ReviewMyAMS will continue to drip posts by some of the brightest and boldest in the association industry. Some of these folks have hands-on experience in dealing with the nightmares and celebrations that come with having an association management system. Thanks for your insights in regards to customization, Thad!
By Thad Lurie, CAE, CIP
One of the most common dilemmas facing associations also happens to be one of the most serious – to customize, or not to customize? Organizations looking at new software and products are bombarded with a list of potential ‘customizations’ that will be required to make this off the shelf product a perfect fit for their organization, its needs, and their existing process.
Customizations are sometimes necessary, but also carry their own set of risks.
Precise requirements
When working in a waterfall environment, successful customizations require a stringent requirements process, followed by a thorough functional specifications document and then a detailed technical spec. On the agile side, detailed user stories and a highly engaged group of stakeholders and developers are a must. All these elements ensure the customization is be well designed, meets the business need squarely, and will integrate cleanly with the other elements of the system.
Cha-Ching
The customization will, of course, cost money. It will generally require maintenance and/or support, which will also cost money. If it breaks, it will need fixing – more money. When your organization upgrades the system, the customization will also need to be upgraded, and that’s not free. You get the picture.
Upgrade path what?
I’ve worked with any number of organizations that customize themselves right off the software’s upgrade path. They are so unwilling to change the ‘way they’ve always done it’ that they end up making heavy modifications to the software, and these modifications exponentially increase the risk and difficulty of upgrading.
Some customizations ARE necessary for an organization’s required operations, but how should one determine when a customization is necessary and when an alternative approach might be more effective? Start with a close examination of both the business need that is driving the customization and the business process that supports that need. Then identify what functionality the system in question delivers to meet this need, and consider carefully ways you might be able to change the business process that would allow the organization to effectively use the baseline functionality.
It’s absolutely critical to include stakeholders in this exercise, as they are often the ones who will be depending on the functionality in question to perform their daily operations. They are also the main drivers of customization, so gaining their support for this alternative approach is a key element of success. Once you have the stakeholders on board, your adoption rate will markedly increase, internal grumbling will diminish, and the project as a whole will have a significantly higher chance of overall success.
Thad Lurie, CAE, CIP
Chief Operating Officer, Nonprofit Management Organization
Accomplished association executive with a proven ability to holistically assess organizational needs and provide elegant, successful solutions. Extensive experience in nearly all elements of strategy and operations. Strong communicator with a history of building trust through transparency, high performance, and interdepartmental relationships.