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.

Ensure Adequate Security for Home-Grown Applications
Ensure Adequate Security for Home-Grown Applications

If in-house developed applications are not secured as well as they could be, achieving a level of comfort with enterprise risk will be difficult. Enterprises that employ dedicated security staff should be leveraging this expertise to improve application security, and they should be doing it far earlier on average than they currently do.

SOX and ITIL Dominate Trends in IT Compliance
SOX and ITIL Dominate Trends in IT Compliance

Compliance remains a key concern for many IT managers. Frameworks like ITIL and COBIT are very popular, but the NIST 800 guidelines and ISO 17799/27002 may be more beneficial. Regardless of the approach, IT leadership is sacrificed when violations occur.

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...

Micro Focus Captures Compuware QA Assets and Bids for Borland

Micro Focus has bought the quality assurance (QA) division of Compuware and bid for the QA and application lifecycle management (ALM) developer...

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.

Essentials of Agile Software Development
Essentials of Agile Software Development

Agile software development has become a major catch phrase over the last several years. Such development concepts can provide significant business value, but without clear understanding of the processes, they can also deliver major failures. Knowing what is and is not critical to an agile software development environment is essential to moving forward successfully.

Requirements Gathering: What Every IT Manager Needs to Know
Requirements Gathering: What Every IT Manager Needs to Know

Requirements gathering is a critical part of custom software development and the procurement of commercial applications. Poor requirements gathering can lead to costly rework, expensive workarounds, and/or poor purchasing decisions. Learn the fundamentals of the requirements gathering process to build or purchase an application that fits business needs.

Note to Web App Tester: Automate Performance Testing
Note to Web App Tester: Automate Performance Testing

Slow Web applications frustrate customers, reduce employee productivity, and ultimately cost the enterprise money. Although the complexity of modern applications often makes pinpointing performance bottlenecks difficult, automated performance testing can help application developers and network engineers avoid many performance irregularities. Understand the benefits, review the drawbacks, and...

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...

Application Lifecycle Management 2.0

With the increasing complexity of software development in terms of Application Lifecycle Management (ALM), security, and globally distributed...

Making Sense of the SOA Hype for SMEs

Amidst all the hype concerning Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) for large organizations, small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) seem to have been...

Automate Software Testing for Efficiency Gains

Automated software testing tools can significantly reduce the amount of time spent testing code in comparison to traditional manual methods. Other...

Trends and Issues in Automated Functional Testing

Automated functional testing tools have become increasingly popular for quality assurance (QA) in software development to enhance efficiency in...

IBM Introduces a Jazzed Up Rational Suite

IBM’s Rational Software Division recently held its 2008 Software Development Conference. Key announcements included significant Jazz platform...

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.

A Solution Specification Simplifies Software Selection
A Solution Specification Simplifies Software Selection

The process of selecting an enterprise software solution is complicated. Requirements are messy and RFP preparation is complicated and political. The effective use of a solution specification eases the process.

Rich Internet Applications: What's the Business Case?
Rich Internet Applications: What's the Business Case?

Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) blend the benefits of instant Web access to centralized data with a user experience that is both easy to use and cool to watch. But just because they're cool, doesn't mean that they're always a good investment. Evaluate the business case for RIAs and learn key design factors that ensure their success.

ROI Calculator for Employee-Facing RIAs
ROI Calculator for Employee-Facing RIAs

Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) blend the benefit of instant Web access to centralized data with a user experience that is both efficient and easy to use. This combination offers attractive ROI for high-volume computer-supported employee tasks. Use this ROI calculator to determine if RIAs are a good development investment in the enterprise.

ROI Calculator for Customer-Facing RIAs
ROI Calculator for Customer-Facing RIAs

Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) blend the benefit of instant Web access to centralized data with a user experience that is both easy to use and cool to watch. This combination offers attractive ROI, especially for customer-facing applications in the B2C or B2B space. Use this ROI calculator to determine if RIAs are a good development investment.

