Applications

Application Development Process

Developing an effective application is a complex, multi-step process that has very real business implications. Learn application development best practices, maximize process efficiency, and reap bottom-line benefits.


Stay on top of emerging technologies and changes in the IT landscape. Learn which technologies are right for your organization, and develop the best strategy for implementation.

Forecast - Trends & Predictions

Hype vs. Reality: Trends in SOA
Hype vs. Reality: Trends in SOA

Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) has become one of the latest buzzwords in the IT industry. Most enterprises have now heard of SOA, but few are actually responding to it. Despite the many promised benefits of SOA, only large organizations and enterprises in the business and financial services sectors have taken steps to adopt this technology, most of which are still in the proof-of-concept or...

It's Official: .NET Roasts Java's Beans
It's Official: .NET Roasts Java's Beans

Many IT managers face a fundamental question: Java or Microsoft’s .NET. Info-Tech’s analysis indicates that .NET is far more popular than Java regardless of enterprise size or industry sector.

Will 2007 Change Application Development as We Know It?

There is a new battle for domination of the application development environment. New desktop application architectures from Adobe and Microsoft, as...

Understand - Technology Insights

Adobe Flex Gaining Muscle for Rich Internet App Development
Adobe Flex Gaining Muscle for Rich Internet App Development

While the Java Enterprise Edition (JEE) and .NET application development platform debate rages on, alternative development frameworks such as Linux-Apache-MySQL-PHP (LAMP) and Adobe Flex are gaining enterprise traction. Adobe Flex is a capable framework for developing and delivering Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) for delivery to both internal and external users.

Set Your Sights On the Six Software Testing Targets
Set Your Sights On the Six Software Testing Targets

IT managers with a desire to understand software testing can quickly become overwhelmed by the various types of testing, all seeming equally important. However, when attempting to improve the functional quality of software, only six primary goals need to be met. To meet these goals, six basic types of testing can cover the gamut and effectively contribute to application quality.

Understanding the Cost of Software Quality
Understanding the Cost of Software Quality

IT leaders considering expenditures to improve software quality are faced with important decisions around whether and how much to invest in specific quality improvement initiatives. IT leaders must look at the business impact to quantify the benefits of quality initiatives for software projects.

Understand the Implications of Java and .NET
Understand the Implications of Java and .NET

There are several key issues that need to be addressed when making the choice between Java or .NET as the primary development platform. Every IT executive must address how Java and .NET differ, how these differences affect adoption success, and how to mitigate the associated risk.

Adobe Pulls a Unified Client Out of Thick AIR

At its annual “Max” conference Adobe showed off its Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR) which brings rich Internet applications (RIAs) and the best of Web...

Common Pitfalls of Dysfunctional Specs

Ineffective functional specifications result in wasted time, costly mistakes, and increased development time. Further, they contribute to failures in...

Exploit Extreme Programming for Dynamic Projects

When it comes to application development, requirements are often a moving target. When developers think they have locked down everything the customer...

IBM's ISPF Productivity Tool, Power to the Programmers

Developers working for years within the z/OS environment have struggled with time-consuming workarounds and missing features within Interactive...

The Right IDE Smoothes Out .NET vs. Java Discord

The Java vs. .NET debate is ongoing. Many Java companies are considering moving to .NET because of the dearth of Java talent and the seemingly...

Strategize - Strategy & Planning

Feasibility Study Suitability Tool
Feasibility Study Suitability Tool

This practical tool helps IT managers identify situations where a feasibility study would be the best method to employ for making a decision to either accept or reject a software project.

Information Architecture Roadmap
Information Architecture Roadmap

With the increase in demand for data for strategic decision making, companies are forced to collect information about customers, customer behaviors, and markets for use in decision making. Storing and managing this data in an easily accessible location is critical. IT leaders must build an Information Architecture Roadmap (IAR) to ensure that data is optimally stored and leveraged across the...

Information Roadmap Optimizes Enterprise Data Use
Information Roadmap Optimizes Enterprise Data Use

Data volumes are growing exponentially as more companies capture information about customers, customer behaviors, and markets for use in decision making. Managing this data can be a challenge. IT leaders must build an Information Architecture Roadmap (IAR) to ensure that data is optimally stored and leveraged across the organization at the lowest cost possible.

Effective Project Management
Effective Project Management

Most projects are initiated to achieve mission-critical business goals. On average, nearly 50 percent of these projects fail to meet objectives. This level of failure is unacceptable. Ensuring that you have a sound project management system in place is essential in order to obtain your desired results.

Five Bad Habits of Application Developers

Given the pressure to deliver, application developers will inevitably resort to less than perfect behaviors. When such behaviors turn into habits,...

Four User Needs for Effective Rich Internet Application Design

Rich Internet Applications (RIAs), Web applications that can run within a browser without requiring installation, provide for a much more valuable...

