build, buy, or borrow: choosing the best software...

Build, Buy, or Borrow:

Choosing the Best Software Development Path

NTEN – Nonprofit Technology Network

Kevin Howard Goldberg

President, imagistic November 13, 2012

BUILD, BUY, OR BORROW ...


What We’ll Cover


What We’ll Cover

• Introduction to Technologies / Terminologies


What We’ll Cover


• Critical Factors in Making Decisions


What We’ll Cover



• Process for Software Solution Comparison


What We’ll Cover




What We Won’t Cover


What We’ll Cover




What We Won’t Cover

• The Best Software Solution

WHO AM I?

WHO AM I?


• President, imagistic

WHO AM I?



• Software development since 1987

WHO AM I?




• Wharton School / Entrepreneurial Management

WHO AM I?





• Start-ups, start-up divisions

WHO AM I?





• Start-ups, start-up divisions

• Author, Teacher, Husband and Dad


Build


Build

• Custom software development


Build


Buy


Build


Buy

• Software as a Service (SaaS)


Build


Buy


Borrow


Build


Buy


Borrow

• Open Source Software (OSS)

OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE


What?


What?

• Code (and documentation) is downloadable, visible, editable


What?


Why?


What?


Why?

• Philosophy, notoriety, reciprocity, advancement


What?


Why?


Is It Really Free?


What?


Why?


Is It Really Free?

• Yes ... with conditions (licenses)

EXAMPLES OF OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE


User Applications • Drupal, WordPress, CiviCRM, Firefox, Chromium, OpenOffice,

Moodle, Eclipse, 7-Zip, and many more

Server Software

• Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP (LAMP stack)


User Applications • Drupal, WordPress, CiviCRM, Firefox, Chromium, OpenOffice,

Moodle, Eclipse, 7-Zip, and many more

Server Software

• Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP (LAMP stack)

Resources

• www.opensource.org, www.sourceforge.net

PURCHASED SOFTWARE EXAMPLES


Off-The-Shelf (Software Publishing)


Off-The-Shelf (Software Publishing) • Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, IBM, Oracle, etc.



Software as a Service (SaaS)

PURCHASED SOFTWARE




• Google Apps, iCloud

• Salesforce, Facebook, Webex, SurveyMonkey, MailChimp






• Webmail (Earthlink), Hotmail (1996)






• Webmail (Earthlink), Hotmail (1996)

• IaaS, PaaS, STaaS, SECaaS, DaaS, etc.

WHAT IS THE CLOUD?

WHAT IS THE CLOUD?

History

WHAT IS THE CLOUD?

History • Network design diagrams

WHAT IS THE CLOUD?


The Cloud is the Internet

• Cloud computing is SaaS

WHAT IS THE CLOUD?


The Cloud is the Internet

WHAT IS THE CLOUD?


The Cloud is the Internet • Cloud computing is SaaS

CUSTOM BUILT SOFTWARE


What?


What? • You design it, someone builds it



Components, Libraries, Frameworks



Components, Libraries, Frameworks • CodeIgniter, CakePHP (PHP) Spring, Struts (Java), Telerik, Infragistics (.NET)




Examples




Examples

• Excel macros, Word templates, PERL scripts, batch files




Examples

• Excel macros, Word templates, PERL scripts, batch files

• Browser-based applications

QUESTIONS?

QUESTIONS?

Technologies / Terminologies

OSS

SaaS

The Cloud

Custom Software

Etc.

