Why build custom software??

I have the opportunity to meet with a lot of software and technology folks due to my job. When we get together we speak about many things. Life, family, work, pets, sports,… you name it. Eventually though, we start to talk geek. We talk software. We talk about the process and work flow problems that we have in our jobs and what we have been doing to solve it. The question always comes up… should we build a custom software application or buy a package?

Being on the sales side of the house for a software development company, I am a little biased. Obviously. I also know that there is more harm in pushing the wrong product than good. To help make the decision of build vs. buy, I have 5 general questions that help navigate the selection process.

1. Is there a product available that is designed to solve this particular problem? (an example would be if you want to clean up your email server, you can go buy email archiving software)

2. What is the main component of the process of workflow that is causing the the entire process to fall apart? is there a package that solves that small part? (Custom development could fill in the blanks)

3. What is the real world cost in time and effort of the procedural and workflow issues?

4. How quick will the ROI be if you build, buy with some customization, or buy?

5. How important is it that the software works perfectly with your situation? custom software is developed for an individual problem. Most packaged solutions are for broad problems.

With custom software, you must be wary of the development companies that come in guns blazing. A solid development project should be 20% coding, 80% all the other stuff. All the other stuff is learning what your problem is, figuring how to solve it, defining the requirements, and planning.  If you forget to do this, you end up with a product you will not be happy with. Beware of these software development firms. Ask what their process is and what you can expect. if you are not comfortable with them, you should move on to someone else. Software is not cheap. You should get a product you are happy with. not one you are just satisfied with.

To find out who the good software development companies are, call around to people you trust. Ask a lot of good questions.

The company I represent is WDDinc. We solve problems with software.  www.wddinc.com