If you’re interested in custom software outsourcing, be careful who you trust to provide support and enhancements for your system
“Bob died.” After more than 30 years of providing custom software outsourcing services, I’ve heard that statement too often from companies that relied on a single person. Ken, Bob, Frank – few remember the names of these solo software developers who wrote critical business systems. Companies may choose to outsource to the cheapest option, who might be moonlighting writing code to supplement their primary occupation. Or maybe the decision maker contracted with the owner’s nephew, who writes code. Even if the one-man (or woman) show has the company’s best interest at heart and maybe understands the business, who backs him up?
What happens after Bob is no longer available?
Bob was always there to add functionality or resolve issues. But then Bob died suddenly of a stroke or heart attack or cancer or being hit by a bus, or he won the billion dollar Powerball lottery and moved to Tahiti to sip frothy rum drinks out of a coconut.
Relying on a single person – no matter how great they are – to support a critical software application is dangerous. It’s difficult and expensive to find a company that can untangle the mess and take over support for your business system. More than once we’ve met panicking new clients asking, “Can you help us?”
One company came to DragonPoint for help with custom software outsourcing after their programmer died. He had cancer and thought he had 6-9 months, but he was gone within 3 months. Far too ill to worry about the software support, he did the best he could. Unfortunately he left software that wasn’t under source control, and figuring out which version of code was in production took hours.
Lessons Learned after Custom Software Outsourcing to a One-Person Show
We helped the companies that came to us after losing their software guru, but these businesses learned several painful lessons on the way to finding DragonPoint.
- Don’t count on a single person for all your software needs. While there are wonderful, well-intentioned developers out there who do a great job, their misfortune – or fortune, such as winning the lottery – becomes yours. If your business cannot run efficiently without your computer systems, be sure you have a solid plan to keep the systems running. You wouldn’t put one person in charge of the operations of your company, so don’t put your information systems in a similar precarious position.
- Keep your systems current. Even if your software is working great today, to ensure the security and functionality of your system, you have to update it to the most current supported versions of all the tools in the system. It’s time consuming to stay on top of the most recent updates for applications, especially if they are “breaking updates,” which cause existing features to fail. These require changes to existing code to keep the system current. Even if you don’t need enhancements, losing your support person means you open yourself to security breaches by not updating controls, framework, and tools.
- One person doing it all leaves little time for R&D or collaboration. It’s time consuming to stay on top of the latest technologies while keeping up with the daily work of system support and enhancements. A software team provides a platform for collaboration and sharing the workload. One person can focus on new trends and technologies, and another person can excel at supporting the current system functionality. Teams also expose members to new ideas and methodologies. Working alone is lonely, and I am speaking from first-hand experience. You have limited time to gain exposure to new ideas and techniques that result in improved systems and streamlined methodologies.
Don’t Give Up – You have Options!
You are NOT stuck in the seemingly impossible situation of relying on one person for your critical software needs.
Companies who have faced this challenge and contacted DragonPoint often say they feel “stuck.” If the programmer is still working for them, severing the relationship can feel like a betrayal of trust. Maybe you’re worrying about the risk of giving up someone who knows your system well for an unknown custom software outsourcing provider. You may wonder whether you can find someone else qualified for the job? Even worse – what if your programmer gets made and sabotages your system?
Remember: qualified custom software outsourcing provider can figure out your system (though some may take a lot longer than others!).
When DragonPoint has assumed responsibility for a system someone else wrote, we’ve never had a transition period or handoff with the original developer. Our team jumps in and works through it.
If you are working with a company or person that you’re not happy with, you can always change the situation. Persevere until you find a partner that you like and trust.
Don’t Go There
Don’t let your company get into a situation with one person holding the keys to your information systems. This can happen in companies of almost any size.
Don’t put one person in charge of your critical business systems. At a minimum, get another qualified developer up to speed, Your options include internally cross-training or bringing in a consulting group like DragonPoint to backup, supplement, or replace your one-person solution.
Providing backup for “Bob” provides you with better software support, and, it may help Bob live longer if he’s not under so much stress.
Long live Bob…. And let’s hope your company survives it.
If you’d like more information about DragonPoint’s successful custom software outsourcing projects and our experience with assuming responsibility for existing systems, email sales@dragonpoint.com or call 321-631-0657.
