Striking the Right Balance Between Configuration and Customization During a Software Implementation

The implementation of an enterprise business application can not only be expensive but can also be expensive to maintain if proper care is not taken during the initial implementation.

During a technology implementation, businesses often face the dilemma of mapping the business processes to the software solution or, rather, mapping the software functionality to the business processes - or something in between. 

While there is no right answer, there is certainly a consideration that must be given to how many customizations your organization is willing to live with. The functionality to customize a solution is powerful but, if overused or abused, can lead to technical debt. Just like in real life, debt needs to be serviced. Technical debt can be expensive to create and even more expensive to maintain over the course of the ownership of the software solution. 

In developing software solutions, technology companies work with a variety of customers in multiple industries to create functionality. When you buy licenses, you are actually paying for not only the out-of-the-box functionality but also for the research that goes into deciding how the functionality should be coded, tested, deployed, and supported or extended over time. 

Key considerations for customization versus configuration

In deciding whether to customize your technology or not, ask yourself these questions:

• Are our business needs truly unique?
• Can we streamline our business processes to adapt to the out-of-the-box functionality within the software solution?
• Can we use the software’s built-in configuration options and adjust our processes to find a balance?
• What will it take to maintain and extend this customization?

Depending upon how you answer these questions, your view might change on how much customization you should commit to during a software implementation. 

Here are some practical steps to minimize technical debt:

1. Prioritize out-of-the-box functionality over customizations
2. Prototype configurations 
3. Document customizations
4. Plan for upgrades
5. Monitor technical debt 

Understanding the total cost of ownership (TCO) of the customization is often an afterthought, which leads to all kinds of issues. Put that in the forefront. Create an approval committee to approve all customizations identified during software implementation, such that you can create a gating process and challenge the business areas to think differently.

Real-World Example

A manufacturing firm implementing an ERP system faced a choice: customize the software to support a legacy reporting process or adapt to the ERP’s standard reporting module. By analyzing TCO, they found that the customization would cost $100,000 upfront and $30,000 annually to maintain, while retraining staff to use standard reports would cost $20,000 once. They opted for process optimization, reducing technical debt and aligning with the software’s upgrade path. 

The decision to customize your business technologies should be strategic, balancing immediate needs with long-term maintainability. By prioritizing configurations, optimizing processes, and enforcing governance, businesses can minimize technical debt and ensure a sustainable implementation. Always place TCO at the forefront and challenge the need for customizations to align with the software’s strengths.

To learn more, explore Riveron's technology enablement topics and some of our clients' featured success stories.