User Experience Engineering: Cost Effective User Satisfaction
User Experience Engineering: Cost Effective User Satisfaction

User experience engineering (UXE) ensures that custom software is not only useful, but also effective, efficient, and easy to learn. While end users appreciate a friendly UI, the big payoff goes to the enterprise: an ROI of at least two dollars for every dollar spent is typical, making user experience engineering a good investment for any development organization.

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.

The Data Integration Strategy Field Guide
The Data Integration Strategy Field Guide

In the age of terabytes, effective data management is imperative to business success. Turn to data integration solutions to provide stakeholders, both internal and external, with a unified view of enterprise information in preparation for the trends that are shaping the coming future of IT.

User Experience ROI for Customer-Facing Sites: Spend a Buck, Make Two
User Experience ROI for Customer-Facing Sites: Spend a Buck, Make Two

Customer-facing Web sites and applications are critical in creating a good first impression, yet they often drive customers away by being hard to navigate and difficult to use. User experience engineering (UXE) can solve this problem and make a significant contribution to corporate profits. Evaluate the customer-facing UXE business case, learn how to calculate its ROI, and be ready to incorporate...

Customer-Facing User Experience ROI Calculator
Customer-Facing User Experience ROI Calculator

User experience engineering (UXE) for customer-facing Web sites can turn site visitors into customers and that keep on buying through the Web channel. Calculate the return on an investment in UXE using this ROI calculator.

User Experience ROI for Employee-Facing Apps: Spend a Buck, Save Two
User Experience ROI for Employee-Facing Apps: Spend a Buck, Save Two

User friendly employee-facing applications greatly improve employee productivity while reducing training, support, and maintenance costs. Thus, user experience engineering (UXE) can make a significant contribution to corporate cost reduction. Evaluate the employee-facing UXE business case, learn how to calculate its ROI, and be ready to incorporate UXE into the next development project.

Employee-Facing User Experience ROI Calculator
Employee-Facing User Experience ROI Calculator

Since so much work in the modern enterprise is computer mediated, employee-facing Web sites and applications have a huge influence on employee productivity. User experience engineering (UXE) can improve the usability of internal sites and applications, reducing training, support, and maintenance costs. Calculate the return on an investment in UXE using this ROI calculator.

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 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...

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...

Bite-Sizing Project Management

Time-boxing is a time management technique: the art of breaking down a project into component segments, each with its own budget and deadline. Use...

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...

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...

Popular Project Management Methodologies

Selecting the best project management methodology is an important decision for any organization. Adopting the wrong method can be disastrous for...

The Importance of Conducting a Post Implementation Review

A post implementation review is a critical element of closing and wrapping up a project. Close projects properly; conduct a post implementation...

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...

Use Rapid Code Inspection Checklists to Zap Bugs Early

Code inspection is a powerful technique for identifying code defects early in the development cycle when they are inexpensive to remove. Checklists...

Improve Your Software Testing With Code Coverage Analysis

IT does not often know how much of the source code for deployed systems has been tested. This causes nasty surprises when users execute parts of the...

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

Compare - Product Comparison

Vendor Landscape: Automated Functional Testing Saves Time and Boosts Quality
Vendor Landscape: Automated Functional Testing Saves Time and Boosts Quality

Recently refreshed automated functional software testing tools from HP, IBM, Borland, Compuware, and Seapine provide significant improvements in usability, advanced features, and tool integration. Use this vendor landscape to cut through vendor hype and identify the products that can shrink testing time and boost software quality.

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

HP Releases QuickTest Professional 10.0 for Automated Functional Testing
HP Releases QuickTest Professional 10.0 for Automated Functional Testing

Automated functional testing tools can save testers time, bring software to production earlier, and raise the software quality bar. However, sorting through vendor claims and finding the right tool for the QA team can be difficult. Innovative features in the new release of HP QuickTest Professional 10.0 and HP's history as a market leader make it a product to consider. Evaluate this new offering...

