Principles for Software Customization

Scaling a Software Solution to a Business Problem

• 1. Never pay to program what you can buy off the shelf.
• 2. Use your consultants not just to design and implement the customized solution, but also to help you navigate your way through your options.

3. Never pay someone to customize what you can customize yourself

Always consider the possibility that the pieces of your puzzle are already in place, and all you have to do is put them in the right order.

You may have employees who are particularly suited to being trained to provide the solution for you or, given sufficient planning and guidance, can use current skills to construct a solution that is sufficient. An employee-based solution can have several benefits:

• Your employees understand both the problem to be solved and the relative desirability of alternative solutions.
• Your employees already have knowledge of the processes and tools currently in use.
• Your employees are already on your payroll, and probably cost less than any consultant.
• An employee who has been trained to use new tools increases in value to your organization and potentially offering further value for future projects.
• Your organization retains the benefit of the investment as long as the employee remains a part of your team.

For each of these advantages, though, there can be drawbacks:

• The employee may not be able to see the forest for the trees and may not be as aware of possibilities as an outside consultant.
• Employees can leave and take with them many of the benefits your organization has gained from investing in their training.
• An employee chosen for training to realize such a project may not have sufficient time or necessary skills to be able to complete the project successfully or on time.

An in-house solution usually requires a careful weighing of all of these factors. However, consulting organizations like DFA can assist your organization and employees in learning the skills they need to bring you within range of your original goals.

Nonetheless, consider the cost and benefit of the expertise and whether you want to invest in a software solution tailored to your task or would prefer to build skills within your own organization, skills that can be transferred to other tasks as well.

• 4. Never pay someone for expertise that you can acquire for yourself
• 5. To minimize cost, consider options which combine off-the-shelf software, advanced training and small-scale customization.
• 6. Consider large-scale customization when. . .

©1997-2000, David Fenton Associates. Last updated July 5, 2000.