Business-focused custom software

• The Problem with Selecting the Lowest Bidder

  By Avonelle Lovhaug

  Publication Date: 7/10/2008 5:00:00 PM

  None of us wants to pay more than necessary for anything, including programming services. Sometimes the lowest bid is a great deal; sometimes it isn't. Here are some things to consider when comparing bids for software development:

  Compare apples to apples. Make sure the bids you are comparing are all fixed bids, and not hourly rates (even with an accompanying estimate.) Because estimates are not typically binding, and every developer works at a different speed, hourly rates are a more way to compare bids.

  What's included? Make sure you thoroughly understand what is included in each bid. Here are some things ...

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• Risky Business

  By Avonelle Lovhaug

  Publication Date: 7/2/2008 5:00:00 PM

  Ryan at 37signals recently posted on the dangers of adding new features to software. Once a new feature is added, it is difficult to remove even if it doesn't work well and not utilized by the majority of your users. The problem is that SOME users will likely become frustrated when the feature is removed.

  Ryan suggests that this should inspire you to be very careful about the features you implement. I think this advice depends a lot on the size/impact of the feature, but his point is valid.

  The problem is - what should be done if the feature ...

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• What does a programming poser look like?

  By Avonelle Lovhaug

  Publication Date: 7/1/2008 5:00:00 PM

  There are a lot of technology amateurs out there posing as experts. How can tell what a technology/programming poser looks like?

  Gets excited about technology and ignores results. A true professional knows that technology is only a means to an end, not the end itself. But lots of posers get caught up in the "coolness factor". Unfortunately, many "cool" things will not improve your business. Posers don't understand this.

  Undirected troubleshooting. I once worked with a consultant who would try to randomly change things when she ran into a technical problem. A poser doesn’t understand the technology he/she is working ...

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• How much is it costing you?

  By Avonelle Lovhaug

  Publication Date: 6/28/2008 5:00:00 PM

  This week one of my customers is rolling out a new system. The new system is a vast improvement over their current processes in the following ways:

  • Information is not repeated. In previous versions, the same data existed in multiple places, making it difficult and time-consuming to keep consistent.
  • Let's others do the work. In the old systems, most information had to be maintained by my customer. In the new system, they allow external users to maintain some of the data, decreasing their labor costs.
  • More user-friendly. The old version was difficult for external users to understand, which was bad PR for my customer ...

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• The issues are same

  By Avonelle Lovhaug

  Publication Date: 6/26/2008 5:00:00 PM

  When I worked for a consulting company, one of the challenges we faced was finding work that was compelling to our consultants. Most technical consultants enjoy a technical challenge, and are doing consulting work instead of working at a 9 to 5 company because they like the variety and technical challenges that are available when working for a consulting company. If you didn't keep your staff challenged, they were likely to leave for other opportunities. However, you are not selling services to geeks, but to business people who are just solving business problems.

  Today a friend of mine who owns ...

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