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Managing the Risks of Custom Development
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Custom software development is costly and risky, and sometimes it is a path to significant competitive advantage. The general rule of thumb is to buy if you can and build only if you must. This paper explores the two primary questions associated with custom development:
• What are the compelling reasons to do custom development?
• How can you manage the associated risks?
Software Developement Life Cycle
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Building custom software solutions is a complex process that can, if not well managed, easily lead to disaster. Cost overruns and scope creep are common, but failing to solve the business problems effectively can cost the business more than just time and money. It can cost the business a strategic window of opportunity. A poorly implemented solution can even drive some businesses out of business.
This paper describes how The Socrates Group approaches the process of software development.
Design and Build Versus SDLC
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Building large systems without thorough analysis, design and planning is risky. There are countless examples of development efforts that failed or ran massively over cost because they did not have adequate up-front analysis of the business problems they were intended to solve and a thorough design of the solution they were implementing before coding began, many from my own personal history.
This paper compares the formal process of using a software development life cycle (see above) and the less formal process of designing the bicycle as we build it.
Our Process for Software Selection
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Dick DeWaard has performed requirements analysis and RFQ preparation and negotiation for many local companies, and has developed a proven process for accomplishing this work. The process produces both major and interim deliverables.
This paper describes the process for identifying and selecting a software package and rolling that package into your business.
The Services Model
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Throughout much of the ‘90s, Bob Jones taught distributed computing architecture concepts and issues to corporate audiences all over North America. He developed a powerful visual model to help people understand how distributed information systems are structured. The model proved to be very effective, and still works quite well.
This paper describes The Service Model. |
