2 PAGE BO

This isthe
third in a series
of articles on
the recentliy an-
nounced, IBM
Repository, part
of IBM appli-
cations-develop-
ment strategy
Jor the 19905.

IBMs an:
nouncement of
AD/Cyele is
prompting many.
managers to re-
assess their ap-

plications-development strategies. But.
what is the significance of AD/Cycle,
and how will it change the development.
process? Will it provide an open applica-
tions-development, environment in which
tools from multiple vendors can share
design information in support of all
phases of the development life cycle?
What should a manager do to take max-
imum advantage of new development
environments, methodologjes and tools?

The details of the AD/Cycle announce-
ment provide a clearer view of how ap-

plications will be developed in the 1990s
in the IBM world. AD/Cycle provides
the architectural framework reguired to
build applications efficiently within Sys-
tems Application Architecture (SAA). '
Its based on a common repository used
to store design specifications in a stan-
dard format.

Applications-development tools that
comply with the standard Repository
format can operate in an open environ-
ment and can share design information.

This has important implications for
vendors of computer-aided software en-
gineering (CASE) tools. CASE tools will
no longer be based on proprietary, mu-
tually incompatible repositories of de-
sign information. Instead, all compliant
tools will follow a common definition of
the objects used to specify an applica-
tion; the tools will compete in offering
Users better ways to specify and manip-
ulate these objects in Support of the ap-
plications-development process,

The battle among vendors of applica-
Uions-development products will be
fought on the desktop, not; in the main:

krary to sy 'Cycle
and SAA are not nimed at GE

the traditional gos;

sofi tware-development, cycle tow
desktop-oriented eval meš da ;
JSAA, 5 an architecture, Supports the
distributed client-server environment
shown in the figure. In this environ-

IBM's AD/Cyele Will

id a:

ment, user-interactive processing is per-
formed on the PS/2, and application-spe-
cific data is accessed through data serv-
ers distributed throughout the network.
AD/Cyele is ideally suited to support
an applications-development environ"
ment, based on the client-server model, %
which consists of PS/2-oriented CASE
tools and distributed repositories of de-
sign information. Using CASE tools that,
are compliant with AD/Cycle, each
member of a design team interacts with
a personal repository used to store de-
sign information in a standard format.
Specifications from analysts are consoli-
dated in a departmental repository lo-
cated within the LAN. Corporate-level

AD/Cycle Moves Application Development
To the Desktop

PS/2s Generate Code;
Hosts Act as File Servers

AS/400

he h
L Executable Code

Bi kih ona

a Te support of disi
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design information. Compliant tools will follow a common, . preje ana ad ano s
definition of the objects used to specify an application, | "ss 8" organization is not using tne
ue i vl PERE s iB4 O več |

rated CASE toola. s, 0d late

Therefore, a stra! fe tions
development in te ISO
pol f h k

Bring OnaN ew

a

prything in busints is acrelerating. Tne "Nexen po iceV lot CASE.
metabolism is sing and — % for introducing ah A stra
growing more efficient due to'the wide: ,| compliant with SAA that are
,  Spread use of sei nu the in-' | | J and AD/Cycle.8
| Creasing speed of applications develop- | ' To m z
ment. As the windows o£ opportunity". i neg prik about meh sei afi/i|
Organizations that. take three |, Martin Report. an pa nee S.
je to build misslon-critical applica. [| updated guarterly, at ( 800) 24 Bi 2 fy a,
| with ant portu their competition € For information on seminars, plese
(ket much fastet [ KRAS Ne huje ja ČA tha United States and Can.
in many cases, the inefficient applica- % 741 10th St, S i)
mation system (toj geo used in infor. 90402 (213) 948905) m uran con.
venting the using pa menta are pre. , act Savant, 2 New St, Carnforth,
Management. must beno O ine. IS | | Lancs, LAS 9BX United Kingdora
(a ae k oto use ČASE | (0524) 734 505. 3 MI ji)
Ma RI RI A En | Me MIM

a

OCTOBER 16, 1989

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HM
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Eni i

Strategy for CASE |

technology and development environ- |
ments, Rei as AD/Cycle, to support busi: ,/,.
ness change and ensure that the applica-
tions of the future will be able to evolve
as guickly as the business reguires.
One of the most important compo-

nents of a CASE strategy is high-speed
development, including the rapid devel-
opment and maintenance of complex

" mission-critical systems that run major
portions of the enterprise. The CASE

ui

based on identifying the best; architec-

tures, methodologies, tools and manage;

ment technigues available. Strategic is-
sues are important in defining how ap
plications-development technologies like

CASE will be implemented within an or-

ganization. A strategy for CASE must x

directly address critical success factors!

of the organization, such as the use of,

information for pij JEM
of compute systems to loc h

ee uti lock out competitors.|| |; strategy should be based on using sie

An effective plan for CASE should be '/ | most powerful integrated CASE a

tied directly to the critical success fac-" | available and embedding those tools

V V within a development methodology de-
signed to build strategically important
applications at: high speed, in support of
business change.
The most appropriate methodology

(for building strategic systems across a
corporation is information engineering.
The methodology was specifically de-

v signed to build detailed data and pro-
cess models that can be converted auto-
matically into code. Information engi-
neering typically starts with high-level
strategic planning issues and enterprise
modeling. It moves through successive J
levels of analysis and design, building up.

' sufficient information to generate code |. |
for an application automatically. ie

Recent extensions to the information:
engineering methodology have provided
support for high-speed applications de-
velopment with small teams of specially
trained analysts. A great deal of man-
agement attention is devoted to provid-
ing the teams with clear goals, a high
level of support and maxinium motiva-

pene I sa! tion for excellence. [H
Turning from Tradition

We'e rapidly moving to a develop-
ment environment in which businesses

Can no longer afford to use traditional

' structured development technigues. It's

no longer possible to use separate teams

to build separate projects that don't in:
terconnect. Most, competitive firms are
now saying they must have application
software connectivity throughout the
value chain, which they cannot achieve
without information engineering.

Information engineering is oriented to-
ward support of disciplines such as stra-

tors for the business." '/F / % ;
One of the most important critical '
success factors for many, businesses to-

Št

u

advanced, highly integrated technigu
es
, embodied in information engineering, it
is at a strategic disadvantage. Such tech-
nigues are of fundamental importance

Ni
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day is support, of business change. Ev- '
erything

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