| Purchasing Custom Software |
Page 2 of 3 Time is Money Custom software can be expensive and time consuming to create. Applications that most of us use each and every day (e.g. Microsoft Word) have a great deal of resources (time and money) invested in them. As such, it is important to realize that the dividends will be based, at least in part, on the quantity of investment you initially provide. One reason for the seemingly high initial cost of custom software is that, when done right, the application will adhere to industry standard software development methodologies — containing ample code documentation, end-user documentation, database schema documentation, etc. “Having these measures in place ensures that the business is not beholden to one provider's intimate knowledge,” says Shahnul Islam of Agility Networks. “If the developer moves out of the industry, goes out of business, has changes in personnel etc, the business can ask for help from other developers who can take the helm for fixes and enhancements without having to spend an inordinate amount of time getting up to speed with the application.” In short, the key to future-proofing the investment is to standardize as much as possible. But you are a business owner and in the end one of the primary influencing points will be cost. While price will vary greatly based on the complexity of the project, to obtain an accurate project quote simply offer the developer with as much information as possible. “A detailed requirements gathering phase leads to a more complete project scope document, and this results in a happier customer as well as happy developers,” says Islam. But not all custom software needs to be all-encompassing. Need something done yesterday? “Set realistic development goals, have both parties agree to them and stick with them,” says Chomko. “If you absolutely need something done fast, remove as many features and functions as absolutely possible to make sure you meet your go-live date, leaving time for testing and review.” |
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