v 7.0 MS Office WordPerfect FUNCTIONALITY A B C D E A B C D E A B C D E Prepare invoices x x x x x x x x Maintain client contact details x x x x x x x x Email x x x TOTAL: 0 0 0 0 3 2 2 0 2 3 2 2 0 0 3 Molly Asher - Sales Representative Job Function Lotus Notes v 7.0 MS Office WordPerfect FUNCTIONALITY A B C D E A B C D E A B C D E Prepare quotations x x x x x x Maintain electronic diary x x x x Email x x x TOTAL: 0 0 0 0 3 1 1 0 2 2 1 1 0 0 2 Bob Williams - Company CEO Job Function Lotus Notes v 7.0 MS Office WordPerfect FUNCTIONALITY A B C D E A B C D E A B C D E Review monthly, quarterly and annual figures x x x Maintain electronic diary x x x x Email x x x TOTAL: 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 2 2 0 1 0 0 2 Total Scores WP SS Presentation Database Email Total Lotus Notes v7.0 0 0 0 0 13 13 MS Office 4 6 1 8 11 30 WordPerfect 4 6 1 0 11 22 The Final Selection As can be seen, MS Office has the highest overall score. This is because it is the only truly fully integrated application of the three choices. Lotus Notes is based around a customer relationship management system. It is not possible to create original documents at the end-user interface. However, administrators can provide templates that are based on Microsoft Office applications such as Word. WordPerfect fails only because of a lack of a database. However it does have a Personal Information Manager (PIM) in its Business Edition. This type of application will meet the needs of the users for managing customer relationships. Since the organization has not yet decided which applications it wishes to use for generic things such as client relationship management and diary management, I have indicated that they could use either a spreadsheet, database, electronic diary manager built into the email function, or in some cases a simple list in a Word Processed document. MS Office has all the functionality they require, but one must first establish what applications they had used before, and focus on similarity to graphical user interface, ease of use and the amount of intuitive automation available. Taking this approach would reduce learning curve, reduce the amount of training required and hence ensure the organization was productive within 24 hours of the new applications being installed. The next step would be backward compatibility with the applications currently in use - data conversion or data entry simply adds to the scope of the project and the costs. I would then look at licensing costs for 5 users and support options available to assist them as they configure the software to suit their working practices. The table below compares functionality and pricing for each of the applications in more detail. Features of different office suites PLATFORMS FEATURES UK VERSION SHIPS WITH WHICH LANGUAGES OTHER ISSUES OFFICE SUITE MS Office Small BusinessDEVELOPER PRICE (5 licenses) Microsoft $449 or $279 upgrade. Call for multi-user license Windows 98-XP, Mac OS 8.1-X Microsoft Office Accounting Express 2007 Microsoft Office Excel 2007 Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 with Business Contact Manager Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 Microsoft Office Publisher 2007 Microsoft Office Word 2007 40 languages. Includes Welsh and Irish Expensive. WordPerfect Office 12 Small Business Edition Corel $299 or $154 upgrade 5 users - $1,599.00 Windows 95-XP Word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, image editing, mail, PIM, business essential templates, business plans, internet security, task manager, PDF format UK or US English. No database Notes Lotus $101-104 depending on license type. Call for multi-user license Windows 98-XP, OS/2 Warp 1.1+ E-mail, Calendar, scheduling, PIM with personal directory and personal journal, Discussion databases, Reference databases with basic workflow for document review, Team room application, Blog template, Integrated instant messaging and presence awareness, Entitlement to access Lotus Domino applications, Access to custom or vendor applications, Lotus Notes access for SAP solutions feature UK or US English. Not an integrated office application. Primarily a database with templates. Source: Adapted from Buckley (2002) Ultimately I would be concerned with scalability and longevity of the workgroup application chosen. For example, whilst MS Office is not to everyone's taste it is compatible with most software and operating systems, with a strong user base and relatively small learning curve because the user interface is very similar between the various applications. To encourage new skill development, Microsoft offer the Microsoft Office User examination system, which the organization could offer as part of its induction to new employees. Militating against MS Office is the price. The other options are considerably cheaper. However, whilst it is possible to re-engineer the business processes in order that a workflow application like Lotus Notes would suit the company, this will require skilled consultants - hence making Lotus Notes much more expensive. MS Office provides a full range of scaleable solutions, which can be 'bolted-on' over the years. Working within the office, or collaborating with external organizations is fairly straightforward with products such as MS SharePoint. The Small Business Edition comes with a host of features including Accountant Express. Although quotations and invoices can be done in Word processors and spreadsheets, the major advantage of a dedicated software solution is that all the guesswork has been removed. It is straightforward to compile reports and take a snap shot of the business with a quick click of the mouse. The final reason for recommending MS Office is that the majority of people who work with computers daily (including students and graduates) will already be familiar with it, either through work or study, hence lowering the total cost of ownership when recruiting new staff. References 2007 Microsoft Office system pricing. Available at: http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/products/FX101754511033.aspx Buckley, R (2002) Office and its rivals - Microsoft's Office suite dominates desktop computing. But there are alternatives. How do they compare Available at: http://www.information-age.com/article/2002/september/office_and_its_rivals Lotus Notes features: http://www-306.ibm.com/software/lotus/notes/hmc.html McCarrick, D (2005) New features in Lotus Notes and Domino Designer 7.0. Available at: http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/lotus/library/notes-designer7-features/ Mendelson , E. (2004) WordPerfect Office 12 Standard Edition. Available at: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1565971,00.asp Microsoft Office Small Business 2007 frequently asked questions. Available at: http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/suites/HA101655341033.aspxpid=CL101732621033 US Lotus Notes pricing: available at: https://www-112.ibm.com/software/howtobuy/buyingtools/paexpress/ExpressP0=E1&part_number=D5CPILL,D5CS2LL,D53T5LL&catalogLocale=en_US&Locale=en_US&country=USA&S_TACT=none&S_CMP=none Read More