A Trip to Development Hell

If you work for a large, complex trucking operation, it’s not hard to find large, complex fleet-management software to help you run your business. Indeed, the companies that produce these programs work hard to find you-they solicit big carriers directly. Or maybe you have an IT department big enough to build and maintain a program that will fit the bill.

If you work for a smaller company, you probably can’t afford those luxuries. Besides, most commercial programs made for the high-end of the business simply overpower the needs of smaller operations, or those with specific requirements.

The alternative is to hire a software developer to create a fleet-management program tailored to your company’s specific needs. This is the story of one trucking company and its journey through development hell. The story has no heroes or villains; it just illustrates the complex issues involved. As you’ll see, the goal was eventually reached, but with some pain-and not a few costs-along the way.

Pedersen Storage and Cartage is a less-than-truckload operation based in Claresholme, Alta. A family-owned firm in business since 1966, Pedersen’s has 35 employees, and moves 25 trucks and 50 trailers across southern Alberta.

In 1986, Pedersen computerized its operations, using a DOS-based program. “It was an excellent program,” says owner Wayne Pedersen. “It did absolutely everything we wanted it to do, and it did it well.”

But times change, and Pedersen knew his information systems had to change, too. The move to a new software application was hastened when the developer of the original software sold it to a larger company. When the new owners decided to move to a Windows-compatible, Y2K-ready environment, it was decision time for Wayne Pedersen.

“Sure, I knew there were alternative LTL applications, but the off-the-shelf programs didn’t do quite what I wanted,” says Pedersen. “They didn’t have the rating package that I needed, for one thing. And we have alliances with other folks across the province, so I needed support for their applications, too.”

Pedersen had regularly suggested enhancements to the old DOS program, which had been passed along to the new developer. That, and the chance to have significant input into the development of the new program, made Pedersen decide to throw his lot in with the new owner. “The developer needed a beta site, and we wanted input,” he says. “Plus, we had a lot of knowledge of the original program, and some good ideas about how it could be enhanced.”

So the decision was made, and the deed was done. An agreement was signed, and a development schedule put in place. A contract was signed in July of 1998, declaring a commitment for a hardware launch in September of that year, a software launch in October, and going live in November.

That’s when the heartaches began. Pedersen points to three lessons learned:

1. Industry knowledge helps. “Unlike the original developer, the new people didn’t know anything about the trucking industry,” says Pedersen. “So we had to train and educate them as they developed the software.”

2. Is support close by? As the project grew, communication became a major issue. The new developer’s offices were located about 650 kilometres from Claresholme. When glitches occurred, or questions needed to be answered, or support had to be offered, Pedersen had to rely on e-mail or a phone call rather than a personal visit from the developer’s team.

3. Time is money. Work is work, and development is development, though, so both sides persevered. The result was that Pedersen got his new program-on April 1, 1999. Updates are ongoing. “We’ve just downloaded version 189 of the new program,” he says somewhat wistfully. “It works quite well, but there’s sure been a cost to getting here.”

Much of the cost is hard to quantify. “The long process of getting the new program up to speed has distracted us from our core business,” Pedersen says. “And that distraction has definitely hurt our market share. It’s hurt us dollar-wise, big-time.”

Pedersen estimates that unanticipated out-of-pocket expenses related to the new application’s development amount to more than $25,000.

“I have really mixed feelings about the whole thing,” Pedersen says in summary. “To get what you want, I know you have to pay a price. But I didn’t think that the price would be this high.”