Application Lifecycle Management

Most organizations become leaders in their industry by differentiating themselves from their competitors. Often, this is done through software systems that are unique or customized to provide solutions that greatly improve internal processes or that externally offer their customers “killer” features that they cannot do without.  This custom software normally gives companies a unique differentiation over their competitors.

Pain and Problem

Many organizations struggle with software development.  The software that differentiates them is often very complex and hard to maintain. Organizations that don’t successfully put an application lifecycle management (ALM) strategy in place often lose that edge as the software becomes older and harder to manage, especially with their ever changing business. Organizations that do implement an ALM strategy tend to be more agile and adaptive to change. Instead of spending their time maintaining current software, organizations are freed up to innovate and create even more differentiating features that cement them as the market leader.

Resolution and Fit

The MPS Partners solution will help define the tools, the process, and the organizational changes needed to implement a successful ALM strategy.

Application Lifecycle Management is not just a software design lifecycle (SDLC) process. It is a larger strategy that involves governance, development, quality, and operations. A successful strategy lets all of these teams work together with continuous and actionable feedback. The ALM platform serves as a hub between all these groups, improving collaboration and keeping everyone on the same page. In fact modern ALM platforms can provide:

• Collaboration through Integration covering all roles
• Timely and actionable feedback which reduces waste
• Target the right tools for the job (IDE, Office, browser, specialized…)
• Transparent agile processes

An ALM strategy also must address many functions of the organization. Requirements definition is hugely important to getting the right features implemented in the way the analysts require. Build management with automated unit tests allows for continuous integration and helps reduce the urge to avoid changing things in fear of breaking other features. Version controls protects your investments as well as makes the team more efficient in collaboration. Bug Tracking allows issues to be captured and resolved quickly, capturing enough information to help the teams resolve the issue. Test case management helps the quality organize, automate, and repeat tests easily. Dashboards and reports give the whole team a view of what is going on with the product. Lastly, project and task management help keep everyone on track with automated processes that help the team from skipping steps.

Almost all organizations struggle with software development and the people and processes involved. This engagement will help define the tools, the process, and the organizational changes needed to implement a successful ALM strategy. MPS Partners can help your organization define their Application Lifecycle Management strategy and give you a chance to focus your team on innovation.

Envisioning
• Introduce ALM goals and objectives
• High Level Review SDLC, Requirements Gathering, Testing , and Project Governance practices
• ALM Maturity Self Assessment (Survey)
• Discussion of current lifecycle management challenges
• Project Walkthroughs:
• 1 successful
• 1 challenging
• Proposed ALM Process Definition
• High Level overview of Microsoft ALM Suite

Roadmap
• Set or confirm goals and objectives
• Detailed Review SDLC, Requirements Gathering, Testing , and Project Governance practices
• Validation of ALM Maturity Assessment
• Discussion of Roles and Responsibilities
• Selection of ALM capabilities to implement
• Mapping of ALM capabilities to Microsoft Suite
• Long term roadmap and planning of ALM suite
• Planning of pilot/proof implementation

Proof
• ALM Bootcamp for key participants
• Walkthrough of Mock ALM scenario
• Execution of time-boxed Pilot Project using ALM suite
• Refined Roadmap

COE
• Adoption Plan
• Organizational Changes
• Process Changes
• Technology Changes
• Platform Configuration
• Implement ALM Suite customizations
• End user training
• Knowledge Transfer