Technical office studies' software: the 6 decisive criteria

How to choose your management software as a design office?

Looking for a management software in as much as Technical studies office (BET)? Not always easy to navigate among the many options available on the market. OOTI guides you by detailing the 6 essential criteria to select the software that meets your needs.

The 6 essential elements of a good management software

💡 As a company specializing in the engineering and design of technical projects, the areas of expertise of a BET are very broad. Your choice must relate to a simple solution adapted to your particularities.

1. Its features

The software must meet your expectations both in terms of human resources management and in terms of financial management and project monitoring. The spectrum covering must be wide enough to avoid adding one or more additional software to fill a potential gap: management of invoicing (MOP law), subcontracting, provisional schedules, schedules and workload, the progress of projects, cash flow, etc.

2. Its ease of use

The more the tool is user-friendly and easy to access, the more easily it will be integrated by the whole team. It must be intuitive and fit into the natural operation vis-à-vis other software or applications.

3. Its scalability

Between the needs of the market, the regulatory constraints and the desires of your customers, it is essential to adapt. The software must also be scalable to support the future needs of the company and its development.

4. Its security

It is an essential element. Between data backup and recovery options, security remains a major issue so as not to hinder the operation and growth of your agency.

5. Its technical support

Like any tool, software requires time to adapt as well as support to perfect its use. Being able to count on support means going straight to the point and concentrating on your business.

6. Its cost

It must be affordable, of course, but above all, its cost must be proportional to the advantages it brings. We advise you to test the tool upstream via a free trial to fully understand how it works and determine if it is right for you. Keeping these criteria in mind is to ensure that you choose the software that best meets your specific needs.

User interview: OOTI at the service of agency development

Let us illustrate our remarks with a concrete implementation. We went to meet Olivier Paslawski, associate engineer at C3i, Concept en Ingénierie d'Innovantes Infrastructures. This agency in the Aube department brings together all the trades necessary for carrying out urban development. The fusion of knowledge makes it possible to gain in efficiency in the progress of projects, from design to execution of the works.

Among their achievements, we can cite the landscaped park on the banks of the Yonne in Monéteau, the forecourt of the town hall in Saint-Julien-les-Villas or the development of the central green space of the provinces in Troyes.

💡Feedback on the integration of OOTI within the activity which made it possible to meet its expectations in terms of:

• data security,
• development of autonomy of project managers
• and management of the activity via the forecast.

Hello Olivier. C3i will celebrate its 15th anniversary in 2023. What is your assessment of the progress made?

My wish was to develop the activity gradually. I've always wanted growth on a human, even family scale. For this, recruitment within the C3i company was done gradually, with people who share the same values. It is also essential to take the time to integrate them. All this contributes to developing and maintaining a true team spirit in the company.

And OOTI helped you in this development?

Yes, because we managed a significant part of our activity with Excel tables. Our biggest fear was to be faced with errors in calculations and formulas. Like any good Excel user, it is a fear that we must share with others: having Excels that no longer work!

💡“We therefore wanted to integrate a tool that would allow us both to be secure in the management of our data, and collaborative for all the teams. »

For example, this allows each employee to enter their time spent on each file to have better overall financial monitoring of all projects.

Where are you in its deployment today?

My partner and I use a large part of the features offered to manage the activity. Gradually, we open the modules to our project managers, so that they can integrate it into their monitoring. Hours and expense reports are already used and tagged to the project concerned. The objective is that they can achieve autonomy in the management of their projects.

How do you see the sequel?

The turnover forecast is a key feature for managing activity. We still have elements to configure to perfect our use of OOTI, such as charges and costs. We have not arrived at an optimal use. It's in progress. The software is easy to access, but it requires time to integrate.

There are developments that are delivered as regularly. New features, which did not exist 6 months ago, have emerged. This will allow us to improve even further, to perfect our use in order to be ever more efficient in the management of C3i!

Like Olivier, do you want to test and adopt OOTI to simplify your administrative and organizational management? Test it free for 14 days.
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The OOTI team would like to thank Olivier Paslawski for this insight into the usefulness of our solution within a company like C3i. We are very happy and proud to work alongside them on a daily basis.