The last mile of software development

I read a paper recently that talked about the last mile of software development.

The software development process was described with the following components:

• Business requirements are identified.
• The software is developed (seen as most important by developers)
• The software is tested
• The software is implemented.

This last stage was called the last mile of software development.

If we look at it from the business perspective, no value is created until the last mile. Until the software is implemented, the business gets no value (except for software development companies).

Describing it as the last mile may be part of the problem and the fact that many software projects fail to deliver on their promises. The same is often true when a business buys a software product. The only time that value is created is after installation of the software, when improvements in the business are actually received. And even then, it is not the last mile. Your initial implementation will not be as valuable as when your people become comfortable and productive with it.

So implementation is not the last mile. This is where you need to focus.

If your supplier or your staff view the implementation as the last mile, maybe you need to change one or both.