Every firm is looking for the best “tech stack” that melds efficiency with bling. With the best of intentions, most people begin their research by identifying what they want and get lost along the way. You want to approach tech research by eliminating what you don’t like, need, nor want and then identifying needs and wants.
As you document your research into the tech inventory template below, you will want to move “no go” tech ideas to an additional slide titled “Graveyard”. This graveyard document tracks eliminated ideas, the criteria you mentally applied when researching and deciding “no”, and refreshes your memory when tech ideas resurface or you second guess your decisions.
This inventory document also allows you to track your current tech, updates, time-saving integrations available. Tracking will clear your mind to assess other systems with less clouded judgment and smarter criteria. Also, cataloging and refinement will visually remind you to reduce the number of technology vendors, seek integrations to reduce work, and update your new hire’s tech training schedule for anything new you add . The more tech you have, the more training and upkeep is required so there is high adoption, less integration “breaks” and less updates.