Application Developmentin the Business Environment

David Cohensente

Institute of Computing TechnologyChinese Academy of Sciences

BeijingOctober 2001

senteCorporation

Introduction to sente

sente means competitive initiative in the game “Go”

Our focus is on productivity enhancements through Faster:

• delivery of customer solutions• delivery of information to users• implementation of organizational changes

Solution Examples

senteCorporationSoftware Business Insights

• Must develop new areas of expertise at an ever increasing rate

- Opportunities to contribute directly tied to insight

• Three observations

SoftwarePollution

Effective Methodsto Reduce Pollution

The Value ofthe Pollution Fighter

senteCorporation

Software PollutionTM

(1/3)Feature Manufacturing and Utilization Analysis

Level 2 - FeatureUtilization Process

Level 1 - SoftwareManufacturing Process

Features Deployed

Features Built

Features Used (N)

10%

8%

1.6%

1.4%

100%

Features Bought

- 90%

- 13%

- 80%

- 20%

Features Used (1) • Typically less than 20%

• Pollution higher in regulated businesses

• Software scrap• Pollution levels

- Project size and complexity- Project schedule- Development team

senteCorporation

• Incomplete Requirements that do not capture customer needs

• Customer knowledge is evolving during the program

• Development Team likes long delivery programs

• Development Team uses “bleeding edge” technology

Software PollutionTM

(2/3) Feature Manufacturing and Utilization Analysis

Level 2 - FeatureUtilization Process

Level 1 - SoftwareManufacturing Process

- 90%

Features Deployed

Features Built

Features Used (N)

10%

8%

1.6%

1.4%

100%

Features Bought

- 13%

- 80%

- 20%

Features Used (1)

• Users’ ability to absorb features is limited

• Features do not fit into any useful process

• Late delivered features, no longer needed

senteCorporation

1. System engineering cannot capture and effectively transfer the customer need to the development organization• The human barrier for information transfer• Requirements capture less than 20 percent of the capabilities that end

up in the product2. Lack of sufficient input

• Requirements need to be validated before they are implemented; customer knowledge is evolving during the specification process

• Need a faster - cost effective process to facilitate the learning3. The development organization attempts to implement a

system capable of supporting a large customer base in a long, single step which is irrelevant to the business• The market/customer needs evolved well beyond the requirements

4. The development organization attempts utilization of “bleeding-edge” technology• Unknowingly, the project turns into a job training program• The primary objective is to deliver a solution and NOT to champion

technology

Software PollutionTM

(3/3) Pollution Sources and Combat Strategies

senteCorporation

• Effectiveness of the information exchange is directly related to the shared knowledge

• Shared knowledge is measured by the distance between Person A and Person B

Person AKnowledge

A BIEX

Person BKnowledge

SharedKnowledge

Information Exchange IntroducesSoftware Pollution

senteCorporation

1. Age- Gender, Family Status

2. Education- Degree, Specialty

3. Work Experience- Military, Business Function, Size of Organization

4. Physical Distance- Building, City, Country- Time Zones- Organization (shared mgmt. level)

5. Cultural- Ethnic Background, Born U.S., Religion

6. Hobbies, Sports, Special Interests- Gardening, Stamp Collecting, Chess, Tennis, Golf

The Distance LevelBetween Two Persons

senteCorporationPersonal Attributes (1/2)

1. Name Nickname Title

2. Home Address/Community

3. Birth Date and Place Hometown

4. Height/Weight

5. High School and Year Graduated

College Graduated/Degrees

6. College Honors Advanced Degrees

7. College Fraternity or Sorority Sports

8. Military Service Discharge Rank

9. Marital Status Spouse's Name Spouse's Education

10. Children, if any, Names and Ages

senteCorporationPersonal Attributes (2/2)

11. Children's Education

12. Children's Interests (hobbies, problems, etc.)

13. Previous Employment: (most recent first)

Company Location

14. Membership in Professional Trade Associations

15. What is His/Her Immediate Business Objective

16. Favorite Places for Lunch Dinner

17. Favorite Items on Menu

18. Hobbies and Recreational Interests

19. Vacation Habits

20. Sports Interests (teams)

senteCorporation

The Value of the Pollution Fighter

Business Decision Analysis

Relative Valueof Contribution

Code Solution Revenue ProfitIndividualDelivers

2

4

1

10

senteCorporation

Sales Process - Invest, Participate

Define the Test so Everybody Gets an “A”

