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.

4. Never pay someone for expertise that you can acquire for yourself.

If a consultant insists on keeping everything a secret, you should look for a new consultant.

That is, make consultants "teach you to fish" rather than depending on them to "fish" for you.

At David Fenton Associates, we don't actually like holding your hand at every stage, coming to help you at your beck and call whenever a tiny problem pops up.

We'd much rather help you learn to handle most day-to-day problems on your own, so that you call us in only for advanced and complex problems, where the added expense is justified.

• 5. To minimize cost, consider options which combine off-the-shelf software, advanced training and small-scale customization.
• 6. Consider large-scale customization when. . .

©1996-2000, David Fenton Associates. Last updated July 5, 2000.