PMcrunch

Frequently, in our projects, especially those of technical nature, we are confronted with the opportunity to analyze various possible solutions. In this process, it is critically important to understand all aspects of cost related to each alternative. A potential trap is to simply compare price. Oftentimes, price is only one very small aspect of the cost of going with a particular product or service.

An easy example that I have encountered is analyzing open-source software versus proprietary or packaged software. In a specific example, in my personal experience recently, I purchased a new laptop about a year and a half ago and decided not to purchase the Microsoft Office software, which would have cost about $350. I decided, instead, to go with the open-source solution "OpenOffice." OpenOffice is freely downloadable and is very compatible with Microsoft Word and Excel. I went with the zero-price solution and decided not to spend the $350.

Now let’s look just a little bit at the cost. It did take me a little time to download and install the software. However, it would have taken probably and equivalent amount of time to do the same thing with Microsoft Office.

As I was doing this on somewhat an experimental basis, I knew I could always throw aside the experiment and purchase Microsoft Office. So my first order of business was to explore the compatibility that I really needed between Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel, as I absolutely needed this capability to exchange documents and files with others. I found that in almost all situations, and in virtually all situations, the formats are readily adaptable. Occasionally, I have had a situation where a feature that I can easily find in Excel or Word was implemented a little differently in OpenOffice. However, it did not take me much time to adapt to this.

There are a couple of small things that I have found inconvenient in OpenOffice. First, I have been unable to explore Excel files to tab ___ and this has, at times, been a bit inconvenient. However, I have worked around this and survived just fine. The other issue is that, occasionally, my computer memory seems to get overloaded when I have too many OpenOffice documents open; and I need to shut them down and start them back up. This process usually takes a little longer than I would like, and probably a little longer than it takes for Microsoft Office to open.

In the final analysis, am I better off having saved the $350? If I strictly look at the dollars and cents, it’s probably a break-even. I have lost some, but very little, time; but then, again, time is certainly worth money. The feature differences are minimal and, most importantly, my personal training has been minimal. Compatibility with others has been pretty good. However, there also has been a psychological benefit as I must say that I have experienced a nice degree of satisfaction having satisfied my desktop software needs without paying a few hundred dollars to Microsoft.

In the end, it is total cost of ownership that matters. There are many different types of cost to consider, including training costs, compatibility costs, the cumulative cost of differences in speed and performance, the cost of implementation, especially if it involves too many people, and more. One important thing to remember is the ease of use across all types of users of the product. I think this type of analysis and thinking applies to many domains and not just software.

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John Reiling, PMP
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