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Off-the-Shelf vs Bespoke Software

Choosing the right software for an organisation can be daunting. One of the choices is whether off-the-shelf or bespoke software will be best for an organisation.

To clarify, off-the-shelf software contains a general set of features with some particular functionality in mind (e.g. finance, projects, CRM, etc) which can be used by broad range of organisations. Bespoke software is specifically developed for a single organisation with very exact requirements and possibly with specific functionality in mind.

When faced with the off-the-shelf or bespoke choice, remember the following:
• No ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answer
• Not a ‘binary’ choice
• Not a ‘single’ answer

No ‘right or wrong’ answer
The decision to go with off-the-shelf or bespoke software depends on several factors. Each organisation should evaluate their choice in light of these factors and ensure their requirements are met by the software finally selected.

Not a ‘binary’ choice
In reality, the choice is usually not one-or-the-other. Many off-the-self software solutions come with many customisable features, allowing an organisation to configure the software to meet their specific requirements. Also, bespoke solutions often contain some functionality which is common with off-the-shelf alternatives. In other words, there is seldom a pure off-the-shelf option which requires no customisation and there is seldom a bespoke solution which is completely unique with no common or generic functionality.

Not a ‘single’ answer
It is also quite likely that a single organisation will select off-the-shelf software for certain functions in the organisation, but will need bespoke software for other functions or business processes. For example, financial software requirement could be satisfied with off-the-shelf software, while inventory management software for very unique, specific products will require bespoke software.

When selecting a software solution for an organisation, and when choosing between off-the-shelf or bespoke software, the following factors should be considered:
• Functional requirements
• Total Cost of Ownership
• Timeline

Functional requirements
Software needs to provide a solution, solve a problem and/or provide improvements. It needs to satisfy certain requirements. It is therefore important that an organisation clearly defines what it needs a software solution to do, regardless of whether it is off-the-shelf or bespoke.
If the requirement list is very specific and unique to the organisation, then a bespoke solution is better. If the requirements are more general to the industry or organisational function, then an off-the-shelf solution is better.

Total Cost of Ownership
Off-the-shelf software is typically cheaper than bespoke software, especially to implement and over the short term. However the total cost of the software should be understood for the entire lifecycle, from acquisition through operational maintenance & support, including enhancements, and right until its end-of-life.
If an organisation has budget restraints, an off-the-shelf solution is better. If an organisation has the resources to support the software’s entire lifecycle, a bespoke solution could be considered.

Timeline
Deploying bespoke software takes longer than off-the-shelf software, but often patches/enhancements can be rolled out quicker. Also, if the bespoke software is developed in-house, it can take time to create the internal capacity and capability.
Software solutions with medium or long term objectives in mind can be bespoke solutions, whereas short term objectives are more easily met with off-the-shelf software.

So yes, choosing the right software for an organisation can be daunting. However making the appropriate choice upfront maximises the benefits and minimises the risks of owning the software, whether it is off-the-shelf or bespoke.

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The Focus and Flow of Process Improvement

Perhaps now more than ever before, people are struggling to stay focussed on what needs to be done. Our workplaces are constantly changing, there is an unrelenting barrage of information distracting us, and every day and week there are new challenges to solve. How can we get focussed and keep work flowing?

For a long time, businesses have used the Pareto Principle (Wikipedia) to ensure they focus on the ‘few things’ (or the Pareto ‘20’) that have the ‘biggest impact’ (or the Pareto ‘80’). For example, 80% of sales come from 20% of the customers or products, or 20% of reported software bugs cause 80% of the errors and crashes. A Pareto analysis is typically performed on a particular business area and then resources are focussed on those ‘few things’ to achieve the ‘biggest impact’. Effectively economies-of-scale are been applied.

The Pareto Principle is an effective way to identify WHAT requires attention and resources. What about HOW attention and resources are utilised? Should the ‘few things’ be handled in the same as the ‘many other things’? Often methods of working remain unchanging after performing a Pareto analysis and generic business processes (or the lack thereof) are still applied equally to ‘all things’.

The Glenday Sieve (iSixSigma), which is built on the Pareto Principle, suggests that a few (6%) of the “high-volume procedures, processes, units or activities” account for a large volume (50%) of the effort or workload. This analysis looks at HOW work is done and what amount of attention and resources are required.

After a Glenday Sieve analysis, different methods of working should be used for the few high-volume processes compared to the greater number of (20-50%) low-volume processes which account for the smaller volume (1-5%) of the effort or workload. The working methods for the high-volume processes should be standardised and automated which in turn will increase efficiencies, which reduce efforts and resources required to achieve the desired output in the shortest amount of time. This leads to an improved flow of tasks and activities for the high-volume processes. Put another way, economies-of-repetition come into play.

By using these two principles together, a business can identify what to focus on and it can ensure that work flow is optimised.

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The Business Process Lifecycle

Business Process Quiz

Do you know why business processes are important? Yes / No
Have you documented your business processes? Yes / No
Have you integrated your processes into job profiles and business systems? Yes / No
Is the performance of your processes regularly checked against a standard? Yes / No
Have you reviewed and improved any processes in the last month or quarter? Yes / No

If you answered ‘No’ to any of the questions, then there is work to do.

