Coast’s Software Review Methodology

Coast’s primary goal is to make things easier for deskless workers. That means helping find the best solutions for their individual needs, whether that be performing equipment maintenance, managing facilities or scheduling tasks. Our software reviews are built around this philosophy. 

We know that businesses are looking for three core features in a software. Ease of use is a top priority to ensure employees (especially ones who aren’t tech savvy) will actually use it. The mobile experience is also crucial since most team members spend a majority of their time on the go. Lastly, they need the software to be adaptable to their internal processes, so no time is wasted updating workflows to match a new system.

Yes, we think Coast meets and exceeds these needs for most business types, but we also understand that there are other software solutions available that address similar problems. Our software reviews address the common features as well as key differences between these solutions so that you, the user, can determine which one meets your needs the best.

How We Select the Software to Review

Before we select which software to review, we choose a theme or category — say, work order software or property maintenance software — and then we research which solutions are the best for this particular category. For work orders, we might focus on features such as customization, ability to schedule recurring tasks or communication capabilities. And for property maintenance software, we might prioritize the way you can store standard operating procedures for different assets or the ability to define parent and child locations. Then, we continue our research and also turn to popular software review sites like G2, Capterra, Trustpilot or SourceForge to get insight on the customer experience.

How We Test the Software

Next, we assign a software review article to our content team. Whether it’s an individual software review, software comparison article or “best of” list, we use a combination of hands-on testing, extensive research and scouring sites and forums like Reddit, LinkedIn and SMRP to get a pulse on how customers are using the technology in their everyday lives. From there, we score the software, using…

Our Methodology

We review software based on a wide range of factors that are broken down into seven basic categories to not only highlight which software is best but to also help differentiate the solutions from one another. We answer several questions in an effort to give customers a solid understanding of what they do and don’t need out of a software. We then rate them for each category on a scale of one to five (with five being the best), so a software can earn a total rating of 35. 

For example, let’s say we’re rating Coast for its capabilities as an asset inventory management software. We would score it based on each of the seven categories and rate it based on our personal experience using the software, on research that points to its features and offerings managing asset inventory, and on customer reviews that speak to this as well. Each software has a wide range of features that speak to these seven categories, but here’s a general overview of the questions we ask to determine a rating for each one:

Ease of Use

• How easy is it to set up the software?
• Is the interface modern and easy to navigate?
• Are features easily discoverable?
• How intuitive is it for users to access their dashboard?

Mobile Experience

• How easy is it for frontline workers to use the mobile app?
• Do desktop and mobile interfaces portray similar information?
• How are alerts and notifications shown on the mobile app?

Core Features & Functionality

• Does the software have the full set of features expected for the review theme or category?
• Does the software offer unique features that give it a competitive advantage? 
• If it has a unique feature, how beneficial is it to the end user’s workflow?

Adaptability & Customization

• Can you add or remove fields within the software?
• Can you easily rename fields?
• Can you create automations and custom alerts?
• Can you create and customize views?
• Can you create entirely new workflows within the software?

Customer Support

• Which live support channels are available (phone, email, chat, etc.)?
• How fast does their customer support team respond?
• How detailed is its help center?
• What do users say about support in online reviews?

Value / Price

• How does the pricing compare to other competitors?
• What do users say about the value for the cost in online reviews?

Current Reviews

• How positive is customer feedback on G2, Capterra, the Apple App Store and Google Play Store? 
• What are customers saying about the software on Reddit, Linkedin or other forums?

Needless to say, there’s a lot to think about when choosing the right software. Our goal is to give you first-hand insight into how these software work and what businesses they work best for — because only you can decide the software that will match your needs the most.