Why enterprise software is bloated
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Why enterprise software is bloated
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Re: Why enterprise software is bloated
#2Because checking off features matter more than usability when a manager is the one buying it instead of the person using it
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Re: Why enterprise software is bloated
#3Because checking off features matter more than usability when a manager is the one buying it instead of the person using it Next question
this.
Re: Why enterprise software is bloated
#4Because every customer needs different features. No one wants to make their workflow follow what the software dictates, they want the software to support the workflow the business uses
Re: Why enterprise software is bloated
#5Because checking off features matter more than usability when a manager is the one buying it instead of the person using it Next question
This plus I think legal requirements between various countries. Lots of logic to meet each country's requirements.
Then each customer wants their own specific crazy workflow in the product after they "rent" the software. An endless circle of bloat increasing. Just look at SAP (and Oracle).
Some of this is touched upon in the article.
Re: Why enterprise software is bloated
#6Because checking off features matter more than usability when a manager is the one buying it instead of the person using it Next question
And not just the managers, but in some industries(i.e. healthcare) it's also government and insurance requirements demanding constant changes and configurability.
Re: Why enterprise software is bloated
#7Because checking off features matter more than usability when a manager is the one buying it instead of the person using it Next question
>There are two types of baby outfits. The first is targeted at people buying gifts. It's irresistible on the rack. It has no fewer than 18 buttons. At least 3 people are needed to get a screaming baby into it. It's worn once, so you can send a photo to the gifter, then discarded.
>Other baby outfits are meant for parents. They’re marked "Easy On, Easy Off" or some such, and they really mean it. Zippers aren't easy enough so they fasten using MAGNETS. A busy parent (i.e. a parent) can change an outfit in 5 seconds, one handed, before rushing to work.
>The point is, some products are sold directly to the end user, and are forced to prioritize usability. Other products are sold to an intermediary whose concerns are typically different from the user's needs. Such products don't HAVE to end up as unusable garbage, but usually do.
https://twitter.com/random_walker/status/1182635589604171776
Re: Why enterprise software is bloated
#8> Usually only the minimal amount of work will be done to get an integration to work, skipping the refactoring or code changes to internal data structures or algorithms, so the “new” product will be the sum of its parts also from a resource consumption point of view.
This describes Atlassian stuff just perfectly.
> As the code base gets large, bugs will creep in and become harder to fix.
And this is why automated tests - even if it's "just" end-to-end functional tests - are so important. But most managers aren't willing to give developers the extra budget do set up proper testcases...
Re: Why enterprise software is bloated
#9Because every customer needs different features. No one wants to make their workflow follow what the software dictates, they want the software to support the workflow the business uses
True. People only miss out on the fact that, especially ERP systems, are to a huge extend a colection of process best parctices. By sticking as much as possible to the out of the box solution, not only and release changes or integrations become easier, but you also get a busoness process benchmark and consulting on top, automatically. Benefiting from all that does require so more depth of thought than most upper managers I ever encoutered are willing, or capable of.
Re: Why enterprise software is bloated
#10Because checking off features matter more than usability when a manager is the one buying it instead of the person using it Next question
Because businesses, in order to match compliance rules for their business types, size of business etc. often have lots of rules and processes in place about buying things like software, thus it becomes really beneficial for a manager if they can buy all related functionality that is needed by their business (especially functionality that is required by law) in one place.
Furthermore considering that some things will often be very complicated to do because of legal burdens it makes sense that one piece of software for doing invoicing handles all your invoicing needs across all markets you operate in. And suddenly when that happens it might be that you get a more complicated piece of software than if you bought 10 different pieces of software each supporting the standard needed for a particular market.