Deltek Vision Customization: Knowing the Right Questions to Ask

When a request for a custom solution is received, be it a report, workflow, or external data automation, many clients are surprised the first items we review are the standard functions available in the particular system they are looking to customize.  “Are you trying to talk us out of having you perform the programming work?” I had one client ask me incredulously, after I had shown her a way to accomplish getting the information she had wanted in a custom report within the native Vision Reporting system. 

My response is always the same.  We would love to work with your firm on a custom initiative; however our top priority as your Consultant is to ensure that you receive the best value for any work we perform.  There are times where custom programming is going to be the best path forward, but if we can accomplish the same (or relatively the same) results natively, in less time – you’re going to be happier as our client, and we may have an opportunity to work with you on a customization effort that will truly be valuable for your organization in the future.  As your consultant, we are ultimately advocates and partners in helping you be successful and getting the most out of your system. 

Sometimes the native functionality is not quite enough for an organization and so customization is the right step to make. In some circumstances, it’s natural to start to look at custom programming to help overcome those hurdles. Those might include:

• Cultural requirements in the organization to have data represented a certain way
• Manual processes require a tremendous amount of repetitive effort
• It takes two or more reports to get one set of information the organization requires
• Additional systems that are used in the organization may require a duplication of effort
• Information is stored in house and in the cloud, and you wish to simplify the effort of keeping these separate silos of data up to date
• Aesthetics of a particular report or information set may not match with the firms brand or be overly complex for the information needed 

When evaluating if engaging a consultant on a custom programming effort makes sense for your firm, here are some key questions to ask your internal team:

• Have we identified the motivating factors for requiring the custom programming effort?  
• How much time is spent manually today to get our desired result?
• How much of this time will be saved by incorporating the custom programming?
• Have we explored the native Vision system capabilities and found we cannot reproduce what we need?
• Have we considered how close we can get using the native capabilities in Vision and can we operate within those parameters, or is this a definitive organization need?

As you embark on asking a colleague or consultant to customize your system, here are some questions to ask prior to having them moving forward:

• Do you have advanced knowledge of Transact SQL?
• Have you worked with the structure of the Vision database and functionality of the Vision application?  (I can’t emphasize this point enough!)
• In developing this report, will we be able to reconcile the custom work to native Vision reports? (Whether through a single report or a combination of multiple reports)
• Is there a way to already accomplish something similar with the native functionality of Vision?
• Do you have experience writing web services for Deltek Vision and ?
• I have an example of what I’m looking for, do you see any issues with providing it in this format or with this information and do you have any suggestions for how we may be able to do this more effectively.  

Our library of custom solutions continues to grow every day. Some of these solutions can be purchased at a flat fee and utilized as is or further customized.  This is a great way to minimize costs and get results quickly.  We welcome you to reach out and find out if something similar has already been created. We are committed to helping you find the right solution to fit your unique needs.