Technology Investment Framework

Document Type: Guide
Version: 1.0
Last Updated: February 2026
Distribute To: Owner, CEO, CFO, Operations Manager

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Purpose

Provide a framework for evaluating and prioritizing technology investments to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and support growth.

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Why Technology Investment Matters

Construction Technology Reality:

• Industry historically slow to adopt
• Opportunity to gain competitive advantage
• Can dramatically improve productivity
• Enables data-driven decisions
• Required for larger/sophisticated clients

Technology Benefits:

• Productivity improvement
• Error reduction
• Better information
• Faster decisions
• Improved communication
• Competitive advantage

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Technology Assessment

Current State Assessment:

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         TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
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Company: _______________________  Date: _______________

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CURRENT TECHNOLOGY INVENTORY:

| Category | System/Tool | Version | Users | Satisfaction |
|----------|-------------|---------|-------|--------------|
| Accounting | | | | 1-5 |
| Project mgmt | | | | 1-5 |
| Estimating | | | | 1-5 |
| Time tracking | | | | 1-5 |
| Document mgmt | | | | 1-5 |
| Email/comm | | | | 1-5 |
| CRM | | | | 1-5 |
| Field reporting | | | | 1-5 |
| Safety | | | | 1-5 |
| Scheduling | | | | 1-5 |

Overall technology health: ☐ Strong  ☐ Adequate  ☐ Needs improvement

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INTEGRATION ASSESSMENT:

| Systems | Integrated? | Manual Work Required |
|---------|-------------|----------------------|
| Accounting ↔ PM | ☐ Yes ☐ No | |
| Time ↔ Payroll | ☐ Yes ☐ No | |
| Time ↔ Job cost | ☐ Yes ☐ No | |
| Estimating ↔ PM | ☐ Yes ☐ No | |
| Field ↔ Office | ☐ Yes ☐ No | |

Integration score: _____/5

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GAPS AND PAIN POINTS:

| Area | Current Pain | Impact | Priority |
|------|--------------|--------|----------|
|      |              | H/M/L  | H/M/L    |
|      |              | H/M/L  | H/M/L    |
|      |              | H/M/L  | H/M/L    |

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Technology Roadmap

Multi-Year Technology Plan:

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         TECHNOLOGY ROADMAP
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Planning Period: _____ to _____

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YEAR 1 PRIORITIES:

| Project | Description | Investment | Expected Benefit |
|---------|-------------|------------|------------------|
|         |             | $          |                  |
|         |             | $          |                  |

Total Year 1: $_________________

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YEAR 2 PRIORITIES:

| Project | Description | Investment | Expected Benefit |
|---------|-------------|------------|------------------|
|         |             | $          |                  |

Total Year 2: $_________________

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YEAR 3 PRIORITIES:

| Project | Description | Investment | Expected Benefit |
|---------|-------------|------------|------------------|
|         |             | $          |                  |

Total Year 3: $_________________

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ROADMAP SUMMARY:

| Year | Investment | Cumulative | Key Outcomes |
|------|------------|------------|--------------|
| 1    | $          | $          |              |
| 2    | $          | $          |              |
| 3    | $          | $          |              |

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Technology Evaluation Framework

Software Evaluation Scorecard:

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         TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION
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Solution: _______________________
Vendor: _______________________
Category: _______________________

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FUNCTIONAL FIT (40%):

| Requirement | Weight | Score (1-5) | Weighted |
|-------------|--------|-------------|----------|
| Core functionality | 40% | | |
| Construction-specific features | 25% | | |
| Reporting capabilities | 15% | | |
| Mobile access | 10% | | |
| Customization ability | 10% | | |
| SUBTOTAL | 100% | | |

Functional fit score: _____

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TECHNICAL FIT (20%):

| Factor | Weight | Score (1-5) | Weighted |
|--------|--------|-------------|----------|
| Integration capabilities | 30% | | |
| Cloud/hosting model | 20% | | |
| Security | 20% | | |
| Scalability | 15% | | |
| Performance | 15% | | |
| SUBTOTAL | 100% | | |

Technical fit score: _____

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VENDOR FIT (20%):

| Factor | Weight | Score (1-5) | Weighted |
|--------|--------|-------------|----------|
| Financial stability | 25% | | |
| Construction experience | 25% | | |
| Support quality | 20% | | |
| Implementation support | 15% | | |
| User community | 15% | | |
| SUBTOTAL | 100% | | |

Vendor fit score: _____

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ECONOMICS (20%):

| Factor | Weight | Score (1-5) | Weighted |
|--------|--------|-------------|----------|
| Total cost of ownership | 40% | | |
| Implementation cost | 25% | | |
| ROI potential | 25% | | |
| Contract flexibility | 10% | | |
| SUBTOTAL | 100% | | |

Economics score: _____

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TOTAL SCORE:

| Category | Weight | Score | Weighted |
|----------|--------|-------|----------|
| Functional | 40% | | |
| Technical | 20% | | |
| Vendor | 20% | | |
| Economics | 20% | | |
| TOTAL | 100% | | |

