In a series of White Papers, based on our extensive experience in this area, we cover challenges of Information Systems in project-driven organisations: from the overall architecture to systems implementation, development and ongoing management. In this third White Paper 2018-05 ‘How to Develop Information Systems in an Effective Manner for Project-Driven Businesses’ we cover the specific challenges of developing bespoke Information Systems (refer to White Paper 2018-04 ‘How to Implement Information Systems in an Effective Manner in Project-Driven Organisations’ for the case of implementing a commercially available software). After a first discussion on the choice between customising a commercial software and developing one’s own, the key success factors of successful developments are investigated.
While developing systems in-house may be an adequate solution in some cases, it is generally not recommended except in specific cases.
If this solution is chosen, the consequences in terms of additional cost for maintenance and upgrades must be understood. It is also essential to ensure that there is an ongoing and viable relationship with the developer to make sure that continuous improvements can be implemented as required by the business and to keep the underlying technological up to as technology evolves.
Key best practices include:
- Have the project driven by the business
- Choose a local provider to enhance communication
- Ensure the developer has a robust development framework
- Be aware that the productivity of a developer can vary by orders of magnitude
- Ensure that non-regression checks are properly performed for upgrades.
Find more about those best practices and more in our new White Paper 2018-05 ‘How to Develop Information Systems in an Effective Manner for Project-Driven Businesses’ .
If you can’t access the link to the white paper, copy and paste the following link in your browser: http://www.projectvaluedelivery.com/_library/2018-05_Systems_Development_v0b.pdf
