A client of mine asked her vendor to make a fix to their database. After making the fix, the vendor sent an email with the following:
"This has been corrected BUT this could have changed some other already established rules (that I don't remember) so please check this carefully."
Hold on a second. If the vendor makes a change to their program, is it my client's responsiblity to make sure that change didn't break something else?
This is actually a very common complaint I get from clients and potential clients. Something along the lines of "Every time the vendor makes a change, they break something else."
How would you respond? What can the customer do to hold the vendor more accountable for the changes they are making?
You should always have a test site, and any, ANY, changes are made to the test site first, tested thoroughly by all parties concerned, and then only made to the live site after a fresh full backup. If an AMS vendor does not offer a test site, then its time to start shopping. Both sides have responsibilities in this situation.