Planning your customization

Customization projects vary based on the business needs. However, most projects involve an interconnected series of changes that are best carried out in a particular order.

The items identified for extension and/or modification in this documentation are Source Components (to the extent such item involves source code) and Sample Materials for purposes of the License Information file associated with this product.

Preparing your development environment

Set up a development environment that mirrors your production environment, including whether you deploy your application on a WebLogic or WebSphere® application server. Doing so ensures that you can test your extensions in a real-time environment.

You install and deploy your application in your development environment following the same steps that you used to install and deploy it in your production environment. Refer to your system requirements and installation documentation for details.

You have an option to customize your application with Microsoft COM+. Using Microsoft COM+ has advantages such as increased security, better performance, increased manageability of server applications, and support for clients of mixed environments.

Planning your customizations

Each type of customization varies in scope and complexity, whether you are adding a new menu entry, customizing the sign-in screen or logo, customizing views or wizards, or creating new themes or new screens.