BI Requirements: Building an Object Definition Glossary

Understanding Business Intelligence (BI) requirements can be difficult and time consuming for BI developers. Business Analysts (BA) can reduce the...

Chasing the Waterfall May Lead to Project Downfall

In some software development projects the requirements supporting the business objectives are easily defined, while in other projects they are more...

Developer Buy-In Critical to QA Success

Time and effort spent on application testing is always at a premium. Quality assurance (QA) testers do not want to find they are reporting low...

Do Agile Projects Need Functional Specs?

Agile project approaches have changed development processes by stressing frequent releases and little or no documentation. Object-oriented analysis...

Does Agile Development Work in Large Organizations?

Agile development methods are gaining popularity. Characterized by iterative development and quality initiatives, agile processes are changing the...

Drop IIS 4 and 5 Now

A recent survey by Port80 Software shows that IIS 4 and IIS 5 are still used by Fortune 1000 enterprises. Both IIS4 and 5 face unresolved problems....

Five Essentials for Foolproof App Testing

Software testing is a constantly overlooked issue. Nevertheless, a software project cannot be delivered on time and on budget without the essential...

Five Must-Haves for an Application Development Infrastructure

Companies looking to move from ad hoc software development onto a reliable development infrastructure should focus on following these five guidelines.

Get Requirements Right the First Time

A thorough business requirements gathering process can spell the difference between project success and failure. Follow Info-Tech's nine steps to...

Pilot Implementations: Five Steps towards Successful Execution

A pilot implementation allows an organization to validate its approach for full application deployment. To execute a successful pilot, an...

Pilot Implementations: The Results Are In

A pilot implementation allows an organization to confirm its strategy for full application deployment. To successfully round out a pilot deployment,...

Reduce BI Project Risk: Include a Gap Analysis

Analysis is a critical step in shaping the effort on a Business Intelligence (BI) project. Developers often unknowingly duplicate work by re-building...

Requirements Models: The What, When, and Why

Gathering requirements is a first step in any project. Using those requirements to drive the design and development of an automated system often...

Riding the IIS Adoption Wave

Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) releases generally follow the same pattern. Use this knowledge to form a migration plan for IIS...

Seven Pitfalls on the Voyage to Agile

IT leaders looking to go agile must test the waters before diving in. Implemented poorly, agile methods not only fail to deliver on expected...

Systems Integration Testing Ensures Applications Cooperate

Application testing is not complete without confirming that the newly developed system works with existing enterprise systems. Ensure system...

System Testing Ensures Successful Component Integration

Clients expect a fully functional system at the end of the development cycle. Ensure that the quality of the whole system is maintained as its parts...

The Politics of Collecting Business Requirements

In application procurement or development, requirements management encompasses all of the tasks that go into the feasibility, scoping, and definition...

Time-boxed Projects: Manage Requirements Ruthlessly

IT leaders must manage requirements of time-boxed projects. Ruthlessly prioritize project requirements to achieve desirable results within the...

Use Cases: The Primer

Enterprise applications must meet the needs and requirements of their user population. Use Cases are a proven and effective technique for organizing...

IT’s Role in Corporate Web Site Design

When designing the corporate Web site, IT brings a unique set of skills and expertise to the table. Follow these recommendations to ensure successful...

Top Five Myths of Application Development

Application development is a well-researched area and there are no shortages of articles, books or blogs written about it. Yet, even the brightest...

Successfully make the key technology acquisition decisions for your organization. Choose the right products and negotiate the best deal.

Compare - Product Comparison

Eclipse Casts a Long Shadow over Sun's NetBeans

Eclipse is touted as being the best of both worlds: a good IDE and a good development framework. It is currently the most popular Java IDE on the...

Java and .NET: Third-Party Applications Are Part of the Equation

Java has a wide variety of third-party applications for the JEE application platform. These third-party applications can – in some situations –...

Will Silverlight Outshine Flash?

Microsoft’s recent move into the Rich Internet Application (RIA) space with Silverlight has generated a lot of buzz and comparisons, but often with...

Evaluate - Product Evaluation

Google Gadgets Expand the Toolkits of Web Developers

Google Gadgets have leapt from their former home on end-users' Google homepages and Google Desktops and can now be added to regular Web pages....

Oracle Positioned to Help Drive BI 3.0

The acquisition of Hyperion positions Oracle to lead the Business Intelligence (BI) 3.0 charge for large and medium implementations. This can render...

Should You Move to Apache 2.2.x?

Apache 2.2 offers significant benefits and should become the default choice on new Web servers. Avoid upgrading to Apache 2.2 until application needs...

Select - Selection Advice

Agile Development Match-Making: Pick the Right Flavor

Adoption of agile methods can be a difficult process. IT leaders must match company needs with agile method capabilities to increase the success of...

Getting to the Guts of Source Control Software

Source control software – also called Software Configuration Management (SCM) software – is crucial to every application development environment....