Business Development Model

Idea

Niche

Market

Business Decision AnalysisBusiness Decision Analysis

Success Criteria

New SVC

Idea Proto-type

Prototype

TrialSVC LIMITED

Deployment

WideDeployment

TrialPrototype LDEP WDEP

Revenue

Growth

senteCorporation

Concurrent Evolution of CapabilitiesService, Distribution Channel and Operations

Business Decision

Analysis

N50 5000500

LDEPP T WDEP

ServiceSVC

OperationsSupport

DC

OS

DistributionChannel

senteCorporation

Software Investment (1/3) The Requirement Driven Paradigm Fails to Deliver ROI

Business NeedsTransformed intoRequirements Requirements

By Release

MeetsNeed

Y

N

Most Programs Fail to Deliver ROI Because Business Irrelevance

It Takes Too Long to Get It Right

Existing SoftwareDevelopment Process

ROIGood YN

The Problemis Here

Requirements Track Record:• Incomplete, Inaccurate, Incorrect• Ad Hoc Validation• 5 - 8%of Program Cost

We Try to Fix It Here

• More Releases (e.g., 6months; $5M)– Architecture, User Interface,

BRs, Processes, Reports, Flow-Through, and Training

– Unstable Operations• More Time and Investments

– Never Meets Objectives 1st Time– Over 90% of Investment

Continue Investment

Y

N

Programs Cancelled Before Deployment

senteCorporation

Relevant to the Business First Time Reduces the Demand for Enhancements

Software Investment (2/3) Improve Requirements Quality through Validation

Business NeedsTransformed intoRequirements Requirements

By Release

NeedsMet?

Y

N

Existing SoftwareDevelopment Process

ROIGood YN

Attack Problem at the Source

Continue Investment

Y

N

RequirementsValidation Process

Provide Toolkit to Planners:• Validate Relevance, Accuracy,

Correctness, Completeness• Confirm Usability and Productivity• Maintain Faster Cycle Time

– 10 times faster and,– 10 times cheaper

• Expand Validation Coverage in Line with Need

ValidatedRequirements

Slow Irrelevant

Late

senteCorporationSoftware Investment (3/3)

Supports Validation Capabilities in Six Key Areas

The Electronic Customer Contact Management (eccm) ToolkitDelivers Cost Effectively Validated Requirements

Business Needs

Development

Validation ArchitectureConfiguration Management

Operational ProcessesCenter Productivity Management

We

b B

as

ed U

I

eccm Toolkit Release V.24

Bu

sin

es

s R

ule

s

senteCorporation

SummaryImprove Applications’ Quality and ROI through Validation

Relevant to the Business First TimeReduces Need for Enhancements

Business NeedsTransformed intoRequirements Requirements

By Release

NeedsMet?

Y

N

Existing SoftwareDevelopment Process

ROIGood YN

Attack Problem at the Source

Continue Investment

Y

N

RequirementsValidation Process

ValidatedRequirements

Better Application Solutions Through

Requirements

Validation

Code Solution Revenue Profit

2

4

1

10

senteCorporationBackup Slides

BackupSlides

senteCorporationCode Reuse

senteCorporationEvolution of a Service :-D

Business Decision

Analysis

Identify A New Application

Prototype New

Features

Wide Deployment

(WDEP)

Deploy Market Trial

Limited Deployment

(LDEP)

50 5000500

senteCorporation

A re-engineering project attempts to replace

an existing mature system with one or more systems

April1997

August 1982

Starting the “RACE” with Better Technology 10-15 Years Later

• must have all old system features• and, all new promised features

Re-engineering Project Definition

senteCorporation

Re-engineering ProjectsSuccessful Alternatives

Re-engineering Projects have Four Possible Outcomes:

1. The new project is stopped• survive with the old system• will try again in a couple of years

2. Deploy within 6-12 months a pilot using an existing product

3. Deploy within one year a new system• supports only subset of features• software pollution based guidance• reuse toolkit functionality

4. Build adjuncts to the old system• migrate old system functions incrementally