Automate Functional Testing with IBM Rational Functional Tester
Automate Functional Testing with IBM Rational Functional Tester

Automated functional testing tools can save testers time, bring software to production earlier, and raise the software quality bar. However, sorting through vendor claims and finding the right tool for the QA team can be difficult. The robust scripting capabilities and multi-platform support of IBM's Rational Functional Tester make it a product to consider. Understand the Functional Tester...

Compuware TestPartner 6.2: A Collaborative Automated Testing Tool
Compuware TestPartner 6.2: A Collaborative Automated Testing Tool

Differentiating among automated testing tools can be complicated. With so many options on the market, decision makers can find it difficult to select a product that complements the QA team's testing processes. Use this research note to evaluate Compuware's automated functional testing solution, TestPartner, to help decide if it is a good fit for the QA team.

Borland Software SilkTest: Agile Automated Functional Testing
Borland Software SilkTest: Agile Automated Functional Testing

Finding an automated functional testing tool that suits the QA team's needs can be a confusing and complicated task. Sorting through vendors and product features quickly turns into a time consuming activity. Cut through the confusion and determine if Borland Software's SilkTest functional testing tool is a good fit for the QA team.

Seapine Software QA Wizard Pro: Automated Functional Testing for Small Enterprises
Seapine Software QA Wizard Pro: Automated Functional Testing for Small Enterprises

Automated testing tools can be difficult to evaluate. Buyers must sort through a sea of vendor offerings and features. This research note helps sort out the details and evaluate Seapine Software's QA Wizard Pro to determine if it is the right solution for the QA team.

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...

Danube’s ScrumWorks Pro: Works for Agile Product Management

As agile software development methods continue to gain popularity, so too does the software to support agile processes. Danube Technologies released...

Delphi for PHP Simplifies Web Application Development

CodeGear’s new release of Delphi for PHP 2.0 is a rapid application development tool worth evaluating for PHP scripting. Delphi for PHP 2.0 provides...

AccuRev 4.7: A Robust Tool to Simplify SCCM

Software change and configuration management (SCCM) tools provide development teams with a way to optimize processes and manage changes in code that...

Select - Selection Advice

Choosing a JavaScript Library: The Nine Most Popular Contenders
Choosing a JavaScript Library: The Nine Most Popular Contenders

As businesses increasingly embrace Web 2.0 technology, choosing the right JavaScript library becomes important. Learn about the strengths and weaknesses of the top nine no-charge JavaScript contenders in the lightweight, middleweight, and heavyweight classes. Then rank, explore, and test the core contenders to select a champion.

What to Look for in an Automated Functional Testing Tool
What to Look for in an Automated Functional Testing Tool

The selection of an automated testing tool is a complicated decision-making process. There are many competing tools to choose from that offer a confusing array of similar features. Decision makers must carefully and thoroughly research the available options to ensure that the selected product meets the QA team's needs. Cut through the automated testing hype and make the best choice for the QA...

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...

Choosing a JavaScript Library: The Seven Key Considerations

In the Web 2.0 world, JavaScript libraries are used to simplify the development of the browser-based user interfaces (UI) that jazz up Web sites and...

Yahoo! User Interface Library: Robust JavaScript for Web Development

The Yahoo! User Interface (YUI) Library is an open-source collection of UI controls and utilities written in JavaScript that stands out for its wide...

Your Web Analytics Soul Mate: A Vendor Comparison

Choosing a Web analytics tool requires a clear understanding of the role of analytics within the enterprise. Use this comparison between key...

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.

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.

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.

What Does an iPod Have in Common with a Contact Center?
What Does an iPod Have in Common with a Contact Center?

Improving agent-facing software usability is a key factor in the contact center productivity picture and provides significant financial payback. Take a lesson from the usability engineering process Apple uses to develop its products, including the phenomenally successful iPod. One financial institution did and found it significantly reduced call handle time and agent stress.