Java and .NET: Core Differences Make Little Difference

IT decision makers are still trying to decide between the Java and .NET platforms for their application development environments. While these...

Online Tool Evaluates Agile Methods

Adoption of agile methods can be a difficult process. IT leaders must match company needs and agile method capabilities to find the best methodology...

Optimize your IT department for maximum efficiency and productivity.

Implement - Implement & Integrate

Application Test Strategy Template
Application Test Strategy Template

The test strategy template provides IT managers with a tool to document a comprehensive testing plan that focuses on testing scope, schedule, resources, defect tracking methods, and functional metrics.

Cost/Benefit Analysis Tool
Cost/Benefit Analysis Tool

An important tool in a feasibility study or project assessment report is a Cost/Benefit Analysis. Use this tool to help provide deeper insight to pros and cons of the project options under consideration.

Enterprise Service Bus Drives a Solid SOA
Enterprise Service Bus Drives a Solid SOA

Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) can provide solid, near-term benefits to enterprises if they invest in the right messaging technologies. IT executives should build their SOA deployment using ESB to gain the benefits of security, scalability, and reliability.

Feasibility Study Template
Feasibility Study Template

A feasibility study is an invaluable tool that helps companies assess the level of risk the company faces when selecting certain IT projects. Creating a feasibility study is a daunting task for newcomers, and angst-ridden for companies that lack documentation standards. Use this template to reduce documentation preparation woes, and create a standard for the company.

Five Fundamentals of a Successful Application Test Strategy
Five Fundamentals of a Successful Application Test Strategy

A test strategy is required to achieve thorough and successful application testing. Consider testing scope, schedule, resources, defect tracking methods, and functional metrics when developing an application test strategy.

Quality Assurance Checklist for Feasibility Studies
Quality Assurance Checklist for Feasibility Studies

Creating a feasibility study is a daunting task for newcomers and for companies that lack experience in developing feasibility studies. Use this checklist as part of a quality assurance process to ensure the feasibility study document meets existing documentation quality standards.

A Framework for Adopting Agile Development Methods

Strict guidelines to implement agile software development do not exist. Agile methods alone do not provide sure-fire recipes for agile software...

Ensure User Satisfaction with User Acceptance Testing

User satisfaction with an application is crucial to its success. Confirm that the requirements implementation adequately meets end-user expectations...

IIS 7 Migration: More than Meets the Eye

The migration to IIS 7 may necessitate a chain-reaction of software upgrades and process updates. Map the software dependencies that will be impacted...

Keep a Release Configuration Record

Release management is the process by which new applications or modifications to existing ones are moved into the production environment.

Prepare Now for IIS 7.0

Microsoft's Internet Information Services (IIS) 7 takes some moves from Apache's playbook. Featuring modular installation, transferable configuration...

Release Management: Seven Steps to Implementation

A release management process ensures that changes released into the production environment are stable. Application changes are not released directly...

Operate - Operate & Optimize

Usability Testing Case Study: Six Lessons Learned

Recently a client conducted usability testing on a new Web application. The tight deadline, limited resources, and high expectations for a new Web...

Check Your Web Site's Compliance

Improving Web site accessibility and usability is an important but often challenging task for both public and private sector organizations. Using...

Ensure Code Executes as Intended with Unit Testing

Unit testing focuses on getting developers to test application code as it is developed. Understand how to ensure code does what is expected with this...

Five Steps to Transition App Use Cases to Test Cases

QA testers rely on test cases that are both detailed and easy to follow in order to accomplish application testing successfully. Take advantage of...

Functional Testing Ensures Correct Requirements Implementation

An application that does not perform in the way that stakeholders expect is considered a failure – and rightfully so. Functional testing early in the...

Release Management: Is It Right for the Small Enterprise?

There are few IT departments that can release code directly into the production environment without problems. Unless a development team is small,...

Save Money: Cut the Number of Logical Application Environments

Vendors and consultants often recommend that their customers have multiple logical environments (i.e. development, test, training, etc) to properly...

Test Lean and Mean with Six Software Testing Goals

IT managers who strive to improve the functional quality of software need only concern themselves with six primary testing goals. To meet these...

Usability Testing on the Cheap

Usability testing has proven to be effective regardless of the formality of the process. Do not omit usability testing because of its cost; instead,...

Web Design and Usability Guidelines from the Gurus

The US Department of Health and Human Services has released the 2006 edition of Research-Based Web Design and Usability Guidelines. This book is a...

Manage - Management & Staffing

A Site Designed for Software Architect Success

Software architects need a blend of skills covering technology, design, consulting, organizational politics, strategy and leadership. They work with...

Reconcile Agile Development with Project Management Best Practices

As agile software development methods increase in use, confusion arises due to the apparent mismatch between underlying project management principles...

Seven Best Practices of Agile Projects

Enterprises are moving towards agile software development methods to enhance productivity and project quality. Agile projects must adhere to agility...