DECISION MAKING

DECISION MAKING

Critical Factors

DECISION MAKING

Critical Factors • Installation and Configuration

DECISION MAKING


• Customization

DECISION MAKING


• Customization

• Maintenance and Support

DECISION MAKING


• Customization


• Upgrades

DECISION MAKING


• Customization


• Upgrades

• Hosting and Backups

DECISION MAKING


• Customization


• Upgrades


• Security

DECISION MAKING


• Customization


• Upgrades


• Security

• Getting What You Want

DECISION MAKING


• Customization


• Upgrades


• Security

• Getting What You Want

• Cost

INSTALLATION AND CONFIGURATION


Essentials


Essentials

• Out-of-the-box -> installation -> configuration


Essentials


Comparisons


Essentials


Comparisons • Build – mostly n/a


Essentials



• Buy – varies


Essentials



• Buy – varies

• Borrow – varies

CONFIGURATION


Essentials



• Buy – varies



Essentials



• Buy – varies


Takeaways


Essentials



• Buy – varies


Takeaways

• Review / demo for thorough and deep understanding

CUSTOMIZATION

CUSTOMIZATION

Essentials

CUSTOMIZATION

Essentials

• APIs, hooks, plug-ins, modules, data access (RSS, XML, JSON)

CUSTOMIZATION

Essentials


Comparisons

CUSTOMIZATION

Essentials


Comparisons • Build – as extensive as you’d like

CUSTOMIZATION

Essentials



• Buy – most difficult but depends on system

CUSTOMIZATION

Essentials




• Borrow – good to great (beware the hacker)

CUSTOMIZATION

Essentials

• APIs, hooks, plug-ins, modules, data access (XML, JSON)




CUSTOMIZATION

Essentials





Takeaways

CUSTOMIZATION

Essentials





Takeaways

• Your way vs. time and money

MAINTENANCE AND SUPPORT


Essentials


Essentials

• Questions, bugs, periodic tuning


Essentials


Comparisons


Essentials


Comparisons • Build – vendor (and library owner) is critical


Essentials



• Buy – company is critical, typically tiered


Essentials




• Borrow – vendor (and community) is critical


Essentials





Takeaways


Essentials





Takeaways

• Review forums, policies, negotiate to your needs

UPGRADES

UPGRADES

Essentials

UPGRADES

Essentials

• Bug fixes, system (and security) enhancements

UPGRADES

Essentials


Comparisons

UPGRADES

Essentials


Comparisons • Build – specific, tuned, paid for

UPGRADES

Essentials



• Buy – automatic (whether you like it or not)

UPGRADES

Essentials




• Borrow – community driven, vendor installed

UPGRADES

Essentials





Takeaways

UPGRADES

Essentials





Takeaways

• Review track record of SaaS and OSS

HOSTING AND BACKUPS

HOSTING AND BACKUPS

Essentials

HOSTING AND BACKUPS

Essentials

• Uptime, system performance, redundancy, costs

HOSTING AND BACKUPS

Essentials


Comparisons

HOSTING AND BACKUPS

Essentials


Comparisons • Build – incumbent on your vendor and hosting provider

HOSTING AND BACKUPS

Essentials



• Buy – critical potential risk

HOSTING AND BACKUPS

Essentials




• Borrow – incumbent on your vendor and hosting provider

HOSTING AND BACKUPS

Essentials





Takeaways

HOSTING AND BACKUPS

Essentials





Takeaways

• Review SLAs, policies, forums, references

SECURITY

SECURITY

Essentials

SECURITY

Essentials

• How safe is your data and your system

SECURITY

Essentials


Comparisons

SECURITY

Essentials


Comparisons • Build – incumbent on your vendor

SECURITY

Essentials




SECURITY

Essentials




• Borrow – based on activity in the community

SECURITY

Essentials





Takeaways

SECURITY

Essentials





Takeaways

• Review SLAs, policies, forums, references

GETTING WHAT YOU WANT


Essentials


Essentials

• Building to spec or taking what you get (not so black & white)


Essentials


Comparisons


Essentials


Comparisons • Build – as you wish


Essentials



• Buy – my way or the highway


Essentials




• Borrow – let’s meet in the middle


Essentials





Takeaways


Essentials





Takeaways

• How flexible are you, how critical is your current workflow

COST

Essentials

COST

Essentials

• Complexity of the system, competition, quality, etc.

COST

Essentials


Comparisons

COST

Essentials


Comparisons • Build – high up-front cost, lower cost of ownership

COST

Essentials



• Buy – monthly (yearly) cost, typically fixed maintenance cost

COST

Essentials




• Borrow – lowest up-front cost, lower maintenance cost

COST

Essentials





Takeaways

COST

Essentials





Takeaways

• vs. features, timing and support

QUESTIONS?

