TECHNOLOGY
How do you master software?
Stuart Hall MCIPPdipMAPGMdip , of Payescape Limited , discusses the issues and provides great advice
W hat are you like when you and dives straight in looking for the on switch, or do you read the instruction manual first? The same goes for new software: do you read the manual or log straight in? Recently, I was fascinated watching my two grandsons master a new game on their tablets. The elder is 3.5 years old and his brother 1.5 years old. Neither can read so an instruction manual receive a new gadget? Are you the type who opens the box would have been of no use. Both just started playing the game, working their way around the screen, and very soon discovered how to complete each level and progress. If I were to compare the game they played to software we use daily, how would we fare and what level would we reach? There was a time when payroll software was simple to run and operate. I remember purchasing my first payroll software application: six floppy discs arrived with instructions for loading the
software to the personal computer. The application featured a few screens to enter basic employer and employee data, and a ‘process’ button. Before each new tax year a disc would arrive with any updates to statutory rates and, if we were lucky, one or two ‘new’ features were added. Back then, payroll was all about data entry, keying in variable data such as hours worked. Until Windows came along everything was in MS-DOS and there were many payroll managers who deemed this a better operating environment for payroll. With no mouse to worry about, total control of the software was achieved using a keyboard, providing speed and accuracy. Payroll bureaux used to have key punch departments – a bit like typing pools – with rows of women keying data in batches. Each batch was keyed in by two operators and software checked the data matched. Payroll software was solid, bold and unbreakable. I recall discussions with the development team of one successful MS-DOS payroll solution
when it moved to a Windows platform. The software company’s owner insisted the mouse must be optional. Like many others they tried to convert their DOS solution in Windows – a bit like trying to get a square peg in a round hole. The arrival of cloud computing and SaaS (software as a service) delivering software applications over the Internet (the cloud), put more pressure on payroll software vendors. The cloud meant providers could now host and manage their applications and handle any maintenance such as software upgrades and security patching. Again, many payroll software vendors tried to make their Windows technology work in a cloud environment. It provided a short-term solution, but scaling became an issue. The business model changed, too. Software vendors were used to selling a one-time licence, whereas the SaaS model typically comprised a subscription fee that included licence, maintenance and support. This resulted in their legacy systems becoming costly to maintain, and upgrades stifled innovation. Today, software technology has moved even further, with application programming interface (API). Payroll
...a time when payroll software was simple to run and operate...
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | October 2020 | Issue 64 46
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