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Software Evaluation & Vendor Comparison Engagement
Hands-on FSM platform evaluation against operational scenarios drawn from your business — not generic demo flows. Vendor-neutral, ranked output.
Vendor demos are sales theater. They run the same five workflows on the same clean sample data, and every platform looks impressive. A real evaluation tests each platform against scenarios pulled from your operation — the messy dispatch surge on the worst Tuesday in July, the multi-day commercial install with three parts orders and two change orders, the recurring maintenance agreement that needs to renew without anyone clicking anything. That’s what this engagement does.
What’s involved
The engagement assumes a written requirements document already exists, either from the Requirements Workshop or built in-house. From there:
- Shortlist of two to four platforms — selected from the reviewed software directory based on the requirements rubric
- Trial account or sandbox provisioned on each platform (handled by me; you don’t need to talk to vendors yet)
- Three to five scenarios scripted from your operational reality — actual jobs, actual customers, actual dispatch patterns (anonymized as needed)
- Hands-on testing of each platform against the scenarios — me running them, recording observations, capturing screenshots and timing
- Vendor follow-up sessions for clarification on anything ambiguous, conducted with you on the call so you see how each vendor handles real questions
- Written comparison document with strengths, weaknesses, scoring against the rubric, and a ranked recommendation
Who this is for
Operators who have completed the requirements phase (either with me or independently) and need help separating vendor marketing from operational reality. Most useful for selections where the stakes are high — multi-year contracts, six-figure implementations, replacing a platform that’s deeply embedded in daily operations.
Not a fit for operators who are still in early-stage exploration and don’t know what they need. Start with the Requirements Workshop instead.
Deliverables
- Written comparison document (20–40 pages) — one section per platform plus a comparison matrix and ranked recommendation
- Scoring spreadsheet showing how each platform performs against each rubric line item
- Annotated screenshots of each platform performing your scripted scenarios
- A 60-minute readout call with your team to walk through the comparison and answer questions
- One revision round after the readout
- Optional follow-up: I can attend the vendor’s final pricing/contracting conversation as a buyer’s-side advisor for an additional fixed fee
Time and structure
Four to eight weeks elapsed time depending on the number of platforms in the shortlist and how responsive each vendor is to scenario testing. Fixed-scope engagement, fixed price. Some platforms (especially the enterprise tier) require multi-week sales cycles for trial access — that’s accounted for in the timeline.
What I don’t do here
- I don’t accept commissions from any platform on the shortlist. If a vendor offers, I decline in writing and forward the email to you.
- I don’t make the final purchase decision for you. The comparison ranks the options and explains the trade-offs; you sign the contract.
- I don’t run procurement negotiations on your behalf as the primary signatory. I can advise during contracting (see optional follow-up above) but the buyer is you.
Next step
Book a free scoping call to discuss the shortlist and what scenarios to script. If you don’t yet have a requirements document, that conversation will likely route to the Requirements Workshop first.