COMMENTARY. Gordon B. Davis on Information Systems: To Buy, Build, or Customize?
讨论了购买、构建或定制信息系统应用的利弊，指出软件包能降低完成、成本、控制和性能风险，适合管理者决策参考。
Abstract This article presents arguments on the benefits of buying, building or customizing information systems applications. Application packages are software written for sale or lease for specific areas of application. For example, there are packages for common applications such as payroll, order processing, inventory management, scheduling, and purchasing. Packages range in size from fairly small ones for microcomputers to large main-frame packages. They range in cost from a few dollars to several hundred thousand dollars. Packages can also be used to manage risk in a development portfolio. The use of packages changes several development risks: completion risk, cost/budget risk, controls risk, and performance risk. The completion risk is that an application will never be completed. In the case of a package, there is at least an initial system already available. The cost/budget risk is that the cost of the system will significantly exceed estimates. The basic cost of a package is known before it is purchased. There are still some cost/budget risks relative to tailoring, but these are probably easier to manage than the cost/budget risk of a new application. The controls risk is that inadequate controls will be included in the design and implementation of a system. Package vendors will differ in their implementation of controls in the packages, which means that a purchaser can use controls as a criteria for selection and thereby reduce the risk of inadequate controls. The performance risk is that the system will not perform as planned. A package can be tested under live conditions and unless the tailoring is very significant, the testing will reduce the performance risk to a very acceptable level.