How do you ensure a project provides a return on investment?

When developing business software, the trick is to ensure you are gaining value from it at the earliest opportunity. This helps to de-risk the endeavour and maximise the return on investment.

If you are part of an organisation that develops software, or you have an in-house system created specifically to support your business process, then you know that creating new features and capabilities requires patience and dedication.

There will always be something more that you want. But that doesn't mean you can't make the most of what you already have. You need to make sure that the system is sufficiently capable to add value from the outset.

"Better is the enemy of done". You can always make something better. But to get value from something it must be in use. Users of the system become a vital part of the process as they provide feedback and requests for new features.

To make more rapid progress consider leveraging existing solutions or components. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel. But in modern technology there are lots of wheels to choose from, and not all wheels were created equal. Don’t over commit to a particular wheel, as you might need to change it.

How do you make sure your systems have the flexibility you need?