I have watched software travel thru municipalities as if it were installed on the revolving door expressway. What begins as the greatest TOOL that ever existed, ends a slow painful death having cost many many (hundreds of) thousands of dollars, and countless days off your work life. Sound familiar? How can you take the steps NOW to make sure that it doesn't happen to your snow and ice removal program? Hop in - we're going to take a trip down history-lane. Starting in the early 1980's and up until the mid-1990's, software was RESEARCHED by a small group of technology folks in your municipality. The software you selected for YOUR job was made by "your team". Makes sense, right? The decision was up to YOU. The same employees who USED the software, were part of the software evaluation team and YOU made the final selection. There are important merits in this approach, that have since been lost. Back then, the tech folks had time to DO research. When no off-the-shelf products existed for YOU, your tech department BUILT the solution with in-house resources. Now, there's a thought. Your tech department BUILT a solution that YOU would find of VALUE. And the result? Once the software was either (1) purchased off the shelf, or (2) researched and built in-house the VALUE had been established. You even got excited about using this software TOOL - BECAUSE it helped you do your job. There was no doubt - you got your money's worth. But times have changed. As computers and software dominate all necessary business functions beginning in the mid-1990's - the size of your technology team grew larger and larger. They spoke a unique 'language', that only few could understand. They exerted power and influence that no one dared to challenge. You needed a computer, and necessary software to return VALUE to your job. But your tech folks were no longer asking your opinion. Welcome to the revolving door expressway. Generic software yielding ZERO value to you. This is your chance to take back the reins, and I'm going to show you how. You will clearly see WHY most municipal software FAILS to provide VALUE to your job, and how you can turn this around. After all, your snow and ice removal program is on the front line. Reason #1 for Failure: You and YOUR TEAM were not included or engaged in the software selection process Maybe you didn't get the memo. Or, maybe you did get the memo - but didn't attend the selection meetings. Or, maybe you did get the memo - but didn't include your staff (the one's who would be USING the software) in on the selection. Whatever the reason - you and your team were not involved in the software selection process. This is a problem don't you think? Would you allow someone to redesign your kitchen - without asking you what features you wanted? Of course not. The same principal applies to software selection. No software decisions that affect YOUR JOB should be accepted without YOUR involvement. Get involved and demand the software VALUES you deserve. Reason #2 for Failure: You left the research up to others Perhaps your involvement on the software selection continuum - was near the finish line. You had a chance to ONLY to review the FINAL 3 choices that your IT staff made available to you. As you watched software vendors make presentations, the language turned to techno-speak, and the eye-candy sent your head spinning. As you sit through these demos, you can't help but ask - is this going to make my work life any easier? Is this the best software solution for MY needs? Are these choices really my best options? You are the only person who really knows YOUR JOB, YOUR NEEDS. You need to be involved with the software selection process right from the STARTING LINE. Reason #3 for Failure: Your IT folks don't know what YOU do How well does your tech team understand your daily routines? Do they understand how you PLAN in advance? Do they appreciate your operational chaos and attention to details that are required to manage your snow removal program? My guess? They have no idea. Every day, I watch municipal technology teams try to push a WORK ORDER or Fleet system onto their snow removal program. This is like replacing your shower with a kitchen sink. I see tech teams push the AVL solution, as if this TOOL could be retro-fitted to manage your costs and budget. The list goes on. The TOOLS that OTHERS feel are right for you, are NO MATCH for what you need. You MUST enlighten your technology team. You must sit them down. You must INSIST on VALUE. After all, it is YOUR snow and ice removal program - and you need a tool that provides you with VALUE. Reason #4 for Failure: You weren't thinking about VALUE Glitz has strong appeal. Ranging from fancy advertising, to software that includes pretty pictures, animated graphics and a salesperson who could sell ice cubes to ice fishermen. It is easy to get caught in the trap -- thinking that software has GREATER value...if there is more GLITZ. Sorry, this just doesn't work. A colleague of mine in the mid-west said it best, "you can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig". He's right. Software with LITTLE VALUE but A LOT of glitz, is still software with LITTLE VALUE. So, ignore the glitz, and stick with the VALUES that you NEED to succeed in your snow and ice removal efforts. It's up to your tech team to manage the other details. Reason #5 for Failure: You ignored the formula: Work+Effort= VALUE (Accountable Results) Maybe you got lucky. Or maybe you did your homework. Maybe you indeed selected a TOOL of VALUE for your snow and ice removal program. But somehow it's not working out. The most common song I hear from municipalities using custom software is: the software is "not working". Why is that? In many cases, this software SHOULD deliver value. You did have it customized, right? But it's not. Why? You bought into the Easy button mentality. You figured that once you had the TOOL in place, you didn't need to do any more work. Sit back and relax in your easy chair. You thought that software TOOL could just do everything for you, and soon you'll be receiving a hefty pay raise and a year-end bonus. It doesn't work like that. Never did. Never will. You need the RIGHT tool for YOUR job. And, once you have that in place, keep reminding yourself: The quality of work and effort that you put IN, is proportional to the results you get OUT. It's a simple formula. Write it down. Repeat it to yourself every time you sit in front of your computer. Work+Effort= VALUE (Accountable Results)

StormTRAK™ -- Snow and Ice Removal
Budget conscious software solutions for city, county and state governments

StormTrak™ is the copyrighted work of Cycon Publishing, Inc. Use of StormTrak™ is governed by the terms of the end user license agreement, which accompanies or is included with the Software ("License Agreement"). An end user will be unable to install or use StormTrak™, unless he or she first agrees to the License Agreement terms. StormTrak™ is made available for use by end users according to the License Agreement, and includes all documentation and screen and report samples found on this web site. StormTRAK™ is the intellectual property, trademarked and proprietary software of Cycon Publishing, Inc., and any duplication, attempt to modify, reproduce, reverse engineer or redistribute the software is expressly prohibited and punishable by law. Violators will be prosecuted to the maximum extent possible.