How Do I Pick the Right Tool for Me?

You see this question all the time on forums and mailing lists. It's a problematic question as much as it's impossible to answer. There’s no one answer that’s the right answer for everyone. It depends on staff, resources, skills, and even company culture.

Tools—software tools—at the enterprise level are not like retail purchases. Heck, even buying a phone isn't strictly a purchase that can be answered given this same question. What's right for one person isn't right for that person’s closest friend. We all have different needs, different lifestyles, and different support structures. This is an important idea to get across—that the selection of software tools is not a simple question nor is the answer a simple one.

In this session, Liz Fraley will share strategies, lists of questions, and talk about how to not panic when you're faced with evaluating the entire situation and pick a tool that doesn't fit because you only looked at one or two things about it.