ABSTRACT
Executive summary: ERP packages are large and complex. Many top 250,000 function points in total size if all features are installed and used. Most companies find it necessary to customize ERP packages, which is among the most difficult forms of software development. ERP customization may make it difficult to install later ERP updates from the vendors. There is no safe methodology for ERP customization. ERP customization is made difficult by the fact that ERP packages themselves may be alarmingly buggy. The author was an expert witness in litigation filed against a major ERP vendor by the company’s own shareholders, who claimed that software quality was so bad that stock values were being depressed.
