Identify your needs

Having worked with hundreds of arts organisations, we have come across hundreds of requirements, however there are some common themes.  This section explores these - some of which you may recognise. 

It can be very beguiling to think that:

• Installing a new computer system will fix your problems 
• Members of staff who are really not performing well (and probably not very happy) will sort themselves out over time
• When a system supplier tells you their system CAN do something, that means it WILL do that for you, for the price quoted and on the agreed date
• Your website will run effortlessly and you can save significant staff costs by selling most of your tickets that way
• Everyone in your organisation has the same views about your audiences and how they behave
• Everyone can carry on with their existing jobs as well as starting and managing a new project
• Your newly promoted Box Office Manager can handle all the complexities and subtleness of running their own Box Office without support
• When a salesperson tells you they offer complete Project Management, you don’t need to manage the project every step of the way
• Small niggles audience members have about customer care issues will go away if you ignore them long enough

In our experience, this is frequently not the case.

People, processes & technology

the 3 elements of success

We have learnt how important a good, reliable software product is – and just how important it isn’t. It is only part of the whole, one of the three things which make organisations efficient and effective.

These three elements must not only work together, but also adapt together.  It is one thing to set yourself up well, but quite another to maintain those systems.  You need to continually check and refine as staff, requirements and expectations change.