How To Develop Software For Your Business

Software development is a risky business.

Many software developers are barely skilled at their trade, much less at business. They can't understand how your business operates - and their code isn't unreliable.

It crashes constantly.

It isn't professional.

It hurts your business.

If you want software developed for your business, what can you do?

You need a software development professional - a consumate bussinessman, and you need to deal with him on your terms. How can you do that?

First, you need to make sure that you find a professional who understands business - your business. He has to listen, and be cautious before giving advice. If he tries to drop a pre-packaged solution on you, drop him. Make sure he charges by the project, not by the hour - hourly rates are great for developers, but not for clients. Hourly rates mean they get paid *more* for every bug they create - so they create as many as they can.

Once you have chosen a developer, the next step is to come to an agreement on what needs to be done. Don't worry about the particular technology used - the developer should worry about that. Worry about what you need on your end - and stick to your guns! You know your business best, and your developer should respect that.

After you have an agreement, you get a contract signed, and then the real fun begins. Insist that your developer give you regular progress updates - including early versions of the software (called 'builds'). That way, bugs can be detected early, and there will not be any surprises when the project is over. Depending on the project, you may be able to get a build every few days, or every week. The more frequent, the better.

When the project is finally over, you get to take a deep breath. Relax. Sip champagne - or Heineken, if that's your thing. Don't get too relaxed, though, because you will have to start the process over again soon. Business is constantly changing, and your software has to evolve with your business. That's good, though, because every project makes your business more profitable, and more profit in less time is always a good deal.

About The Author

David Berube is a software developer and IT consultant solving business problems. He's also a prolific writer and speaker. If you'd like a powerful, innovative developer, check out http://www.berubeconsulting.com.

djberube@berubeconsulting.com

---

Call Alert Notifications - Free Answering Machine Software for PCs

If you're online using a dialup Internet connection, you'll probably... Read More

Microsoft CRM for Large Corporation ? Security

Microsoft Business Solutions CRM proved to be reliable solution in... Read More

Microsoft Navision Customization and Reporting ? Tips For Programmer/IT Specialist

C/SIDE (Client/Server Integrated Development Environment) - The core of... Read More

40/sec to 500/sec

IntroductionSurprised, by the title? well, this is a tour of... Read More

Great Plains Dynamics on Pervasive/Ctree support ? overview for consultant

All of us know that Microsoft bought former Great Plains... Read More

Spyware, Adware, etc. -- Terms and Common Sense

When reading an article where some term is used often,... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Implementation for Midsize & Large Corporation: Lockbox Processing

Microsoft Great Plains is now targeting large and midsize businesses... Read More

Change Your Word Docs in Record Time!

Anyone who has ever used Microsoft Word knows that it... Read More

Troubleshoot Windows with Task Manager

Task Manager is a Windows system utility that displays thetasks... Read More

History of Java

The java programming language is becoming more and more popular... Read More

Performance Tuning of a Daffodil DB / One$DB -JDBC Application

This article illustrates the best practices to improve the performance... Read More

Cisco Certification: Five Things To Do DURING Your CCNA Exam

There are plenty of articles out there about how to... Read More

Think Of This

Think of this, first we had the HAM Radio, then... Read More

MSN Messenger Is A Sweet Way To Communicate

MSN messenger is a pretty cool invention. I mean I'm... Read More

Microsoft CRM for Corporate Business ? Working Offline

If your company has regional and worldwide operations, you might... Read More

Cisco CCNA Certification: Becoming A Truly Valuable CCNA.

I've been active in the Cisco Certification track for four... Read More

Know-how in Microsoft Publisher

For those who still don't know, Microsoft Publisher helps computer... Read More

Unwanted Files

A LOT OF UNWANTED FILES.When you uninstall an item of... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains: Customization Upgrade & Recovery ? Visual Studio VB 6.0

Microsoft Great Plains, former Great Plains Software Dynamics, eEnterprise has... Read More

Scrap Booking Online: Word Perfect or Corel Graphics Suite?

Scrapbooks are very popular these days. I think that almost... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains implementation: Restaurants Supply Chain Management Example

Microsoft Great Plains serves majority of US based horizontal and... Read More

Spyware - The Internet Devil Of Our Times!

Spyware and Adware infest over 90 percent of computers in... Read More

Microsoft CRM ? Typical Customizations

Microsoft CRM was designed to be easily customizable. Microsoft CRM... Read More

Not All Project Management Software is Created Equal

The purpose of Project Management Software is to provide an... Read More

Separate Anti-Keylogging Protection: Who Needs it Most?

If there still are few unprotected computers left, I haven't... Read More

Linux Vs. Windows

This article will not attempt to advocate the use of... Read More

The Religion And Philosophy Of Small Internet Business

I have always had a tendency to focus on the... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains & CRM in Transportation & Logistics ? Overview

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains and MS CRM (client relation... Read More

ERP System of the Future: Database, Business Logic and Interface

We will base our prognosis on our Microsoft Business Solutions... Read More

Databases ? How We Love to Hate Them!

You've finally created databases that you can actually use to... Read More

Great Plains Dynamics/eEnterprise Upgrade ? Things to Consider and FAQ

If you have Great Plains Dynamics/eEnterprise (version 6.0 or earlier)... Read More

HSphere Control Panel Tips and Tricks - Power At Your Fingertips: Part 1

The first topic we are going to discuss... Read More

Microsoft Business Solutions Customization Options - Overview for Programmer

Several years ago Microsoft purchased Great Plains Software, then Navision... Read More