Recommendation: ☐ Proceed  ☐ Consider  ☐ Pass

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ROI Analysis

Technology Investment ROI:

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         TECHNOLOGY ROI ANALYSIS
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Project: _______________________

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INVESTMENT COSTS:

One-time costs:
  Software license/setup: $_________________
  Implementation services: $_________________
  Hardware (if needed): $_________________
  Data migration: $_________________
  Training: $_________________
  Internal labor: $_________________
  Total one-time: $_________________

Ongoing annual costs:
  Subscription/maintenance: $_________________
  Support: $_________________
  Updates/upgrades: $_________________
  Additional training: $_________________
  Total annual: $_________________

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EXPECTED BENEFITS:

Quantifiable savings:
  Labor savings (hours × rate): $_________________
  Error reduction: $_________________
  Faster processing: $_________________
  Reduced rework: $_________________
  Total annual savings: $_________________

Revenue enablement:
  New business enabled: $_________________
  Faster proposals: $_________________
  Better client service: $_________________

Strategic benefits:
  Competitive advantage: _______________________
  Risk reduction: _______________________
  Scalability: _______________________

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ROI CALCULATION:

Annual net benefit: $_________________
  (Annual savings - Annual costs)

Payback period: _____ months
  (One-time costs ÷ Annual net benefit)

3-year ROI: _____%
  ((3 × Annual benefit - Total investment) ÷ Total investment)

5-year ROI: _____%

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GO/NO-GO:

☐ Proceed - ROI exceeds threshold
☐ Defer - Benefits not compelling
☐ Reject - Does not meet requirements

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Implementation Planning

Technology Implementation Checklist:

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         IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
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Project: _______________________
Vendor: _______________________
Start Date: _______________________
Go-Live Target: _______________________

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PHASE 1: PLANNING

☐ Project team assigned
☐ Requirements documented
☐ Timeline established
☐ Budget confirmed
☐ Success criteria defined
☐ Communication plan created

Owner: _______________________
Target completion: _______________________

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PHASE 2: CONFIGURATION

☐ System configured
☐ Integrations built
☐ Workflows set up
☐ Users created
☐ Permissions established
☐ Testing environment ready

Owner: _______________________
Target completion: _______________________

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PHASE 3: DATA MIGRATION

☐ Data mapping complete
☐ Data cleaned
☐ Migration tested
☐ Data validated
☐ Historical data loaded

Owner: _______________________
Target completion: _______________________

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PHASE 4: TRAINING

☐ Training materials prepared
☐ Admin training complete
☐ User training scheduled
☐ User training complete
☐ Quick reference guides distributed

Owner: _______________________
Target completion: _______________________

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PHASE 5: GO-LIVE

☐ Final testing complete
☐ Go/no-go decision made
☐ Go-live executed
☐ Support available
☐ Issues tracked and resolved

Owner: _______________________
Target completion: _______________________

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PHASE 6: POST-IMPLEMENTATION

☐ Adoption monitored
☐ Issues resolved
☐ Additional training provided
☐ Benefits measured
☐ Lessons learned documented

Owner: _______________________
Target completion: _______________________

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Technology Categories for Construction

Priority Technology Areas:

Category	Purpose	ROI Potential
Core Financial	Accounting, job costing	High
Project Management	PM, scheduling, docs	High
Field Operations	Daily reports, time, safety	High
Estimating	Takeoff, pricing	Medium-High
Business Development	CRM, proposals	Medium
HR/Payroll	Payroll, benefits, HR	Medium
Collaboration	Communication, file sharing	Medium
Analytics	Reporting, dashboards	Medium
Emerging	BIM, drones, IoT	Variable

Build vs. Buy:

Approach	When to Use
Buy (SaaS)	Standard processes, quick deployment
Configure	Need flexibility within platform
Integrate	Best-of-breed for each function
Custom build	Truly unique process, no solutions exist

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Vendor Management

Vendor Relationship:

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         VENDOR MANAGEMENT
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Vendor: _______________________
Product: _______________________
Contract dates: _______________________

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CONTRACT TERMS:

Subscription: $_____/month or $_____/year
Term: _____ years
Auto-renewal: ☐ Yes  ☐ No
Notice period: _____ days
Data ownership: ☐ Customer  ☐ Shared  ☐ Vendor

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RELATIONSHIP HEALTH:

| Factor | Rating (1-5) | Notes |
|--------|--------------|-------|
| Support responsiveness | | |
| Product quality | | |
| Roadmap alignment | | |
| Value for cost | | |
| Relationship | | |

Overall satisfaction: _____/5

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RENEWAL CONSIDERATIONS:

☐ Renew as-is
☐ Renegotiate terms
☐ Evaluate alternatives
☐ Plan exit

Action items: _______________________

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Related Documents

• Strategic Planning
• Budget Preparation
• Capital Budget
• Process Improvement

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Template provided by support.construction. Technology is an investment, not an expense—evaluate it that way.