Re: A Customer's Request For Open Source Software

[aek@vib.usr.pu.ru (Alexander Kopilovitch)]

Robert I. Eachus wrote

> Ah, the perils of decent design and encapsulation!  If the database 
> interface and transaction management protocol are properly encapsulated 
> these changes are trivial.  But if they are trivial, you will have a 
> hard time charging for them if the base system is free...

It is rarely trivial to recognize properly what your customer (of this kind)
really needs -- even for himself -- because his mindset on the matter usually
has neither decent design nor encapsulation. Therefore real job of customization
in this domain is not to make changes, but to determine which changes are
needed.

The problem space for the domain is complex enough, but every single customer
occupies small part of it. And most of that small part is, as a rule, quite 
common and easily identifiable, but almost always there are some bits, which
are rather specific and at the same time important for this particular customer.
Sometimes the crucial moment is simply to determine properly whether specifics
is present or absent.

So, perhaps, more proper way will be to aim not directly to end-user, but to
some sort of consultant, who will install the product for a customer.



Alexander Kopilovitch                      aek@vib.usr.pu.ru
Saint-Petersburg
Russia