; EDEN AA ONE ANI o ler io

Pace 86

This is the last
of a series on
IBM'S recently
announced, Re-
pository, a sig-
naficant compo-
nent of its ap-
plications-devel-
opment strategy
Jor the 1990s.

'The adoption
of a standard re-
pository for de-
sign information
is vital to a suc-
cessful strategy
for computer-aided software engineering
(CASE) for both end users and vendors:
In accepting a repository standard, users
of compliant CASE tools will be able to
share design specifications, while GASE
vendors will be allowed to compete in
an open environment, Its that simple.

The introduction of the Application
Development (AD)/Cycle by IBM clari-
fies many of the issues in defining a
strategy for CASE. Third-party vendors
of CASE tools now can decide whether
or not to adopt the de facto standard
for design specifications defined by IBM.
Users of CASE tools also can decide
whether to limit their purchase of CASE
tools to those compliant with the pub-
lished standard. Still, there are other is-
sues relevant to the implementation of a
successful CASE strategy. These include
support. of top management, selection of
highly integrated CASE tools, use of a
methodology optimized for high-speed
development, and issues related to the
training, education and motivation of
the development staff.

A ehief objective of a CASE strategy
is a substantial boost in the productivity
of the applications-development process.
As shown in the figure, a large improve-
ment in productivity depends on four
factors (depicted as [our tall pyramids):
igols, methodology, personnel and man-
agement. Correct judgments in all of
hese areas must be made to be success-
ful in CASE. The management issues
and the people issues are especially crit-

ical. There are many examples of CASE
strategies that have failed due to a lack
o aHention to these issues in making

the transition to a new development en-

— The announcement. of the IBM Reposi-
Vory provides information-systems IS):

development. technigues will reduce
Cosls and increase iveness
implementing prdi o p
Organizations planning for CASE
should use di: technigues,
such as entity-relationship as
well as data-modeling and process-mod-
eling technigues. Above all, they should
plan to use the most powerful develop-
ment methodologies available, such as
information engineering, to build the

PO WEEKNAPPLIGATION DEVELOPMENT
APPLIED INTELLIGENCE |

strategic applications of the 19905, In-
formation engineering is a methodology
(hat was specifically designed to sup-
port the development of the complex,

mission-critical applications reguired for

the computerized company of the
future.

Managers need to learn how to imple-
ment new business thrusts faster than
their competition through the use o£
high-end, integrated CASE tools and
methodologies that are optimized for

high-speed development. A large part of

the success of high:-speed development

depends on building an infrastructure. It

is possible to develop applications on a
project-by-project basis with no infra-

IBM's Repository Is Key to a Successful CASE Strategy

ticulate a strategy for CASE. The man:
ager must understand the fast applica-
tion life čycle and reusability, and be —
able to select CASE tools that meet the
evolving needs of the organization.

It is important to select tools that are
highly integrated and that support the
IBM Repository standard. Unfortunately,
the IBM Repository is not available;
even in June 1990, it will still be a frag-
ment of what is available now in the re-
positories of highly integrated CASE
tools from third-party vendors. 'The re-
positories in these tools are being rapid-
Iy brought into compliance with IBM's
Repository.

Some of them are also supported by

— Fout Essential Aspects |
Of Fast Applicatioi Development —

| High-Speed
Applicatioti Developmetit

Tralned
People

Forimblized,

, (Preclse

Methotlology
HM.

With a repository standard, users of compliant CASE tools
will be able to share design specifications, while CASE
vendors will be able to compete in an open environment.

structure at all, but development will be

much faster if resources are devoted to
an infrastructure that
a high level of i Roni ječe
zadi - em uni ue
achieve fast developmeni i
Sea t, the.
odology zom resemble a finely

clock, eh all
perfectly, If any of the fo man meh

pment will not poi
rapid pace, Will not proceed ata
An important aspect o£ strateg
CASE is selection of the ie sij

The manager can be deseril
vice president of CAS; BA

clearly understands the eriti

factors of the Organization ad sa ar-

AI

O Ž';..ŽŽ EEA

very detailed methodologies, such as the
Information Engineering Methodology
from James Martin Associates.

Productivity improvements of two to
three times over conventional tech:
nigues are guite achievable with high-
end, integrated CASE tools, including
the effort devoted to extensive front-end
design activities. Such improvements do
not reguire sophisticated development
aje

ere are many examples of corpora-

ira that have improved productivity
A tor of 10, and many of these do
ton en a sthodologies such as informa-

rather, they were the
result of single Project, development. It

OOCTOBER 23, 1989

is much easier to AK zane :
uic] with single project development
OZENU iswiti Mreaaaen engineering,
because information engineering re-
guires approximately two to three years
to build the infrastructure. However,
once it is in place, it is possible to build
applications fast consistently.

To effectively monitor productivity, it
must, be consistently measured, Top
management should be informed that a
metrics program is being put in place
and that, measurements of productivity
will be reported to them on a regular
basis. This may alarm some personnel
because it gives the CEO a means of
measuring the success of the IS depart-
ment. However, consistent, measurement
and reporting of productivity gains are
a powerful way of attracting and retain-
ing the interest of top management in a
CASE strategy.

Some CASE vendors are beginning to
provide metrics automatically from in- |
formation stored in the repository, but |
much more needs to be done. As thean- |
alyst creates design diagrams, the sys- |
tem can track the number of inputs, ;
outputs, inguiries, files, interfaces and 4
algorithms. These measurements can be |
expressed in the form of funetion šč G
points, which are a measure of the com: V
plexity of the module. As the design

progresses, the function-point estimate is Ci
refined. Before entering the construction TI
phase, a detailed function-point compu- »
tation is made, which can be combined

with other project-management informa- pi
tion to provide produectivity measure- bi
ments. All CASE vendors should provide 4
these metrics automatically. k
Choosing the Right Vendors i d

Another important step that organiza- |

tions can take now to prepare for the si
introduction of advanced applications- d
development environments such as

AD/Cyele is to select CASE vendors | u
who have committed to the common Re- s
pository standard. As of last week, 32 U

CASE vendors have pledged support for
IBM's AD/Cyele Repository.

lna suramary, the successful implemen-
tation of a CASE strategy relies on
many factors. Primary among these is
attracting the interest and support of
top management. Additional factors
leading to success include selection of a
highly integrated CASE tool and a meth- |
odology that is optimized for high-speed
development. Issues involving training,
motivating and educating the develop-
ment staff may be more important to |

the successful introduction of CASE
than technology issues. The management.
of cultural change within an organiza-
tion will be a major challenge for the
computerized company of the 19905. 8

To learn more about the subject of
these articles, please call The James
Martin Report, an information service
updated guarterly, at (800) 242-1240.
For injormation on seminars, please
contact (in the United States and Can-
ada) Technology Transfer Institute,
741 10th St, Santa Montca, Calif.
90402 (219) 394-8305. In Europe, con-
tact Savant, 2 New St., Carnforth,
Lancs., LA5 9BX United Kingdom
(0524) 734 505.
|

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