Different Approaches to an Integrated ALM
Integrated Application Lifecycle Management is one of the most sought-after aspects of software development process. Technologies are bringing in multiple advantages of Integrated ALM to real development as they are maturing in highly critical production systems. An organization today is missing out on some compelling benefits, it is not thinking about an integrated ALM.
In a development organization there are quite a few challenges to introduce and implement Integrated ALM successfully. Some of them are:
- Multi vendor tools use multiple technologies.
- The software being produced uses wide range of technologies.
- The tools use various data repositories.
- The tools are geographically distributed.
The different approaches to an Integrated ALM
Approach One: Point-to-point Integrated Multi Vendor Tools
Traditionally the individual vendors have tried to achieve modicum of Integrated ALM by first integrating their own ALM point tools and then integrating some selection of the popular point tools from other vendors. It is necessary to create integration between a particular pair of tools. Although to achieve the functionality and benefits, a point-to-point integration between most, if not every pair of tools is required. As the integration is often done between tools from two different vendors, it often becomes the users’ responsibility to create a workable integration using their own development resources.
Limitations of Point-to-point Integrated Multi Vendor Tools
- Complexity of combinations
A point-to-point integration between every pair of n tools requires n x (n-1) / 2 number of integrations. Because of the ad-hoc nature of these integrations, it becomes particularly complex to create and maintain each individual integration code between the pairs of tools.
- Handcrafted Integration Business Rules
Integration codes are custom made for particular pairs of tools, and it has maximum flexibility although maintenance becomes very cumbersome. Changes in the code mean a full cycle of development, test, and deployment cycle, and it therefore becomes impossible to implement even the smallest change quickly.
Some development groups are abandoning their custom point-to-point integration projects and large service companies with enough in-house software expertise and bandwidth are looking for a replacement of their handcrafted internal integration rats-nest architecture with a more sustainable and scalable solution.
Approach 2: Single Vendor Integrated ALM Tools
Large vendors are coming up with their own solutions to the Integrated ALM, Because of the problems faced by point-to-point integration architecture. Though their solutions vary in actual implementation, they can be grouped in the category of ‘single vendor solutions’. While these solutions also aim at including third party vendor tools, the current implementations on the market do not meet these needs.
The limitations of a single vendor integrated ALM tools approach are recapped below:
- Rip and Replace
Apart from the difficulty of economic justification of replacing existing tools by a single vendor tools, such a move results in retraining of the development team members in new tools, which may delay development projects unnecessarily.
- One Size Fits All
It is highly unlikely that built-in tools from a single vendor can serve the needs of a wide range of development groups. However, due to the very nature of the solutions, the users are forced to use these tools even when better and often less expensive (sometime free open source) tools are available and appropriate for their needs. Single vendor tool creates a technology with little or no chance of working together.
Approach 3: Multi Vendor Best of Breed Integrated ALM Tools by ALM Middleware
The concept of ALM middleware addresses all the Integrated ALM requirements squarely by taking a cue from the integration solutions in other industries. It also avoids all issues and pitfalls that occur in the other two approaches of point to point and single vendor integrations. The middleware technology is based on Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) architecture, which has some distinct advantages over any point-to-point integration architecture. These advantages are discussed below:
- Significantly simpler development
- Protect Investments
- Best Tools for Best Functions
- Flexibility of Integration Business Rules
- Analytics and Dashboards
- Flexibility of Integration Business Rules
In the above mentioned three approaches to integrated application lifecycle management, the method of ALM Middleware is the most suitable method for implementing Integrated ALM in organizations having or needing multiple vendor tools.
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