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.

Rapid Code Inspection Speeds Bug Discovery
Rapid Code Inspection Speeds Bug Discovery

Code inspection is a powerful technique that identifies code defects early in the development cycle when they are inexpensive to remove. Nonetheless, many development teams avoid code inspection because of the overhead involved in review meetings and defect tracking. Learn a rapid code inspection method that leverages collaborative technologies to glean maximum benefit at a minimum time...

Code Inspection Tracker
Code Inspection Tracker

Code inspection is a powerful technique for identifying code defects early in the development cycle when they are inexpensive to remove. Unfortunately, one major time sink with traditional code inspection involves the consolidation of information received from reviewers, often on paper. Use this Code Inspection Tracker to efficiently manage the code inspection information flow.

Caution! Automated Testing Ahead: Avoid Pitfalls and Reap Benefits
Caution! Automated Testing Ahead: Avoid Pitfalls and Reap Benefits

QA teams ready to implement an automated testing tool into the testing phase of the software development lifecycle often overlook important aspects that are critical to success. Avoid common implementation mistakes and manage expectations in order to reap the benefits of automated functional testing.

Application Management: Request Analysis
Application Management: Request Analysis

The framework for applications maintenance and change practices has been established. In this step of the program, you will be setting up a process for gathering, assessing, and accepting/denying change requests from users within the organization.

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...

Meet Business Requirements with User Acceptance Testing

UAT can increase customer satisfaction in the development of an application and validate that requirements have been met. Do not overlook this...

Elicitation Techniques Bring Requirements to the Surface

The identification of end-user and business needs is essential to choosing or developing the right software. However, stakeholders aren’t always...

Operate - Operate & Optimize

Making the Case for Automated Testing
Making the Case for Automated Testing

Testing an application is a critical task to validate code performance and software features. While most organizations understand the importance of testing, very few automate the testing process with the assistance of specialized tools. Trim down the software development lifecycle by accurately determining whether to test manually or automatically.

Automated Testing Tool ROI Calculator
Automated Testing Tool ROI Calculator

Investing in an automated testing tool can be a significant expense, but as it is used and reused, it can quickly become an asset. Use this ROI calculator to compare the cost of automated testing with the cost of manual testing, and determine if automated testing tools will be a viable solution in the organization.

Automated Testing Appropriateness Assessment Tool
Automated Testing Appropriateness Assessment Tool

Deciding whether to move the QA team to an automated testing environment requires a thorough evaluation. Careful consideration is critical to making the right choice and to realizing the full benefits of an automated testing tool if test automation is selected. Make sure that automation is right for the QA team, and that the team is ready for the switch by using this "Automated Testing...

ERP Virtualization: Drop Project TCO by 30%
ERP Virtualization: Drop Project TCO by 30%

Virtualizing the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) environment drives cost savings through server consolidation and improved development efficiencies. Increasing the ease and speed with which environments are recovered is a key enabler. Pursue virtualization for the development stack, but keep the production environment on physical hardware for at least another year.

Reduce ERP Costs with Virtualization
Reduce ERP Costs with Virtualization

Development costs are one of the primary culprits for the high cost of maintaining an ERP system. Control these costs by using virtualization as a key enabling technology.

Cost Cutting Podcast: Application Development
Cost Cutting Podcast: Application Development

Efficiently managing application development projects can be a challenge at the best of times. The cost-conscious and tactical advice in this podcast provides insight on how to develop a strategy to align app development with business-critical needs. Use this guidance to reach short, medium, and long-term cost-reduction targets, and save on the bottom line.

Reducing Cost-to-Serve: App Dev Services
Reducing Cost-to-Serve: App Dev Services

This research note provides techniques for cost reduction within the application development services area. The techniques are categorized according to time frame and are accompanied by potential pitfalls to help IT align the need to reduce costs with the need to meet business requirements.

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...