This is a short pathway to help evaluate a new software tool. It used to be a checklist but now it's ...something else.
We'll walk you through a few of the key considerations when you're choosing new software to use.
[[Let's go]]So, you've found a tool that looks like it might do what you're looking for. First, is this a [[hosted ]] or [[self-hosted]] tool?
(not sure what these terms mean? No worries, we can [[explain]]. Great, a hosted solution could be great. What are their privacy terms like? Have you read them or at least run them through something like Terms of Service; Didn't Read (ToS;DR) ?
[[Yes, terms look ok to me]]
or
[[Yes, and the ToS seem a bit too broard to me]]Is it easy to install & host in a way that we can take on? Or does our IT dept. support this software?
[[Yes - we can host this]]
or
[[No - we can't support this stack]]Here are some definitions of terms you might come across when evaluating software (or hardware)
Self-hosted
This means you host it yourself, either by paying a hosting company or by installing it on your own server. Either way, it means that there's some additional installation required to get the software up and running.
Hosted
This means the software company hosts the platform for you. No installation necessary.
Open Source
Open Source is a type of license that gives permission for people to access and change the source code of the software and sometimes even to redistribute it. You can usually find the code on Github or similar code repository sites.
HTTPS
HTTP stands for hypertext transfer protocol. It’s a protocol that is used for transferring data from a web server to a browser to view web pages.
HTTPS is the secure version of the HTTP protocol. This involves the use of an SSL certificate which creates a secure encrypted connection between the web server and the web browser and keeps the data a bit safer.
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)
This is a type of third party software provision where a company hosts applications and makes them available to customers over the Internet, usually on a subscription basis.Great! It doesn't involve Java does it? Because if it does, we're going back to the [[drawing board]].
No Java? Let's [[try this software out->software trial]].
There might be a hosting option available. What about 'one-click installers' like [[Softaculous|https://www.softaculous.com]] or [[Installatron|https://installatron.com/apps]].
There's also the [[Digital Ocean marketplace|https://marketplace.digitalocean.com]] though this requires a bit more setup and regular maintenance.
[[One-click installer identified]]
[[Nope, no such luck->drawing board]]
Super. But they should also have a separate privacy policy and show that they handle user data with care. Is there anything like that published on their website?
[[Yes, they have a privacy statement]]
[[No, I couldn't find any evidence they care about this]]This doesn't sound like the tool for us! Back to the [[drawing board]]Ok, super. If we can export it and move away, then this is something we might use. What about data security? Does it manage everything over HTTPS?
Can you see that lock icon on each page of the site?
[[HTTPS always]] or [[They're still on HTTP->HTTP only]]This doesn't seem like a tool for us. Back to the [[drawing board]]. <h3> Sorry it didn't work out</h3>
<img src="http://placekitten.com/300/200">
Ready to start again?
[[Let's go]]This is good. That means we can probably find pretty cheap hosting to run the software on and hopefully manage things like upgrades and backups via the Installer software.
Let's [[try this software out->software trial]].
Success!
<img src="https://i.giphy.com/media/j5QcmXoFWl4Q0/giphy.gif" width="500" alt="Keanu">
Great, that means our data is a little bit more secure.
Initiate software trial?
[[software trial]] is go. There's no HTTPS on all pages?
Sorry, that's a deal breaker for us. We want our data to be encrypted at the very least.
Back to the [[drawing board]]Great! That's a good thing to have.
But what about data exportability. Do they provide a way to export your data if we want to move to a different tool later?
[[Yes, data export is go]]
or
[[Nah, they seem to keep that pretty locked down]]That's a shame. It's really important that they have some kind of statement of how they are using the data we share with them and how we can remove our data if we want to.
Unfortunately, this means we'll have to go back to the [[drawing board]]