Thanks for providing your input Carl. I think is very good to get  the
thoughts on this issue form someone with your background. For those who
haven't read it, even though it is a couple years old, I'd recommend
reading the article that Carl Grant and Rolad Dietz published in Library
Journal back in June 2005 on "The Dis-Integrating World of Library
Automation." It is available at:
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA606392.html

Edward


Carl Grant said the following on 11/06/2007 2:23 PM:
> I'm willing to jump in here as a long time vendor to add to the
> customer responsibility list some items that would make developers/
> vendors a lot happier..
>
> 1.      Select software using a fair and reasonable process for both the
> vendor and the organization (one could say a lot more here!)
> 2.      Make sure you know the needs of all users of the product
> (especially the END-users - get them involved!  I promise, in most
> cases, their needs are NOT understood).
> 3.      Acknowledge, accept and honor the deadlines that YOU bear in the
> development timeline.   (The phrase "teflon-customers" comes to mind
> here...)
> 4.      Understand that more functionality means more complexity in the
> code.  This means:
>        a.      You've got to accept responsibility for helping to test
> software.  There can be 1000's of pathways through code.  We know you
> want bug-free code, but the developer/vendor can't
> test                 them all by
> themselves or you'd never actually get the code!
>        b.      If you're paying a commercial vendor to support/maintain,
> understand that costs should go up to compensate them for supporting
> that increasing complexity.
> 5.      Try to standardize practices, **where possible**, between like
> institutions.   Use development resources for great ideas, not just
> to support local idiosyncrasies...
> 6.      Understand if you're trying to please everyone, it means lowest
> common denominator.  If you're trying to lead and develop new ideas,
> somebody is going to be upset.  It's not the
>        developer/vendors responsibilities to decide which of these
> apply to
> your institution or what to do about it when it happens.  Decide up
> front, are you following, or are you leading?
>
> Carl
>
> Carl Grant
> President
> CARE Affiliates, Inc.
> E:            [log in to unmask]
> M:            540-529-7885
> O:            540-552-2912
>                 866-340-9580 x 801 (Toll-Free)
> Website:  www.care-affiliates.com
> Adium:     carl_r_grant
> Skype:     carl_grant
>
> On Nov 6, 2007, at 1:33 PM, Roy Tennant wrote:
>
>> On 11/6/07 10:27 AM, "Jonathan Gorman" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>>> How about an equivalent list from the vendor/software developer's
>>> perspective?
>>> I think that would help balance the picture, but perhaps that's
>>> already in
>>> your plans ;).
>>
>> Funny you should ask...I had originally intended to do this, but
>> then I was
>> wondering if it start to be redundant -- that is, would a number of
>> points
>> simply be restated from the vendor's viewpoint? But if there are
>> unique
>> points to make from that perspective it would be worthwhile to
>> include them.
>> This is an area where I consider myself even more ignorant than
>> usual, so if
>> those of you who work on that side of the fence would like to chime
>> in with
>> relevant manifesto points from the perspective of developers and
>> vendors,
>> I'm all ears. Thanks,
>> Roy

--
Edward M. Corrado
http://www.tcnj.edu/~corrado/
Systems Librarian
The College of New Jersey
403E TCNJ Library
PO Box 7718 Ewing, NJ 08628-0718
Tel: 609.771.3337  Fax: 609.637.5177
Email: [log in to unmask]