We're a software development shop that builds custom software for
businesses. Increasingly, we've found ourselves helping business
clients understand the business model associated with the software
we're estimating or working on. Too often, we've needlessly wasted
time researching and estimating a project only to realize later that
the client had no idea whether the expenditure was worthwhile. The
potential customer would see the estimate and suffer sticker shock
because he or she was calculating value with their gut instead of with
a spreadsheet. I'm sure the readers of this group can relate.
Having been around for six years, we've learned a great deal about
software success and failure for our clients. I'm not referring to
bugs. I'm talking about the economics, reality, and value of software
projects: What cost savings or profit generation can I expect from a
piece of custom software? Will we get rich off our killer app? Do we
realize that software has a lifecycle and is never truly "done"? Do I
understand how to manage the risks of a software development project?
So, we're now giving away what we've learned. In an attempt to educate
our potential customers and the market in general, we've created an
online course of sorts on our blog entitled "Software Customer 101".
The "syllabus" and first posts in the series are now available. We
hope you might find value in it. Given the likely reader****p of this
material within this Usenet group, we would love feedback and comments
as we continue to flesh it out over the coming weeks and months.
The Syllabus
http://spin.atomicobject.com/software-customer-101/
Welcome to the Course
http://spin.atomicobject.com/2007/01/28/welcome-to-software-
customer-101/
Class #1 - The Nature of Complexity
http://spin.atomicobject.com/2007/01/29/the-nature-of-complexity/
--
Mike Karlesky | Vice President
Atomic Object | We build ridiculously good software...
http://atomicobject.com
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