“A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked. A complex system designed from scratch never works and cannot be patched up to make it work. You have to start over with a working simple system.”
This is known as Gall’s Law. It’s why most deployments of contract management systems fail.
The contracting pipeline is an extremely complex beast. Contracts are littered with edge cases and exceptions and that makes any tools designed with a specific workflow in mind very brittle. The more of the pipeline the tool touches, the more likely it is to break.
Think how much complexity sits in just the signature stage where DocuSign sits. They stamp JPEGs onto PDFs and they’re the biggest player in contract management!
To make matters worse, the majority of people buying contracting software haven’t even set up such a system before. It’s like a toaster company trying to build a spaceship. You just know it’s going to go wrong.
Instead, start with where the biggest problem is. Then refine over time. It'll likely turn out you didn’t even need all the other stuff.