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	TABLE OF CONTENTS Selecting Third-Party Components Third-party Component Issues Documentation & Updates

Third-party Component Issues

While third-party components can be a time-saving option when adding features to an application, this savings definitely comes with a cost, both initially and during the product lifetime. The initial costs include both the dollar price of the component and the development time to integrate it into your product. Lifetime costs include on-going subscription costs, time spent on chasing down defects in the component, and of course, time spent adapting to new versions of the component.

We've found three primary categories of issues when using third-party components:

• Support management. The vendor's handling of code defects and problem resolution.
• Documentation. Resources that the vendor supplies detailing how to use the components.
• Updates. How often the vendor supplies updates and makes changes in the API.

First and most obvious is that defects in the component and how the supplier handles support can be critical. Vendors who do not support their products well must be avoided at all costs! Use any and all Internet resources to investigate potential vendors, ask for references, and follow-up those references with e-mail or phone calls. Spend as much time as you would when you hire a programmer because, in effect, that is what you are doing.

For example, in our experience, AccuSoft is a third-party component vendor that does a good job of handling support. It has a responsive support group with a totally web-based issue logging/tracking system. We've submitted issues supported by code fragments and most of the time received quick response from its first-level support. Some issues were resolved by advice on how to change our use of its tools, while others required code updates. AccuSoft has usually been prompt in generating fixes for problems that we labeled as "Critical."

In interacting with customer support, we've found that obtaining the best results requires us to properly document the problem, supply test code and simple sample files, and (if possible) use the vendor's demo code to reproduce a problem. You get the best results if you assume that vendor support people are overloaded with work and need help reproducing and documenting your case. Sure, it takes more time and may seem beyond the call of duty to help vendors find their defects; but remember, your main goal is to solve your problem, even if it means spending more time helping the vendor.

DWF Toolkit from Autodesk includes full source code for processing DWF files. The customer-support system is also totally web-based, allowing complete tracking of all issues. The issues we submit to Autodesk receive quick response with advice on what we need to do to resolve our problem. And because of the large customer base using DWF, the toolkit receives a lot of testing from other third-party users.

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