Talk About Custom Software
Clear communication is the key to a successful partnership with your custom software provider.

By Chris Perrin

Companies without an in-house programming team face a turning point when they realize that off-the-shelf software is inadequate to drive the company and they decide to buy custom software. There are many horror stories of small businesses that poured thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars into software that is delivered late, or worse, not at all. In many cases, when the software is finally delivered, it is prone to error and missing critical functionality.

There are many reasons why this occurs. In some cases, the custom software provider is simply unscrupulous and is more interested in making money by prolonging the project than in creating excellent software and building strong relationships. However, more often than not, the culprit in bad software is lack of communication. Both parties, the client company and the custom software provider, have a responsibility to get past communication roadblocks so they can build a relationship that allows them to craft the software together. As in all relationships, good communication requires some work.

Industries in Flux
What are the roadblocks facing both parties during the software engagement? Well, first, software technology is difficult. Many industries have felt the impact of technology, but few industries are changing as rapidly as the software industry itself. This is due in no small part to the relative youth of the industry. Combine this with the fact that there are new software solutions arising every day, and you have an industry in constant flux.

Software is not the only industry that is changing rapidly. Software developers must stay on top of changes in their own industry, while also working with clients in industries with their own plethora of jargon, acronyms, best practices and standard operating procedures. Another challenge facing software providers is gaining access to the right information from a client company. The knowledge of how a business runs is spread across several experts who each may know two or three things inside and out about the business (and sometimes may have misconceptions about the other facets). These experts may have very narrow views on their own software needs, but don’t see how the software fits with the company’s big picture. Because of this, the custom software provider’s first job, learning their client’s business, is made more difficult.

Working Together
To alleviate these problems, the only answer is clear, patient, constant communication. What does this mean for each party? To the company requesting the software, it means understanding that building good software is not a fire and forget decision. Rather, the company must make resources and subject matter experts available to the custom software provider for a certain amount of time so that they may ask questions and receive detailed answers about how to build the software.

The custom software provider also has two important duties. First, ask questions. If the client company is going to make resources available to answer questions, the software provider needs to take advantage of the opportunity. They must ask questions consistently and continuously, record those answers, and incorporate the detailed answers into the software package.

Second, custom software providers should be willing to provide prototypes and early releases. Smart technology companies recognize the value of showing a semi-functional version of the software. This allows the end users to see their visions of software turn into reality and quickly nip in the bud anything that is not quite up to snuff. It also allows users to better visualize the end product and make any feature requests earlier in the process. Lastly, it makes sure the software provider is adhering to timelines and meeting milestones.

Both companies have a duty to show patience and goodwill with one another. For the client company, this means clearly communicating needs and expectations. For the software provider, it means clearly communicating costs, timelines and deliverables.

Communication is the most common roadblock to good partnerships. Remember to be patient, to be available, and to demand or provide software prototypes. Of course, nothing can guarantee the success of a software project. However, clear communication will increase the chances the software will be delivered on time, on budget and do what it is supposed to do.

Chris Perrin is co-owner of Hi Fidelity Information Technologies. He can be reached at (877) 476-0617 ext., 3 or at .