Re: Recommand Best inventory software

Peter Fox wrote:
Following on from Jerry Stuckle's message. . .

Peter Fox wrote:

Following on from Jerry Stuckle's message. . .

Of course, the "best one" is one specifically written to meet your
friend's needs.

Umm. Not necessarily.


Oh, definitely. A custom program is *always* the "best" - because it can fit
the customer's needs *exactly* without any excess baggage. But it may not
always be the most *practical*.

So it's late. It's full of bugs. It's not documented and supported on a poke 'n hope basis. The user's needs were neither understood nor articulated by the user and only 'sort-of' implemented by the programmer. Is that what you mean by "best"?



Not if it's planned well. It's on time, has few bugs and is documented. It's called Project Management.

Over the years I've done dozens of such projects - ranging from one person to teams of 20 or more programmers. Done right it's a success. But if it's not managed properly, you will get the results you describe.

As I said - it's the *best* because it meets the customer's exact needs. But it may not be the *most practical*. Spending $20K to $100K for an application when there is a $200 commercial package on the market which fits the customer's needs (and maybe has some bloat) is probably more practical.

But as a consultant, before I recommend something to a customer (whether pre-packaged or custom), I first have to understand the customer's needs and how he wants to use the software. Only then can I recommend the *most practical* solution.

In this case it's for a machine shop. Well, that's a lot different need than for a small retail clothing store. But it's still not enough info to recommend the *most practical* solution to the problem.

--
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Jerry Stuckle
JDS Computer Training Corp.
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