When asked, the majority of schools say that functionality is most important to them when looking for an MIS. But what does ‘functionality’ actually mean?

The idea of functionality means different things to different users. If you’re an experienced MIS/data manager who users the MIS to undertake detailed daily/weekly/termly routines, then complex functionality might be your cup of tea. If you are an occasional MIS user who looks to the solution more for reports and analysis, your idea of perfect functionality is simplicity and intuitiveness.

How you rate the functionality of your MIS is personal to you and will be based on, amongst other things:

• Experience with systems
• Role within school
• Proximity to the system (e.g. a daily super-user v arms-length, occasional use)
• Previous use of alternate MIS to draw comparisons
• Understanding of what might be possible in the future within MIS
• Level of training received

Ultimately, different users require their MIS and data to do different things. To understand how effective an MIS is, it’s worth looking at it from the perspective of the user (not the system) and asking:

• Does the MIS give them the tools to do their job well on an individual level?
• Does the MIS help them work as part of a team of many people?

A recent survey¹ of 2,146 schools asked, amongst other things, how effective they felt their MIS was at providing the data they needed to do their job well.  The pie chart below summarises the responses:

To examine the findings in more detail, the graph below shows a breakdown of the survey results for the ‘Big 5’ who, between them, they make up 96% of school market share² (namely Arbor, Bromcom, RM Integris, ScholarPack and SIMS):

Over half of respondents scored their MIS positively, saying it was either Very effective or Extremely effective.  This is good to hear, and exactly what MIS solutions are striving to achieve in their functionality and user experience. In addition, only a relatively small percentage, 15.69% in total, scored their MIS negatively, saying it was Not so effective or Not at all effective (it would be interesting to understand what data they need to do their job which their MIS is not providing, it could be a great opportunity to develop something new!)

The survey¹ also asked how effective they felt their MIS was at helping them to collaborate with colleagues. The responses to this question tell a different story. As you can see from the pie chart and graph below, a much lower number of respondents scored their MIS positively (Extremely or Very effective) at only 35.51%, and a much higher number scored it negatively (Not so or Not at all effective) 29.76%.  The majority, however, scored their MIS neutrally, as Somewhat effective.

• The cloud-based MIS solutions scored highest across the board for both questions.
• Where MIS scored highly for collaborative working, cloud-related features such as ease of access are likely to have played a part.
• Where MIS scored highly for providing the data required to do their job well, a contributing factor is likely to be how well supported and trained the users are on the solution.

So what do these findings tell us?

Overall, respondents seem to be fairly happy with the data the MIS gives them to do their job, but less happy with how it helps them work with colleagues. As we move more and more towards using technology to work collaboratively (the pandemic-related lockdowns brought this sharply into focus!), it’s important for MIS to keep pace with its learning counterparts.

Collaboration is a key part of the success of any organisation and schools are no exception. Operational teams, senior leaders and teaching staff all need to be able to collaborate with each other, and also with other establishments. It will be interesting to see how MIS solutions help schools handle this tricky task in the future.

¹The data was collected by The Key from a survey that went out to all primary, secondary, special schools and pupil referral units in England, by email. It was not sent to independent schools. The survey was completed by Headteachers, Deputy and Assistant Heads, and School Business Managers / Leaders between 29 March and 27 April 2021.

As part of the survey, respondents were asked which MIS they use. The results are outlined below:

²Market share statistics are sourced from two excellent blogs: Graham Reed’s Omega Pegasus https://www.omegapegasus.com/mischallenge and Josh Perry’s Bring More Data https://bringmoredata.blogspot.com/

According to McKinsey, if a software company grows at only 20%, it has a 92% chance of ceasing to exist within a few years.

This means that software companies – particularly SaaS companies – must look at every advantage possible to stay alive in an ever-competitive market.

Remember it is the small margins that can be the deciding factor as to how successful you are.

Customer analytics can be just one way that gives you that competitive edge.

Whether it is measuring retention, product usage, or on-boarding, SaaS businesses must have comprehensive data collection and usage analytics. This enables them to make agile decisions as to the priorities and direction of their overall solution.

When starting a project, make sure that usage analytics are part of the initial NFRs (Non-Functional Requirements).  Think about: what information do you want to understand and act upon.

Ask your stakeholders what information would they find useful to support their business area so they can offer the best service they possibly can.

Ensure the Architect and development lead build in these analytics from the beginning – you want the feedback at every opportunity.