The truth of the matter is that it is virtually impossible to answer ‘Yes’ to all of those questions all the time. That is the nature of the ‘lifecycle’ of business processes.

Unfortunately business process improvement is often understood to be a once-off, standalone project which is periodically implemented every few years across the entire organisation. This perspective is flawed. The level of process ‘maturity’ in different parts of a business will differ. The speed at which processes need to be reviewed and improved in various parts of a business will also differ. The impact on each business function with shifts in the market, legislative/regulatory changes or technological advances will differ, which means the process lifecycles will be ‘out of sync’ across the organisation.

So how should process lifecycles be managed?

Establish the underlying foundation by knowing who the process serves or why it is necessary.
Know how the process will deliver with the available resources, such as people and systems.
Ensure there is alignment between the business areas that participate in the process.

And how is the process improvement tackled?

As the expression goes, “there is only one way to eat an elephant: one bite at a time.” Focus only on one functional or operational process at a time, knowing which stage of the lifecycle the process is in. Making these ‘isolated’ improvements seems counter-intuitive, but it is more important to successfully complete smaller process improvements more frequently in each area of the business than to simultaneously attempt broad improvements across the entire business.

Lastly, who should be involved in the process improvement?

It goes without saying that the management and employees who work with the processes must be involved in any improvements at any stage of the lifecycle. Insufficient leadership and sponsorship during the project will result in poor results or failure. Involving the right people, i.e. those with the experience and skills, is critical for success. With regards to using external or out-sourced resources, there is no right or wrong answer. This will depend on the objectivity and capacity of the internal resources to identify the processes most in need of improvement and which stages of the process’s lifecycle needs to be improved.

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Digitising a Business

Thinking about what part of a business needs to be digitised? Wondering how to start and to make the change lasting? Not sure when the digitising journey should start? Read on for a few tips on what to consider when digitising a business.

So why digitise?

There are many reasons why a business should consider digitising. The below list highlights a few of the advantages:

The initial collecting of information can be done more consistently.
Error checking and data corrections can be done programmatically and is much quicker than manual checking.
Accessing, utilising and sharing digital information is quicker and can be more easily formatted for specific use cases.
Storage is more efficient compared to hard copy information and managing backups at multiple locations is easier.

Who should go digital?

Anyone and everyone! In today’s information age there are fewer reasons why it is not possible to digitise any business. Although there are some practical limitations which make it difficult for some businesses, it is important to not assume it is impossible to digitise before evaluating what is the art of the possible.

What should be digitised?

Here are a few examples of what can be digitised in a business:

Customer and supplier information such as contact details, pricing, agreements and transactions.
Product information such as descriptions & attributes, pricing and stock holding.
Centrally stored operating policies and procedures, which are searchable and can be ‘intelligently’ organised.
Employee records like contracts of employment, training records and performance records.

When to go digital?

Immediately and always! It is unlikely that there are businesses today that have digitised nothing. More businesses are digitising every day, and there are more ways to digitise parts of a business that couldn’t be digitised before. So to wait to digitise a business means getting left behind.

How to digitise?

Certain things are needed to start and successfully complete digitising a business. It is crucial the following are addressed prior to and during the digitising journey:

Management ownership and sponsorship.
Business process integrity and efficiency.
Change management and team training.
Appropriate infrastructure (i.e. hardware and software systems).
Sustain and ongoing system support, data maintenance and ongoing staff re-training.

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Situational Assessments – Key Considerations

A situational assessment involves analysing information that has been gathered for a specific purpose, drawing conclusions, formulating any required action plans and then implementing those plans. Situational assessments can be applied in many different contexts. The assessment can be used proactively or reactively, for example for strategic planning or for crisis management respectively.

There are plenty of articles on situational assessment available which explain ‘what it is’ and ‘how it is done’. This article assumes those topics are already understood and instead of re-emphasising those points, below are some key factors to consider when conducting a situational assessment.

Area of focus: internal or external?

When performing a situational assessment, it is important to understand where the area of focus is. When the area of focus is internal, for example personal goal setting or reviewing a business’s operational plans, then the assessment process must be tailored accordingly. An external area of focus, for example a marketing survey or customer needs analysis, will require different sources for information gathering and participant involvement to an internally focussed assessment like an employee survey.

Timeline: the past, present and future

Situational assessments can be triggered by past events or due to present circumstances. They can also be performed in preparation for future events or anticipated scenarios. Consciously acknowledging the timeline when commencing an assessment, not only helps the steps of gathering and analysing data, but influences decision making during the process and the formulation of any plans or the setting of any goals.

Degrees of un-/controllability

It goes without saying that it is important during a situational assessment to understand what is within our control and what is not. A detailed analysis of events that were beyond our control is often not (accurately) possible nor is it always that value-added. When preparing for potential uncontrollable events, the output of the assessment process is scenario or contingency plans which assume a level of probability. Further to understanding what is controllable and what is uncontrollable, it is important to understand that in reality there are usually degrees of control (or not) rather than full control or no control at all. Know what degree of control we have, influences the situational assessment process, and especially the outcomes.

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