Buy or Build for Investment Opportunity

$$ SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES, DECISION MAKING

Package Form $($fictional$)$ is a small manufacturing company that creates display packaging for boxed items, such as toys and household items. To increase sales, the owners of the company have decided to expand into floor displays and billboards. Their financial advisors have told them that investors will want to see design samples before committing money to their project, which means the expansion can only take place if the investors are impressed by the designs.

You are a member of the IT department at Package Form, and you have been asked to research the software required to develop the new product demonstra$-$tions. You have found that the software can be purchased from various vendors and that there are even some open source options that could be modified to fit the organization's needs. You also have in$-$house software developers that could modify your existing software so it could be used to develop the product samples.

The decision on how to proceed must be made quickly, and you have a limited budget.

Review Questions

$1.$ Outline the available options, including the pros and cons of each.

$2.$ Given the short time frame, would you consider modifying the current software to meet the needs of the company? Why or why not?

Critical Thinking Questions

$1.$ How would you go about identifying the requirements for the new software?

How would you research the software needed?

$2.$ What do you think might be the biggest barriers to finding the right software to meet the needs of the company with a limited budget?