Enterprise Asset Management Software: Let's Build a Product Roadmap

Every time your organization is growing bigger and more international, there emerges the need for accurate work order management services. For these processes, you surely need trusted enterprise asset management software. We’ve crafted this article which is dedicated to popular CMMS solutions review and the creation of the roadmap for enterprise application development.

Facilities work order software: purpose, target audience, and B2B model

Before we get to the 'ins-and-outs' of enterprise software development best practices, we need to figure out first what exactly work order management systems are. If we try to refer facilities work order software to any of multiple business types, we would probably start talking about B2B model. In most cases, facilities work order software can be or is a vital instrument for medium-to-large business organizations and facility and maintenance services providers. To plan the more performant facility management application roadmap example, let's pay attention to the business 'mechanism' behind it.

The model often looks like the following:

How such applications are helpful for business owners

If you want to get the most out of enterprise software development best practices, you need to analyze the benefits for both company-producer and company-supplier.

Let's start with 'producers' category. Most companies and corporations, especially the constantly growing ones, require more engagement of both human and financial resources for better functioning on the market. Often, such organizations request facility management services from 3rd parties to get all the necessary, let’s say ‘householding’ work done.

If we're talking about work order service providers (cleaning, repairing and maintenance companies, etc.), they can offer the following range of services for companies-requestors:

• Technical infrastructure

• Electricity and lighting

• Equipment maintenance and repair

• Transportation

• Dumpster rental

• Cleaning services

• Sewage treatment

• Landscape services management

Obviously, both sides need reports on completed or planned scope of work and pricelist. It’s the part, where facilities work order software comes to be more than handy.

With work order management solution in sleeve, companies can:

- find and keep in touch with facility management service providers; inform them about the required to-do’s

- track work orders, expenses, and process invoices

- manage all the asset and other document types in one system

Service providers/suppliers obtain such opportunities as to:

- find a short or long-term job

- store and expand their potential and actual customers database

- manage all the work history and payments in a single place

Must have functionality, enterprise asset management trends, and market leaders

Before we dive in enterprise software development best practices, let's see what stats we have here. If we refer to Capterra, we can see that the resource publishes the following list of must-have features (which is in fact, ideal for the universal-like work order and enterprise asset management software)

CMMS software short reviews

Let’s get to know what top features solutions have to offer.

Infor was created in 2002 and is now on the same list of the world-recognized EAM, CMMS solutions

Infor enterprise asset management software and CMMS offers to try out a few of so many features for your company:

Maximo by IBM is considered as one of popular facilities work order software out here.

Maximo proposes asset operating services in combination with IoT.

The great thing about Maximo is that it has CMMS/EAM solutions for various industries:

Maximo’s key features include:

NEXGEN Asset Management is the only software program to combine a robust computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) & enterprise asset management software (EAM) with advanced asset management planning capabilities. The result is improved operational efficiency, complete awareness of asset performance and powerful risk analysis for maintenance prioritization.

Maximize asset life and labor productivity through an intuitively designed and incredibly versatile CMMS & EAM software. NEXGEN's enterprise-wide asset management software is designed to capture and manage every aspect of your asset inventory, create an effective maintenance program and prioritize maintenance funding by risk and criticality.

 

If you want more randomness, you can check out other top solutions, among which are:

Now, if we take into account Apiko’s experience with enterprise application development for work order management, CMMS application owners and their customers find such functionality to be crucial:

When we’re at the stage to consider different application roadmap examples, we start from technology preferences. Before we choose should it be React Native/React, GraphQL, NodeJS, etc., we need to understand app’s business logic and the general concept behind it.

Here are several suggestions:

• Is it supposed to be a mobile Android + iOS application?

• Should CMMSs application fetch some data?

• Is facilities work order software supposed to work in a real-time mode? What is the exact and necessary functionality that should be present?

Tips on building a software development strategy for facility management

At Apiko, we usually keep to the workflow model, which consists of 5 main stages:

How can these 5 steps leverage your enterprise application development roadmap?

Step 1 - Before we proceed with your product creation, we enter a ‘concept development’ stage. This initial step helps our customer and us draw a clearer picture of:

• Product goals and requirements,

• Value proposition (your customers’ pains/problems and how your product can be of assistance),

• Buyer personas, customer behavior analysis

After all the analysis-related tasks are done, we create clickable wireframes for the work order management solution and estimate the cost of the entire enterprise application development. When we’re talking about money, the expenses depend on a range and the scope of features you’re planning to implement.

Step 2 - When everything from the previous stage is agreed, we help our customer’s product obtain the fresh look and feel. We get our hands on the complex design development, which includes UI/UX + brand identity design.

Step 3 - It’s where the very ‘juicy’ coding part begins. Here is the specific set of features to implement (i.e. an in-app payment solution, or a notifications mechanism). We recommend to create the implementation plan based on the priority of a certain functionality. After each development part is carried out, and before/after product’s release, we proceed with a meticulous testing process.

Step 3 in details:

Step 4 - Here the ‘total testing’ part comes. At this stage, after the CMMSs application’s release, it’s important to identify the most critical bugs (if there are such) in a single feature or in the entire app’s architecture, and fix them in time.

Step 5 - App’s further support and maintenance, after it has gone live is as vital for the project concept as a heart for the human being. You need to have reliable developers and testers team to grow your project safe and sound after its ‘first breath.’ We consider these 5 stages as the foundation stone of software development strategy for facility and assets management.

Have you passed the ‘Release’ stage already? Spread a word about your facilities work order software

To squeeze a bigger boost from your app, here are several tips to have in mind:

• If it’s a mobile work order management solution, place it on Google Play market + Apple store, review platforms, like G2Crowd, Capterra, etc.

• Reach for influential people in your industry and offer them to check out your work order management software. Make new connections on the thematic events.

• Create several pricing plans. This will help you to sort out and understand your audience clearer.

• Constantly expand the list of solutions, according to your customers’ reviews and requests

• Produce a high-quality helpful content on your website which is a great bonus for your potential and current customers

We hope that this article has caught your attention and answered some of your questions regarding enterprise application development.