The Strategic Role of Software Customization Managing Customization Enabled Software Product Development 1st Edition Matthias Bertram (Auth.)
The Strategic Role of Software Customization Managing Customization Enabled Software Product Development 1st Edition Matthias Bertram (Auth.)
The Strategic Role of Software Customization Managing Customization Enabled Software Product Development 1st Edition Matthias Bertram (Auth.)
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Guide to Software Development Designing and Managing
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Matthias Bertram
The Strategic
Role of Software
Customization
Managing Customization-Enabled
Software Product Development
The Strategic Role of Software
Customization
Matthias Bertram
The Strategic
Role of Software
Customization
Managing Customization-Enabled
Software Product Development
Foreword by Prof. Dr. Harald von Korflesch
Matthias Bertram
Koblenz, Germany
Springer Gabler
© Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden 2016
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part
of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations,
recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission
or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or
dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt
from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this
book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the
authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained
herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made.
Reinhold Bertram
(1952-2014)
Foreword
Over the past decade, the software industry has developed three types of
business logic: (1) the software product business, (2) the software service
business and (3) the hybrid business. On the one hand firms following soft-
ware product business logic develop highly standardized software products
that are sold to a mass of customers in the market with limited or even with-
out additional services. On the other hand firms that follow a software service
logic develop software in the form of projects for one specific customer, which
is implemented for that customer’s IT landscape. However, the distinction
between the software product and service businesses is not exclusive. Many
companies that develop professional software products for the business-to-
business market usually apply a hybrid business logic. They develop a core
product that encapsulates common functionalities for their customers’ busi-
nesses and also offer additional customization services to adapt their product
to customers’ needs. These software companies are challenged with specific
issues from the software product and software project business logic.
– my advisor Prof. Dr. Harald von Korflesch, for giving me the freedom
to be creative within my thesis and supporting me with fruitful feedback
where necessary,
– my co-advisor Prof. Dr. Susan Williams, for her support and helping
me to become a better qualitative researcher,
– my good friend Prof. Dr. Mario Schaarschmidt, for his critical, but
always constructive feedback on my work. But mostly for his friendship
over the last 15 years,
– my fellow PhD students and colleagues, for our talks and discussions.
Matthias Bertram
Dernau, Germany
Contents
Foreword vii
Preface ix
2.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
2.6 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
5.3.5.4 Evaluate and adapt internal processes and business models 221
References 253
Contents xvii
4.4 RBV-related codes from the theoretical and analytical lens . . 114
5.3 Secondary data that were collected for comparison with pri-
mary data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
tasks, and utility software refers to the software that is used to maintain the
computer system but that does not directly interact with the hardware.
Companies within the software industry follow one of three business log-
ics: the software product business, the software service business or the hybrid
software business (cf. Cusumano 2004; Hoch et al. 1999; Tyrväinen et al.
2008). The software product business has the typical characteristics of tra-
ditional firms operating in consumer goods industries. Software is highly
standardized and productized and sold to consumers in the market without
additional services. An example of a pure software product business in the
software industry is the software component business, in which software com-
ponents are standardized and sold as off-the-shelf software. From a manage-
rial perspective, the software product business logic addresses issues including
productizing, channel management, alliance building and branding. In the
software service business, companies provide professional software services
for which customer organizations are usually charged hourly rates. Software
is developed specifically for each customer. This usually takes the form of a
project that includes development, integration with other software systems,
user training, and maintenance services. The key managerial area in this
scenario is managing projects for a few close customer firms and recognizing
the importance of key individuals.
1.1 The business of software 3
However, between those poles, some companies also employ a hybrid soft-
ware business model that includes both product and service business strate-
gies. They sell a product to a relatively anonymous market and provide in-
stallation, adaption and maintenance services. The distinction between the
software product and software service businesses is not exclusive. Figure 1.1
illustrates the three different types of business logic and their relationship.
Software business
According to Sawyer (2001), the concept of “make one, sell many” is com-
mon to all product software. He states that product software and tailor-
made software can be distinguished by three major differences: First, whereas
tailor-made software is oriented towards one customer, product software is
market-oriented. Second, there are many more conditions for using a soft-
ware product in terms of the hardware and software platform than there are
for tailor-made software, which usually runs under one platform. Third, with
software products, the vendor usually retains ownership of the software, while
with tailor-made software, all of the corresponding artifacts (e.g., source code,
documentation) are entirely sold to the customer. Taking a software engineer-
ing perspective, the academic literature and practice discuss the development
4 Introduction
management is a key success factor for product software and includes captur-
ing market trends, analyzing requirements, and releasing the software at the
right time. Mapping new market trends to product software design is one of
the central elements of new product development (Garvin 1998; Hauser and
Clausing 1988). However, capturing customer feedback is also important for
enhancing the satisfaction of existing customers. Another aspect of product
software requirement management is that product development firms look
for new features that can help them enter new markets and change their
product-market combination (Rao and Klein 1994).
Various scholars argue that the software business has transformed itself from
a product business into a service or hybrid business and that today, most of
the companies that develop professional software products for the business-
to-business market apply a hybrid business logic (e.g., Cusumano 2008).
Usually, these firms develop a core product that encapsulates common func-
tionalities for their customers’ business and also offer additional customiza-
tion services to adapt their product to the customers’ needs. These software
companies are challenged with specific issues from the software product and
software service business logic: they must provide standard software prod-
ucts that include standard maintenance and support services, and addition-
ally, they must provide customization mechanisms that allow these software
products to be adapted according to specific customer needs.