Lets face it - construction industry software has a reputation for being crap. It's often seen as cumbersome, confusing and irrelevant to the needs of small construction businesses. It’s also sometimes viewed as befitting a backwards industry which I argue is very unfair.
After reviewing more than 50 software platforms that are sold to small construction businesses I have formed a view that these issues stem from a fundamental disconnect between the software developers and the construction industry. From confusing user interfaces to a lack of understanding of business needs, I have observed the frustration of developers and users alike. I can see a culture of blaming the user for shortcomings in the product reminiscent of mid century plane crashes where “pilot error” was almost always the cause.
Of course not every product has all of these characteristics and there are some awesome products out there but there is no doubt that the construction software industry as a whole has a long way to go. Not only that - it seems ripe for disruption particularly when it comes to servicing it’s biggest group - small construction businesses. Here is a list of observations from my research.
Software developers don’t understand the industry. Most fundamentally they have missed the key industry makeup - 56% (by turnover) and almost two thirds of employees work for small businesses - most software development efforts centre around enterprise level or emulate enterprise level software.
Developers don’t understand the business, small construction businesses tend to be ad-hoc, unstructured and decentralised. Small construction businesses can resemble a collection of business units spread geographically - so tools adapted from point of sale or consulting miss their target. Developers tend to create software that is head-office centric rather than practical tools that can be deployed from anywhere anytime and even tools that are very good on site are tied back to an administrator at head office on which setup and deployment hinges. I llot of construction businesses don’t have even have that person on staff.
Software developers try to scale down enterprise software without understanding small construction businesses structure and features. My favourite analogy is a model steam train - you know the one that someone has lovingly built to exacting scaled dimensions with a real coal furnace that kids sit on the back of. Same applies in software and business systems - if you simply shrink things down it sort of works - but its more of a novelty and isn’t that practical for transporting people efficiently.
Developers presume that the problem is lack of tech literacy rather than the quality of their product. This gets my goat up, there is simply no evidence that construction professionals are any less tech savvy than any other average group of professionals. Sure lots of builders are not tech savvy but I have also met doctors, lawyers and architects who can barely operate email.
Lack of understanding of customer needs. Customers need smart simple solutions that generate real benefits quickly, they are either on site or on the move so they don’t get to sit there and configure, optimise, integrate - the software needs to be ready to go from the first 5 minutes.
Product developers are idealistic rather than pragmatic. They focus on the ideal systems that optimise a theoretical optimised business with arguably useless features such inventory and resource management rather than focusing on the realities of what actually happens in the real world. This can not only be a distraction - it can leave the user feeling inadequate as they feel that they are not up to their role whereas the reality might be that no small company bothers with inventory.
Compliance focus for a noncompliant industry - the focus should be on improvement and making the most of things instead of compliance systems, the problem with this approach is that systems built strictly for compliance will not mesh with the reality of the working industry which on the small scale is largely non-compliant. Where there is no system then surely improvement is a better strategy than a fully compliant system from the outset sets the business up for failure because compliance is something they simply don’t have resources for.
Lack of standardisation - So my experience shows that even though each builder or contractor thinks they are special they all do the same thing, they process invoices, fill in timesheets, bill for time and materials, issue claims, issue variations, and so on - and yes they all have their “special” methods - but the differences are very very minimal - quite often it’s the order in which things are done and what things are called that changes but the outcome is the same - carpentry is always going to be the same as woodwork and whether you call it Aircon or Mechanical Services won’t change a single thing. There is no doubt the industry would benefit greatly from a standardised and optimised approach.
Lack of fast implementation options - it is amazing how many times I go to review construction software and I have to wait for an email or a phone call from someone to “discuss my needs”. There are very few solutions that enable rapid engagement - like say Trello does which I would argue is the key to it’s success as a platform. Modern software needs to be deployed in minutes not weeks or months - period. Ironically the reason for this is tied to some of the other points I have made - like lack of standardisation and a perception that customers want custom solutions and implementations - they don’t - they want things that work.
Software platforms are often a package of what the developer thinks might be useful and to be honest sometimes it is a checklist of things that are easy to build. It all ends up feeling more like a jumble of features than a strategic functional product with a purpose in mind. The result is a funny sandwich of inclusions like a burger with the lot - when you review enough of them it feels like you’re almost going to know what the next one is - they all contain a pinch of gantt chart and splash or CRM but sometimes the beef pattie or even the bun is missing.
Failure to learn from other sectors - don’t even start me here. There are so many good analogous platforms; Canva, Uber, Trello, Figma that inspire people to use them. And then……. there’s construction software….. the industry seemingly lives in a bubble and each software company seems to copy every other. They all seemingly fail to observe things that actually work in other industries, so they’re stuck with misguided belief that there is something special about construction that makes it harder to build good software. The excuses are mind boggling. For example there is no reason a freemium model like Trello or Figma won’t work in construction software but construction software businesses are veritably freaken terrified when you mention the F word.
Badly conceived from the outset - most construction related software (and lots of management software generally) is conceived from the perspective of a manager or consultant and with one purpose only; “control of resources”. The biggest single resource in construction are the people who will be using the software. Software is often designed with a focus on specific tasks or processes, rather than on the overall needs of the user and as a result the user will never be engaged with or feel empowered by the software.
Construction software is built to be adapted to other platform to form an integrated holistic solution. Unfortunately buying software for a small construction business feels a bit like buying a computer in the 1970’s - largely the preserve of hobbyists - you buy all the parts and built it yourself - if you’re lucky it comes in a kit and you often need someone to help you. No company makes a Macbook with an M1 Chip for small construction businesses - and yet this is totally what is needed.
Construction software is often built on old or outdated technology, which can make it difficult to integrate with newer systems and tools. Like many industries before it construction seems to be stuck in a time warp where software still feels like a digitised version of the old paper systems.
Integration is a burden. For example having to integrate into a universal accounting system is a undoubtedly a drain for developers. These cumbersome software platforms are designed for a myriad of uses and industries, and sometimes just not a great fit for construction. Nonetheless software developers are obliged to integrate. It‘s not unusual to find even in small software businesses that there is a team dedicated to integrating to other software, following updates carefully - it almost feels like when MYOB sneezes they catch a cold.
Good software is expensive and this is certainly the case in construction - it can be argued that even mediocre software is expensive. Not only does it seem expensive but it seems like bad value for money - like a punitive tax on industry underdevelopment. I look at products such as time management software where the per user fee can be $5, $10, even more per month and I don’t see the value delivered - literally a simple system delivering a tiny amount of data with limited functionality repackaged, it’s a reflection of lack of scale and ubiquity in the market.
From a lack of understanding of the industry and specifically the nature of the businesses within it, the construction software industry has a long way to go in providing useful, cost effective and practical tools. The failure to learn from other sectors, bad conception, and a culture of blaming “unsophisticated” users are contributing factors to the current state of the industry.
There is no doubt that the opportunities are vast - in fact construction software is an opportunity like no other. Forget billions or millions - this addressable market measured in percentage points of GDP and remains largely underserved by software. Not only are there opportunities for individual businesses - there is an opportunity to boost the overall construction economy. But in order to address these issues and provide useful solutions, the construction software industry needs to take a more comprehensive and customer-focused approach and this starts by understanding the customer and their needs.
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