Development Tips from the Dictionary

The New American Webster Handy College Dictionary contains a clue for anyone installing Enterprise Applications.

On page 173 (of the New Third Edition), you'll find the word customer. The very next word listed is customize.

As any veteran project manager will tell you, try with all your might to install enterprise systems (SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft, JD Edwards etc..) without customizing. The benefits of using standard are tremendous - lower maintenance costs, fewer bugs, ongoing vendor support, easier and faster system upgrades, overall improved reliability and lower I.T. costs....

But if you must customize, make sure the functionality is where it matters most. Next to the customer.

Your customer doesn't care what General Ledger you use. Your customer doesn't care what HR system you use. They don't care what Warehousing, Inventory, Shipping or CRM system you use.

They care that you use it well.

Customization that directly helps your customers find what they're looking for, purchase and pay for it quickly, or return a defective product easily, will most likely be worth the application effort and cost.

Otherwise, take an Application tip from Webster's. Don't "customize" unless it's next to "customer".