Now Glinda and Elphaba are even more confused than before. They have three distinct options: to create a package on their own, buy commercial off-the-shelf software such as QuickBooks Pro, or outsource their needs to Lawn Wizards. Help them learn the true secret of (software) happiness by helping them articulate the pros and cons of each of their alternatives. What would you recommend? In two paragraphs, write a recommendation that grows out of your consideration of their specific business situation.

Elphaba I. Menzel and Glinda K. Chenoweth are the owners of Emerald City Beautyscapes, a commercial landscaping company. They are trying to decide whether to write their own software, perhaps using Microsoft Access as a basis; adopt a COTS software package such as QuickBooks Pro; or hire a service called Lawn Wizards, Inc., to perform all of their bookkeeping functions. Elphaba turned to Glinda and asked, “Is it possible for us to create a system of our own?” Glinda replied, “I suppose we could, but it would take forever. We would need to define all our fields, our queries, and our reports. We would need to know who hasn’t paid us yet, and how long it has been since we last billed them.” “Yes,” says Elphaba, “and we would also have to create product descriptions, service descriptions, and codes for everything we sell and provide.”