There may come a day when your association needs an AMS customization. A unique solution tailored for you — something no vendor can offer out-of-the-box and must be created from scratch.

But before making up your mind and committing to a custom request, you need a plan. This isn’t the kind of decision to make lightly.

Think of it like building a house. You wouldn’t just sketch a design on a cocktail napkin and hand it over to a builder, expecting them to construct your perfect home.

The perfect custom software project requires detailed planning as well.

Build Your Blueprint to Success — AMS Customization

1. Change your process or change your software?

If you can make slight changes to your business processes rather than customizing your software, the experts at Protech Associates strongly recommend it. Software customizations shouldn’t be rushed and can require a healthy budget.

The advantage of an AMS built on the Microsoft Dynamics 365 platform is its almost infinite configurability. Typically, you can achieve your requested result through simple configuration changes without bringing in a team to design, write and test new programming code.

2. Planning makes perfect

Have you exhausted all configuration options? That’s OK. Protech has the experienced resources to get you what your association needs.

If you were building your dream home, you’d sit down with an architect and go through the important features to create a detailed blueprint showing every light switch, outlet and plumbing fixture. And let’s face it, they won’t be providing that service for free.

The uniqueness, complexity, variables and nuances of your dream home can’t be replicated. The same can be said for your association management custom software project. It takes proper planning and discussion to make sure you end up with the perfect solution.

3. Create your blueprint

Once you’ve conducted the preliminary discovery phase, Protech’s solution consultants will work hand-in-hand with you to provide project specifications and functional requirements based on your unique business processes — your blueprint — to make sure what we’ll deliver is what you need.

This phase is where all that discovery begins to pay off. You’ll have a complete picture of what you’re getting before you get it. No worries. No remorse.

4. Conduct a thorough review

Now that you’ve seen the blueprint, it’s a good time to reassess your objectives.

Why did you want this customization? Will it achieve your end goal? Will it help your association become more productive? Have you documented the steps your staff or members will follow to utilize this new feature so they can work independently?

Are your expectations specific and measurable? More importantly, are they achievable? And remember, this project is tailored for your association. It could take more time than you’d prefer. But getting the perfect solution on the first try is worth the wait.

5. Let the build begin

Since you spent the proper time planning — you didn’t skip any steps — Protech will get you what you need. This unique solution will leave a legacy at your association, and your staff’s power users will make use of the customization for years to come.

6. Test, test, test!

Don’t worry. Protech will test the final AMS customization in a non-production environment and then allow you to do the same in what we call a user acceptance testing (UAT) phase. You know your business operations best, so be sure to test every scenario completely prior to deploying to your live environment. That way, there’s no guessing whether it will work as needed.

7. Leave a review

Did your architect nail the design? Did the builder ace the construction? You’d be quick to refer them to a friend or drop a review, wouldn’t you?

If Protech did the same for you with your customization, we’d appreciate review on ReviewMyAMS.com or Capterra.com. Or, tell a friend in the association world how Protech helped your association.