Our software is customisable! Yeah right!
Has your software supplier proclaimed their software can be customised to your business?
Have you purchased software only to find you now need additional modules at additional cost?
Have you needed additional functionality only to receive a $20K quote for the “customisation”?
Software customisation is a customers’ greatest desire and concern at the same time because they don’t really understand what they are getting until it goes live. Suppliers often pitch customisation but without interrogation it is usually limited to a prescribed number of additional fields already coded into the database, application and user interface. When these are exhausted get out the chequebook. There are companies that don’t endorse customisation, one large ERP provider as an example have convinced the market that their software supports best industry practice and that you need to change your business processes to support the best industry practice software. “Shut the front door.” Admittedly, they are very good at sales and have done a great job selling this concept. Why is this so difficult? Its only software right! The answer is simply that software applications aren’t actually that soft. They are like houses constructed with a foundation, four walls and a roof. Similarly, most software applications have a hard coded (bricks and mortar) database, application and user interface. Just like trying to install an additional bathroom in your house, additional construction, new plumbing and electrical changes are required, they need to meet code and be certified. They are not easy or cheap. In fairness to software engineers, software customisation isn’t trivial because the smallest of code changes can impact the database the schema, the application and lastly the user interface which has to be adapted and tested ensuring the new code doesn’t introduce application bugs and security issues. Another handbrake when changing existing applications is that they may have software interdependences with other programs which support the application, for instance, reporting packages. Why should you be forced to change business practices so the software you purchased functions correctly? No thanks, and in fact that’s a little offensive for a supplier to insist you change your processes to support their product.