Application Lifecycle Management

In some contexts, the software development process can be optimized when it is thought of-and run-like a highly automated manufacturing production line. Rather than producing many identical widgets like a manufacturing plant, software organizations produce many programming changes. These changes may not be identical like manufactured widgets, but programming changes can start looking a lot like widgets when you look at the big picture. In this session, Tom Tyler describes how to bring the processes and benefits normally associated with manufacturing to software development-efficiency, reliability, and extensive automation. Manufacturing organizations invest heavily in tooling and infrastructure to automate production lines, and they reap great rewards in efficiency.

Agile development is great, but it cannot possibly be for you because your software development is done under a contract-outsourced or under an internal service agreement. Right? Wrong! Similar to the way automobile manufacturers have embraced lean manufacturing, you can escape the deadly waterfall development process even in contracted development environments. Lean manufacturing companies have learned over the past twenty years that trust with suppliers lies in specific actions and expectations, not in interpersonal relationships. They understand the "game" of outsourced contracting and know how to structure relationships and write contracts so that both sides are motivated to contribute to the common good. Join Mary Poppendieck, an expert in lean software development, to explore ways to change the contracting game in software development for the better.

You've heard of eXtreme Programming (XP) and perhaps Scrum. How about Crystal Clear, Adaptive Software Development, Dynamic Systems Development Method, Rational Unified Process for Agile Development, and Feature Driven Development? These are some of the many variations of Agile development methods. Join Jeff McKenna as he explores the many flavors of Agile development methods and explains the similarities and differences. Find out what aspects of Agile development can help your organization’s development team in its particular environment. If you are considering Agile development and need to decide in which direction to go, this session is for you. Although a one-hour session cannot provide all the information you will need, you can explore what is common-the philosophy, the values, the characteristics-and what is different-the methods, the coverage, the costs-about different Agile approaches.

According to the Object Management Group (OMG), the benefits of Model Driven Architecture (MDA) are significant to businesses and developers alike: reduced overall product life costs, faster development, better application quality, rapid deployment of new technology, and a higher ROI on new technology. In short, the hype is that MDA enables system integration strategies that are better, faster, and cheaper. However, the MDA approach represents a fundamental change in the way software is developed, and it revolutionizes how you allocate test resources and how you create system tests. Timothy Korson outlines the MDA process and then suggests ways to change quality assurance activities to mesh with the MDA development style. Take away a realistic view of the current state of MDA practices compared to the MDA promise and vision, offered by the OMG.