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Lately, I’ve consulted on a few projects which I’ve had to compare using an off-the-shelf script versus a custom solution. As a programmer myself, I typically build everything myself (because I can, and because I’m a control freak). However, I’m learning that there are some off-the-shelf solutions that do the job, and save both time and money.
So what are the pros and cons of each type of development?
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Custom Programming
Pros
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- Exactly what you want – no compromises
- Design is not limited by pre-existing programming
- No hacking things together to make it work for you (aka – Square peg in round hole, or, Frankenstein)
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- Longer to build (in days, weeks, months)
- Costs more to build
- More bugs to find & squash
- Reinventing the wheel (or the checkout process, for example)
Off-The-Shelf Solution
Pros
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- Cheaper
- Fewer bugs
- Other developers are familiar with the product
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- Does 95% of what you need, but 50% more than what you want
- Exploitable (if others have the source code, they can find the holes)
In cases like this, I say it does 95% of what you need, and at the same time includes 50% more features than what you want. The 5% missing may be what pushes a client to a custom solution, or the additional features that aren’t needed may get in the way of a simple problem with an over-complicated solution.