Listen to this article
Increasing complexity of software development process has forced organizations to adopt various tools in order streamline different phases of development. IDC mentioned in their report that the complexity of deployment environments, coupled with demand for speed, quality, and security, there is strong uptake in the growth of the covered ALM markets. TechNavio’s analysts forecast the Global Application Lifecycle Management market to grow at a CAGR of 4.24 percent over the period 2012-2016. There is growing SaaS deployment models for ASQ, IT PPM, and SCM (to a lesser extent) and cloud testing. There is an explosion in ALM tools, specifically in areas of Requirement Management, Test Management, Defect Management, Release Management, Build and other phases of application lifecycle. IDC also cites an explosion of mobile application development, the emergence of ALM for embedded systems, and cloud driving complexity as other disruptive factors in the ALM space. The question then is about establishing an integrated ALM platform and a standard governance model between the tools. By using a standard Requirement Management tool you can ensure that Requirement Management phase is handled properly, but is that all?
The phases of application lifecycle are not isolated and data must flow in all directions as and when required. Task tracking, collaboration and communication are the keys to success when it comes to software development. So, how do you ensure that all the tools you use can talk to each other? Is your Requirement Management tool compatible with the Test Management tool you are using? Can data flow seamlessly from one tool to another? If not, you have to rely largely on manual data entry which will add to the complexity and increased errors.
Integrated ALM solution addresses this issue. It connects all the tools you are using and offers a true collaborative platform. Here are five reasons why you should start using an Integrated ALM solution.
Use Best-of-Breed Tools and Let Them Talk to Each Other
Modern integration tools allow you to use best-of-breed tools from any number of vendors. Unlike point-to-point integration, sophisticated and high-end technology does not dictate which tool you should use; choice is entirely yours. You can use the best available tools for Requirement Management, Test Management, Release Management from any vendor – the system integrates them all and offers you an integrated ecosystem to work with.
Get Useful Insights
Lack of visibility is one of the major problems faced by the stakeholders. The Business Analysts do not know whether a specific Requirement has been designed, coded or tested. Developers struggle to trace the roots of certain Functional Requirements. Testers find no way to know whether anybody is working on the bugs. An Integrated ALM solution imparts traceability to the system and offers adequate visibility at all layers.
Implement Best Practices
A software development team might want to establish various best practice processes across the application lifecycle, such as:
- Requirement Validation
- Code Review and Verification
- Test Coverage vs Requirements
- Build Verification
- Release Readiness Check
These processes span various phases of lifecycle and involve different tools. Unless, all the tools are connected, it is nearly impossible to implement best practice methods. In an integrated environment, you should be able to distribute, automate and implement best practice processes without any difficulty.
Deliver Quick, Enhance Quality, Achieve Customer Satisfaction
With Integrated ALM, software development organizations can accelerate the development process and improve the quality. An Integrated ALM solution allows them to:
- Overcome the common challenges faced by globally distributed teams
- Offer a collaborative platform to all the stakeholders
- Achieve better change management capacity
- Eliminate a lot of communication gaps, delays, manual work and last minute surprises
Cumulatively, all these factors result in quick turnaround time, better quality of product and greater customer satisfaction.
Efficient Project Management and Increased ROI
Organizations invest a lot of money to buy best-of-breed tools, train their employees on how to use them, but ultimately fail to make full use of the tools. Integrated ALM solves that problem by connecting all the tools and forming an integrated platform.
With better communication, traceability and collaboration, organizations can deliver applications quickly and with fewer or no bugs. A lot of double work gets eliminated which otherwise could consume time and money. Finally, the entire project becomes more manageable.
In a nutshell, Integrated ALM makes application development process simple and adds to the overall efficiency of the organization. Try it to achieve greater ROI in a short period of time!.
