Service-oriented architectures are much different than our traditional siloed
applications. SOAs span multiple tiers and multiple applications, their
development lifecycles are multi-staged and highly iterative, and there are
multiple parties impacted by both internal and perhaps external changes to
the organization.
Delivering a secure, reliable, compliant SOA, given these complexities,
requires a different approach to quality. In a complex system, quality
measures must permeate every aspect to translate into a quality deliverable.
Architecture & Interface Consistency
For example, the architecture and interface must adhere to certain policies
and standards to remain consistent across the organization. To achieve this
consistency, an organization must drive the standardization and enforcement
of such policies and standards during design and development. Once a
defin... (more)
Traditional hardware and OS virtualization technology reduce software
development/testing infrastructure costs and increase access to constrained
systems. Yet, it's not always feasible to leverage hardware or OS
virtualization for many large systems such as mainframes and ERPs. More
pointedly, configuring and maintaining the environment and data needed to
support development and test efforts still requires considerable time and
resources. As a result, keeping a complex staged environment in synch with
today's constantly-evolving Agile projects is a time-consuming, never-ending
... (more)
One of the business benefits organizations strive to achieve by implementing
a service-oriented architecture (SOA) or in utilizing Web services is the
opportunity to reuse business components. Asset reuse is one of the core
drivers of the SOA or Web service ROI calculation. Although leveraging the
service concept provides an avenue for application consolidation and reuse,
these same efficiencies also introduce a distinct level of business risk.
For example, in an architecture where multiple distributed applications
provide a business with a specific operation, should a single appl... (more)
Parasoft, a leading provider of Automated Error Prevention (AEP) software
solutions, recently had the opportunity to work closely with leading game
development organizations. Since game development differs from "standard"
development, we worked with game development organizations to develop
technical and process improvement strategies to suit the industry's unique
development needs. This article explores the challenges of developing
software for the game development industry, and describes the strategies used
to overcome them. The challenges and strategies discussed apply not onl... (more)