QUESTIONS?

Configuration and Customization

Maintenance and Support

Upgrades

Hosting, Backups and Security

Getting What You Want

Cost

Etc.

SOLUTION COMPARISON

SOLUTION COMPARISON

Process

SOLUTION COMPARISON

Process

• Requirements Gathering

SOLUTION COMPARISON

Process


• Interviews and Demos

SOLUTION COMPARISON

Process



• Comparisons

SOLUTION COMPARISON

Process



• Comparisons

• Prioritization

SOLUTION COMPARISON

Process



• Comparisons

• Prioritization

• Decision Making

SOLUTION COMPARISON

Process



• Comparisons

• Prioritization

• Decision Making

• Final Steps

REQUIREMENTS GATHERING


Inside Out


Inside Out • Interview internal stakeholders



• Review existing systems and workflows




• Document needed requirements





• Find potential SaaS or OSS solutions






Outside In






Outside In • Identify potential SaaS or OSS solutions







• Review marketing material for features lists








• Document available requirements








• Document available requirements

• Create requirements document

INTERVIEWS AND DEMOS


First Pass


First Pass • Have them market to you



• Focus on configuration and customization




• Review forums, call references





Second Pass





Second Pass • Bring questions to the table






• Dig deeper into configuration






• Dig deeper into configuration

• Clarify financial details

COMPARISON

COMPARISON

Feature to Feature

COMPARISON

Feature to Feature • Identify solutions that meet x% of needs

COMPARISON


Solution Type

COMPARISON


Solution Type • Build, Buy, or Borrow?

COMPARISON



• How close are the potential solutions to your needs?

COMPARISON




First Cut Selections

COMPARISON




First Cut Selections • Vendor List

PRIORITIZATION

PRIORITIZATION

Tangibles

PRIORITIZATION

Tangibles • Spreadsheet: feature | priority (1-10) | notes

PRIORITIZATION


• Time to market

PRIORITIZATION


• Time to market

• Costs

PRIORITIZATION


• Time to market

• Costs

Intangibles

PRIORITIZATION


• Time to market

• Costs

Intangibles • Gut feeling (integrity, honesty)

PRIORITIZATION


• Time to market

• Costs


• Easy to work with

PRIORITIZATION


• Time to market

• Costs


• Easy to work with

• Add to spreadsheet

DECISION MAKING

DECISION MAKING

Second Cut

DECISION MAKING

Second Cut • Establish top 2 or 3

DECISION MAKING


• Identify key pros and cons

DECISION MAKING



• Discuss with each vendor

DECISION MAKING




• Review final proposals

DECISION MAKING





Final Decision

DECISION MAKING





Final Decision • Get buy-in from stakeholders on pros and cons

DECISION MAKING





Final Decision • Get buy-in from stakeholders on pros and cons

• Shake hands

FINAL STEPS

FINAL STEPS

Contracts

FINAL STEPS

Contracts • Do it when you’re in love

FINAL STEPS


• Be detailed – annoyingly so

FINAL STEPS



• Discuss and document what-ifs

FINAL STEPS




Communication

FINAL STEPS




Communication • Expect regular (weekly / daily) updates

FINAL STEPS




Communication • Expect regular (weekly / daily) updates

• Ask questions – lots of them

QUESTIONS?

QUESTIONS?

Requirements Gathering

Interviews and Demos

Comparisons

Prioritization

Decision Making

Final Steps

Etc.

CONCLUSION

CONCLUSION

Build, Buy, or Borrow ...

CONCLUSION


• Familiarity with technologies / terminologies

CONCLUSION



• Understand critical factors in making decisions

CONCLUSION



• Understand critical factors in making decisions

• Steps of a process for software solution comparison

THANK YOU

Build, Buy, or Borrow:

Choosing the Best Software Development Path


President, imagistic

[email protected]

818-706-9100

build, buy, or borrow: choosing the best software...

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