A Software Dilemma: From Idea to Enterprise

Today’s most successful enterprise applications were once nothing more than an idea in someone’s head. While many of these applications are planned and budgeted from the beginning, still quite a few applications begin their lives as nothing more than a single-developer experiment with no particular formal design or future in mind. After all, innovation doesn’t always wait around for a plan and a big budget.

Before long, the application grows and becomes too unwieldy for a single developer. At this point, a group of developers project their own ideas and visions onto the product, thereby resulting in a mixed bag of features which are deployed to users first on a test basis and later sold on the open market. Customers begin paying money for the application. By all accounts, the application is “successful.” Or is it?

Sooner or later, the shortcuts, bad single-developer habits, and ad-hoc development practices that once enabled rapid development can quickly turn into obstacles to delivering a quality product. Winging it may have worked previously, but now there are customers, expectations, and money on the line. Suddenly, it becomes obvious that the development strategy is missing some key ingredients. Where are the requirements and design? Where’s the test plan? Where’s the quality control? Is there a well-defined build process? What about user experience? Are the assemblies properly signed and validated? Does there exist an issue tracking system and a process for integrating support and development, or does support actually mean a group of developers putting out fires?

Our experience shows that many software-producing organizations, no matter how capable, routinely find themselves in less-than-ideal situations such as these. As can be seen above, the circumstances that give rise to such gross deficiencies are not necessarily attributable to incompetence or failure, but are rather unavoidable byproducts of garage-style innovation. Who can argue with that? Nevertheless, there are problems with the development process that need to be rectified.

Prolifogy works with its clients to establish methods and practices that work specifically for the client’s existing software development process. From choosing the right version control system, to adopting a design methodology, to recommending life cycle management tools, to building a deployment strategy, and everything in between, Prolifogy’s world-recognized experts in software have the knowledge, energy, and hands-on experience to incorporate best practices into the workflow and streamline the development process for teams of any shape or size. These services do not have to break the bank, either.

For additional information on how we can help your organization overcome the trials and tribulations of explosive software product growth, please call us at (855)-PROLIFOGY or contact us on the web.