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  2. Who should have the final saying when it comes to...

Who should have the final saying when it comes to purchasing and integrating new tech tools?

Damir Krešo
7 replies
Specifically, I would love to hear what developers have to say (as they are the ones writing the code) and maybe C-levels, and senior team leads (who manage the budget). :)

Replies

Sophia Watt
As a business owner, the final decision wins. If you have a co-founder, you should come to a consensus that you both agree on. Turnover in a startup is a common thing, so it’s important to know who you can trust and to work with. It depends on the size of the company. If you’re a small startup, it may be better to have a consensus between you and your co-founder. But if you’re a larger company, you need a person to make the final decision.
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Krishna Kumar
I have been on multiple sides of this debate. User in multiple organisations, CIO at a large media company, CEO at a software startup. In organisations, large and small, I have seen IT departments holding a veto and that working against the organisations requirements. I have also seen too many IT organisations say "let's build it" and attempt to reinvent the wheel, though that is on the decline these days. What I have seen create the least amount of friction is when collecting decision making happens. Broadly, anyone can suggest a tool, even the junior most team member. The decision is joint, including leads of all user teams and others who may be impacted. And of course, subject to budgets and effort required for the change over. Just because a new and better tool is available, you need not be on it.
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Damir Krešo
Treblle
@kkumarkg you mentioned you were a CEO at a software startup. How was your team pitching the product to its audience?
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Krishna Kumar
@damir_kreso Assuming this question is in context of integrating new tech tools, so internal audience... There is no hard and fast single method. Since a change of tool or tech in one department could impact others, teams are not encouraged to make changes on their own without larger discussions. I hv had teams discuss internally and then present through their lead (We hv had regular team meetings and lead meetings), particularly with complex or costly tools. At the other end, there have been instances when the dev just walks up to a lead or to me (at the water cooler, in the lunch room....) and pitch the tool. Over time, all of us agreed that a pitch had to include a benefits and costs statement. "We want to use this ________ because it does ______ better / faster/ cheaper. We will have to change these other things to adopt this"
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Carmen Judson
Serand
Serand
In my opinion, the final say should be with the engineering/tech team. Since they're the ones who understand what's available, how it works, and the ideal way to implement it, they'll make the best decisions. Plus, they'll have a better understanding of the business and what's required to make the best use of the tool (since they're the ones who'll be using it). It's the marketing team that should have to make a good enough case to convince engineering that it's the right tool for the job.
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Damir Krešo
Treblle
@carmen_judson I agree with you that the engineering team should make the call. But there's a lot of tools that offer many different features, some of them might be useful to developers, some of them to testers, QA engineers and so on. And from what I've learned so far, different roles (in different companies) have different level of influence. In one company, a developer can make a suggestion and ask for a tool, in other engineers are the ones making the decision and so on. I would say it's hard to find the right answer to this one but thanks for sharing your opinion. :)
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