Software aquisition

There are five different ways of being able to obtain the software:

Software written by the end-user can be used mainly for a small project where the end-user would preferably be a computer specialist because creating computer software is a difficult task. Advantages are that the system can be designed just as the user wants as they are the user of the system and it will be cheaper. The only problem with this is that the user may not provide and documentation so that when they leave no one can update or maintain the system.

Software can be written in-house for example if the examination board has their own department of computer specialists they could create the software within the company. It may require extra staff with specialised skills and these may be difficult to recruit especially if they are not needed for long.

External consultants (annoying people who get everything wrong) can be hired and presentations can be given by the company to help decide which software choice is the best. The cost can be expensive but this can mean the system may be more reliable as it is created by computer specialists who have taken in all of the information that they need to create the system.

A package can simply be bought which means it can be cheaper than custom-built software and it is immediately available (yes that’ll be $34.99 thank you). Documentation is fully available (but who reads it anyway!). Training courses for these can be widely available and technical support is available from the manufacturers.

Software can also be leased from places which means the cost is less but long term costs may amount to more than just buying the package.

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