At some point
in nearly every company there comes a time when success and
growth demand an increased capacity to deliver existing products
and services, and possibly a need to implement new strategies.
Commonly this leads to a review of current practices and IT
systems.
Depending on a company's size and maturity this milestone
may result in implementing processes and IT systems for the
first time. For larger or more established companies it often
leads to a company's management team establishing the best
opportunity for increasing returns on IT and intellectual
investments.
In both situations the stakeholders have many decisions to
make but in the area of software systems, the foremost of
these is the decision to 'build or buy' - does the company
buy an existing product from an 'off the shelf' vendor or
do they have a software system designed and built specifically
to meet their needs.
Both of the buy or build options have inherent risks and require
a good degree of planning and evaluation. When looking to
build a software system the following needs should be met:
- Business Analysis - Ensure a thorough
understanding of all requirements are written down in detail
and reviewed by all business units required to use the resulting
software application. This should also include a project
plan detailing time-frames, budgets, stakeholders and term
for continued investment in the system.
- System Design - Working from the established
business requirements, a system architecture should consider
current commercial-grade technologies and development languages,
an appropriate level of technical sophistication and the
most cost effective and realistic maintenance and roll-out
requirement. The system design phase should result in a
technical document accepted by the business stakeholders.
- System Development - A critical element
in any system's development is the human resources who perform
the work and oversee the project. It is important their
commercial experience is relevant to the system they are
developing and they are prepared to support the application
throughout its life time.
- Implementation- A commonly overlooked
aspect of any software project and often a deciding factor
in it's success or failure. The implementation of the developed
application needs detailed planning as it often involves
changes to current business practices, staff training, user
documentation, data migration and ongoing user support.
Loanworks Technologies delivers a professional, commercial
grade bespoke development service that meets all of the above
needs and requirements within a cost effective framework and
tailored solution path.
Has your business reached the 'buy or
build' milestone and you need to make a decision? If
so call us on 1300 721 243 to discuss your
situation or arrange an appointment. |
