chris.smith 91049 (1/21/2014)

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FunkyDexter (1/21/2014)

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I think we often forget that businesses don't exist to use our software or follow our procedures. They exist to deliver a product or service to a customer and, in so doing, make money. If our software and processes facilitate that we can expect the business to engage with us. If we obstruct that the business will turn away... and will be right to do so.

I think Steve's final sentence was telling. We need to deliver solutions faster than the business unit can develop their own. That might be an all singing all dancing fully integrated system or it might just be sitting down with the user and helping them write the spreadsheet. I absolutely agree that we should put as many development tools as possible in the hands of users and then be there to support them when they need us to.

I absolutely disagree - we don't have a hope in hell of developing faster than users can knock something up in Excel or Access - as long as we're following best practice and designing systems, testing them and reviewing them, practising standard change control practices etc. So it's not a fair comparison.