Custom Software Tools: When Should You Build Your Own?
by Chad Eatman
“Should I invest time learning a new software tool? Or, should I just build my own?” These are questions I encounter regularly as a software developer, but these questions are also relevant to any individual or company trying to make their business more efficient. Software tools are programs that developers use to create, debug, maintain, or support other software applications. These tools are intended to make your workflow quicker and smoother, but sometimes they just eat up your valuable time. If your tool falls into that latter category, you may need to find a new solution or build your own.”
Know Your Tool
First, you need to know your tools and your development options. If you’re having a problem with a common development process, there might be a solution that already exists. Software tools should help make your internal processes smoother. As you evaluate tools, make sure you stay up to date with all the functionality that’s available.
Obviously, documentation and tutorials can be helpful to make sure you understand the basic functionality of each option. What’s less obvious is understanding the intention behind various features. For example, you can use a hammer to slam a screw into a piece of wood, but with more effort than necessary (and with some unintended side-effects). The same concept applies to software tools that are being used in ways that they were never intended for, which can lead to issues down the road, if not immediately.
Identifying Pain Points
When evaluating the efficacy of your tool, you need to think about the areas where your current tool doesn’t accomplish what you need it to, and areas where it causes more pain. Once you’ve identified these pain points, you may have to work around or against the tool’s features. If your process doesn’t match your workflow, then make note of the differences. Documenting your pain points provides insight on whether to choose a new tool or to develop a custom one.
Woodridge uses a variety of frameworks and technologies including Vue.js and Laravel, which were chosen because they lacked the pain points of previous frameworks and technologies. For example, the PHP framework used on some of our older projects made interacting with the database a hassle – the defaults were non-intuitive which ultimately led us to work against the framework. Laravel’s Eloquent ORM made handling data much smoother and its object-oriented solutions made it easier to accomplish simple tasks.
Conclusion
Once you know your tool and have identified your pain points, you may decide that your current software tool doesn’t fit your needs. If you find a tool that resolves your pain points, those which you absolutely need to resolve, then it’s worth exploring a pre-built solution. However, if you look at your tool’s features and foresee several custom modifications, then a pre-built solution may not be the right tool for you. In these cases, you should consider building your own software tool.
The right software tool can make your life easier, but the wrong tool can have the opposite effect. Choose wisely and constantly evaluate your options.
Chad Eatman is a software developer at Woodridge Software, a custom software development firm located near Denver, Colorado. Woodridge specializes in Web, Android, and iOS development and works with a variety of clients ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies.