Personalization vs. Customization: People & Companies

How often do you use software that offers canned reports designed with someone else in mind—software that doesn’t get you any closer to solving real problems? How often does an application tell you how to run your business when software designers have no idea about what you do or your objectives? Companies frequently design software to meet the needs of a few customers while assuming that everyone operates the same way. But every company is unique and has a particular set of processes.

At the other end of the spectrum, hypercustomizable software allows maximum flexibility by providing an empty shell and expecting the customer to do all the work. You might as well work for the software developer because now you have a full-time job managing the customizations and configurations.

There is thankfully a midpoint between generic software packages and hypercustomization.

Data is displayed the way a user wants to see it with Vimana’s real-time configurable dashboards. Image courtesy of Vimana

Within an organization, each employee has a set of responsibilities and a specific role. Every role has a particular viewpoint of the business and operations, leading each person to develop a unique perspective of the organization. Business intelligence and operational software must accommodate those viewpoints to deliver precisely the information needed to efficiently do one’s job.

Applications can provide this capability in two ways: personalization and customization. Personalization is when software adapts to users without intervention. Customization is when control is given to users to adjust software as needed. Think of Amazon tailoring suggestions to your buying habits versus the preferences you can set for menus and toolbars in Microsoft Word.

We generally need both approaches—software that can be customized to roles in a company but personalized based on the usage and processes being analyzed. Manufacturing has complex sets of roles and responsibilities, with different requirements for every individual, from plant leaders to operators and maintenance engineers. Employees must have information at their fingertips to help them make the best decisions possible for resolving issues and managing unexpected disruptions.