Tight Synchro RTUL Mina des NE /— Well managed. ; tools, life-cycle processes, per sonnel and man: " agement all con- tribute to the šucosss oj ne 'The RAD methodology is s based on the iaLsEj used by enterprises that. have already achieved fast applications development. RAD results are often im- pressive, with some achievements of more than 200 function points per per- son-month. 'The most successful tech: nigues used by these organizations were synthesized to form the basis for the /' RAD methodology, šiaslisiii in | my pre-: ' vious columns. Achieving high speed. golo pren is | a complex process. Although many com- panies were very successful in achieving ; fast. development, no enterprise was do- ing t. Many lacked criti-" cal elements of the RAD life-cycle pro- cess. Some attempts at: fast development weren't, productive because inadeguate |. computer-aided software engineering (CASE) tools were used. And some mis- fired due to lack of user commitment. Still other projects didn't employ end users in the joint reguirements planning / (JRP) and joint applications design (JAD) workshops. Some projects lacked " a high-level executive owner to "grease the wheels," while others didn't involve ' users in the evolution of the prototypes. Some projects slipped because of inade- guate cutover planning; others didnt emphasize guality. One of the most powerful o prvacles to fast development is to incorporate |. technigues for reusable design. The ma-': jority of the organizations studied, how-'- ever, weren't doing this. And some that were lacked an integrated code genera- |. tor; others didn't have a CASE reposi: tory. Reusability has a long-term payoft, giving steadily better results as more re- usable items are built. |»: Information-systems (IS) managers Can marinie produciviiy by deni. ing and combining all of the develop- ' ment technigues that have demonstrat- ed high productivity. EEA metodi me lo do te me basi summarizes the technigues that have ij proven to be most effective. ' bitne Integrated CASE (1-CASE) tool sets are used in the early phases of the RAD life- cycle process to capture user lj talne teki See ne LJ CASE tools to expand the prototype sys- guires a graphically oriented I'CASE " tool set that integrates data-modeling, process-modeling, system-design, ' prototyping, pin screen: rpainting, dialogue '! 4 oniz aii report generation, database- s generation, efficient codegeneratlori and testing tools. ! Specifications for an application are | stored in an I-CASE repository.that's , available on-line to all developers. A de- V- siga analyzer ensures that specifications x: !' stored in the ICASE repository are ana- Ed automatically for logical complete- less, consistency and correctness.' V CASE developers prosper most when de'''(-: they use I-CASE tool sets that generate V all the'code for an application from » pe specifications stored in the I-CASE re- " pository. RAD encourages the use of a desktop development environment, which gives the fastest possible cycle of K nei Key to High-Speed Development Slen All usera must knovi their role in the development; life cycle. The most knowledgeable users must participate in the reguirements-planning and user-design workshops, which are conducted during the early phases of " the RAD life cycle; appropriate end us- ers should be selected to review the pro- totypes as the system evolves; and users and management must be highly moti- vated and enthusiastic about the devel- opment, process, Social disruption and the effects of cultural change can be minimized by ensuring that planning and education for job changes are done early in the life cycle. The IS project manager must under- Factors Contributing to Success With Rapid Application Development Methodology optimize! for high-speed development Innovative management technigues iu Integrated CASE tools k Reusable designs ; ii Small, highly motivated teams Development within a time box Measurement ot productivity End-user commitment Desktop development environment. | In order for complex projects to succeed, development. V activities need to be synchronized. One of the best approach- ie es No io: to reuse effective technigues. peč Reke and testing. Several " commercially available I-GASE tool sets can generate code for an application on . the desktop, eliminating the expense of obrne o rei m oe MM KD tij important to have a high-level ex- ' " ecutive owner responsible for the sys- » tem who is financially committed to it //, and is determined to move fast, The ex: ' ecutive owner must be briefed on the ' | events and timetable of the RAD life cy- ' ele. He or she must ensure that the us- ers want the system and are committed V to helping establish its functions and de- ia stand the RAD life cycle and, if possible, have prior experience with it. The project manager must also guide others > in the correct use of the methodology. / a mainframe code generator. A code op- . 'The JAD leader organizes and con- ducts the user JRP and JAD workshops. This person, by doing these tasks contin- uously, will build up a high level of expertise,which is critical to consistent. oe! with RAD, e construction, or SWAT (special- ists with advanced tools), teams should be small, highly trained and skilled, with a powerful [CASE tool set. They should be able to build systems ra; pidly from the bej output of the JAD work: FFRL 9, 1990 shops. A person skilled in data modeling can build or validate both the data mod- el used and the coordinating model for parallel development. Construction teams should be moti- vated by a sense of pride to achieve the RAD objectives. The RAD methodology, ideally repre- sented in hyperdocument form on each developer's PC, should give guidelines— and warnings of pitfalls—for each stage. The life cycle and methodology should be customized to adapt it to specific de- velopment practices and to make the best use of the tool sets selected. The life cycle should have the follow- ing phases: reguirements planning, user design (these may be combined), con- struction and cutover. The reguirements-planning phase should incorporate a user JRP work- shop. The user design phase should in- clude one or more user JAD workshops, using IECASE tool sets and prototyping technigues. The design specifications de- veloped in this phase should be stored in the repository of an IECASE tool set so that these specifications can be used directly in the construction phase, where the design is defined in detail and used.to drive a code generator. The planning and preparation for the cut- over phase should proceed in tandem with the other development phases. Obtaining High Ouality High guality can be obtained if all de- sign specifications and procedural code for the system are defined with the I- CASE tool and stored in the I-CASE re- pository, so the tool set can check their integrity and consisteney. Hand-drawn diagrams and English text of traditional specifications should be avoided because a computer cannot. check them and they are usually full of errors. Specifications and design should be created in user workshops. This is faster than the traditional process of specifica- tion writing by analysts, and it meets users' needs much better. Wherever pos: sible, documentation should be printed from the 1-CASE tool set. Some tools generate development. workbooks. Standards and guidelines for usability are also necessary. A person with skill in this area should check the evolving system for these gualities. 'The use of these technigues, within the framework of the RAD life cycle, will result in consistent improvements in software-development productivity. Next week, Fl begin a series of arti- eles on reverse engineering, a new set of technigues that, attempts to convert data definitions and procedural code into higher-level design specifications. B The concepts embodied in RAD are de- seribed in a new volume in the James Martin Report Sertes. For more infor- mation on this volume, call (800) 242- - 1240. For information on seminars, conžact (in the United States and Can.. ada) Technology Transfer Institute, 741 10th St, Santa Monica, Calif. 90402 (213) 394-8305. In Europe, con- tact Savant, 2 New St., Carnforth, Lancs, LA5 9BX United Kingdom (0524) 734 505.