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Product Reviews DevSuite 7.0 - Sharpening your processes to perfection!
Product Reviews DevSuite 7.0 - Sharpening your processes to perfection!
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Download a PDF version of this Product Review > >  Technology managers need to define repeatable processes to meet the business and technology demands of any Application Lifecycle effort. Deadlines, budgets and emerging technologies make both large and small development efforts challenging for even the most skilled and experienced professionals. Requirements tracking, including user driven specifications, is so challenging that an entire development movement has arisen that intentionally surrenders tracking specifications and requirements as being almost impossible. With DevSuite 7.0, you can be Agile, adaptive and have your requirements, too! Support for multiple process models in an integrated component-based suite Agile process models, including SCRUM, come with existing templates straight out of the box along with support for what many regard as their polar opposite - the SEI's CMMI. Service Management enthusiasts implementing ITIL will enjoy existing ITSM templates. DevSuite allows you to implement your development processes, as needed, with the Agility to change them as needs and requirements inevitably evolve. DevSuite is commonly used to support early and incremental delivery (e.g. from one week to a month) and also supports the interaction of people, processes and tools working together. The product provides support for change control along with process driven, conceptual level change management. There is a strong emphasis on establishing a balance between self organizing teams and structured management along with improved visibility (to support IT governance and compliance), as well as support for distributed development. Traceability throughout the ALM DevSuite 7.0 provides a robust and complete platform for designing specifications, requirements, project planning, defects, incidents and application testing in an efficient and successful way. The product sports considerable flexibility to allow for the Agility of changing requirements - even in the development process itself. In the real world, organizations must choose from a variety of development methodologies based upon their business and technology challenges. Many organizations are addressing these needs by utilizing traditional waterfall development lifecycles on some projects and the ever popular Agile methods on other projects. All of these efforts involve a significant amount of knowledge that must be managed or there is considerable risk that critical information will be lost. Knowledge is essential (Knowledgewise) DevSuite 7.0 is a knowledge centric ALM solution that helps technology managers establish repeatable processes in an efficient and effective way. DevSuite comes with built-in support for traditional frameworks such as the SEI's CMMI as well as the emerging Agile processes; including XP, Feature Driven Development (FDD), and SCRUM. DevSuite may be used for test driven development (TDD) using the integrated DevTest component of DevSuite. Specification-driven development (SpecDD) is also supported with robust management of specifications using DevSpec along with customer collaboration and short iterative cycles. DevSuite provides a robust solution to implement Agile as a comprehensive framework with a RISK based approach to managing specifications, requirements, plans, defects, incidents and test plans. TechExcel KnowledgeWise provides for the easy and efficient collection and organization of informal ideas, gathered from a wide variety of sources including DevSpec, DevTrack, and DevTest projects. Embracing and managing risk Successful managers learn to expertly manage their risks to make smart decisions based upon visibility into their organizational process and core competencies. DevSuite 7.0 sets the pace for defining these ALM processes in a robust, repeatable and flexible way. This means that critical functions, such as your trading algorithms, may be documented with extensive detailed specifications and updated throughout the lifecycle of the project. DevSuite is knowledge based so your customer input is captured and utilized throughout the lifecycle of the project. The Knowledge base allows for the control and support of project knowledge as well. Requirements (DevSpec) Specifications and requirements are tracked throughout the entire lifecycle of the project with support for any of the application development methodologies. Project Management (DevPlan) Integrated project management provides the support necessary for managing the project schedule and deliverables through to their completion. DevPlan is integrated with Knowledgeware to help manage the bridge from concept to execution. This provides essential visibility into the status of deliverables and milestones throughout the application lifecycle. Implementation (DevTrack) DevTrack is the component within DevSuite that handles defect tracking along with customized workflows via the highly customizable interface. DevTrack provides defect and project tracking integrated with the other components of DevSuite. Defects, changes and feature requests are all traceable. Issues submitted via DevTrack may be tracked through their full lifecycle along with advanced features such as auto-escalation (when an issue has not been resolved within a specified time period) and auto-routing which automatically assigns issues based upon predefined rules.  Figure 1 - designing your workflow.
SCM (VersionLink) integration with Version Control Devsuite integrates with existing Version Control tools to allow tracking of requirements to change-sets and, ultimately, application releases. DevSuite integrates with popular version control tools including Subversion, Visual Source Safe, and Perforce. Validation (DevTest) DevTest integrates with Knowledgewise to link test case management with customer information. Users can effectively manage test planning, test case definition and execution. Test scheduling along with testing cycles can be managed successfully with DevTest. Defining complex workflows DevSuite has a visual editor that allows processes to be designed and maintained visually. This is a critical function as users benefit from interactive sessions where they walkthrough and reengineer their processes on the fly. With DevSuite, you drag and drop boxes corresponding to your required tasks and immediately allow your users to try out their newly refactored workflows. Your development teams benefit from understanding exactly what steps are required along with the overall workflow. Sophisticated workflows may be built which contain conditional tips which control where an issue goes in the workflow (e.g. different end states from one transition) and choices based upon attributes. Project Tips can be designed and maintained by your administrator DevTrack is built from the ground up to be completely integrated, although users also have the flexibility to use just one or more of the components individually. As an integrated product, DevTrack links development issues to specifications, requirements and test cases. Planning and control DevSuite also helps manage the requirements of the Project Management Office (PMO), including time and cost tracking, features backlog, defect backlog and popular Agile method of measuring burn-time remaining. Auto-generated reports also provide a static snapshot of the data at a specific point in time. Conclusion Software application development is a complex endeavor with many risks and demands. Whether yoru organization is embracing Agile methods (e.g. SCRUM) or more traditional frameworks (e.g. CMMI), DevSuite can help you establish repeatable processes which manage the critical information from conceptual design through application development and systems implementation. If you are looking to develop repeatable application processes, then DevSuite should be on your short-list of products to consider in supporting your application lifecycle. Company Contact TechExcel, Inc., 3675 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Suite 200 Lafayette, CA 94549 Tel: (925) 871-3900 Fax: (925) 871-3991 www.techexcel.com Bob Aiello is the Editor-in-Chief for the CM Journal and an independent consultant specializing in Software Process Improvement including Software Configuration and Release Management. Mr. Aiello has over 25 years experience as a technical manager in several top NYC Financial Services firms where he had had company-wide responsibility for CM, often providing hands-on technical support for enterprise Source Code Management tools, SOX/Cobit compliance, build engineering, continuous integration and automated application deployment. Bob is a long standing member of the Steering Committee of the NYC Software Process Improvement Network (CitySPIN), where he serves as the chair of the CM SIG. Mr. Aiello holds a Masters in Industrial Psychology from NYU and a B.S. in Computer Science and Math from Hofstra University. You may contact Mr. Aiello at raiello@acm.org or link with him at http://www.linkedin.com/in/bobaiello .
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| Last Updated on Friday, 24 July 2009 14:57 |
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