Contractor input accelerates the next generation of software

By Jesse Sanchez.

Contractor feedback and artificial intelligence are helping accelerate software development while expanding tools for sales, service, maintenance and project management.

Contractor feedback plays a central role in the evolution of business management software, while artificial intelligence (AI) helps developers turn those ideas into usable features faster.

During this episode of CoatingsTalk™, Dataforma Chief Executive Officer Mark Zeleznock and Chief Operating Officer Brian Cook discussed how customer input influences the company’s development process.

Feedback comes from thousands of contractors using the system and attending focused events such as Dataforma’s Design Summit. Describing the importance of that input, Mark explained, “Our best source of ideas are the contractors we have. Thousands of contractors use this every day and the feedback that we get is driving our decisions.”

That feedback is paired with an agile development approach that allows functionality to be introduced, evaluated and adjusted in shorter cycles. Instead of waiting for a large release to determine whether a feature meets contractors’ needs, the development team can continue refining tools as users respond to them. Mark emphasized, “We try not to wait too long now to produce functionality. We’re producing it every week.”

AI is further accelerating that process. The company is using AI coding tools to support software development, prototyping and quality assurance, with development speed increases of two to five times reported on some projects. Those capabilities are contributing to a broader workflow designed to support sales, production, service and maintenance within one system.

New and updated tools discussed during the conversation include dashboards, sales functionality, proposal creation, refreshed work-order views and maintenance contract management. Explaining the flexibility of the new dashboards, Brian shared, “So if I’m a person with multiple locations or departments or divisions in my company, I can have separate dashboards for those, those different pieces of my business.”

The maintenance functionality also came directly from contractor conversations at the company’s summit. It is designed to help users manage scheduled visits while tracking revenue, labor, materials and additional service work connected to those agreements.

Listen to the podcast or Watch the conversation to learn more about how contractor feedback, AI-assisted development and new workflow tools are changing the way contractors can manage sales, service, maintenance and project information!