The creation of software for businesses involves more than just programming alone. Development of efficient software involves ongoing planning, testing, implementation, and maintenance.
When there is no good governance involved, software development processes may be put at risk due to delayed timelines, improper scope control, and inadequate quality assurance. Learning more about application lifecycle management (ALM) can be useful in managing the entire lifecycle of the software application.
Basic Information: What is ALM?
Application Lifecycle Management is a combination of people, processes and technology that governs a digital product from the very beginning till the end of its lifecycle.
In contrast with traditional software development, which mainly takes care of the programming stage, ALM is responsible for the whole operational life span of software. The three major elements of ALM include:
- Governance – Strategic goal setting, resource allocation, and compliance throughout the entire project.
- Development – The execution of the design, development, build, and test stages.
- Operations – Deployment, performance management, and user support after deployment.
Stages of the ALM Process
A good development workflow involves proper coordination through five stages:
- Requirement Management: The product team specifies the user requirements, the scope of the project, and the goals of the business.
- Design and Development: Engineers develop architecture according to the requirements using code to build different pieces together.
- Testing and Quality Assurance (QA): Different teams test the application and check if there are any bugs or security issues present in it.
- Deployment and Operations: Software updates are deployed in the production environment via a continuous delivery process.
- Maintenance and Governance: IT teams monitor the performance of the application, fix any security issues, collect user feedback, and retire outdated software.
The Importance of ALM in Today’s Environment
The adoption of software lifecycle tools changes the way cross-functional teams create modern applications.
- Improved collaboration: It helps eliminate the disconnect between the business analyst, software developer, and IT operations specialist.
- Time to market: Automation of testing and integration helps in speeding up the deployment process without causing manual errors.
- Better Quality & Security: Early detection of vulnerabilities eliminates future bugs and maintains the level of security across all the software applications.
- Project visibility: Real-time dashboard helps in tracking updates, bugs, and resources required for complex projects.
Conclusion
Software application management requires comprehensive visibility right from the start until its retirement. Through ALM principles, one can ensure that the software project is in line with the business objectives and provides high quality.
