Bug Tracking Points to Consider

Written by Seapine Software


Continued from page 1

4. "Open source" does not mean "no cost."

There is a misconception that if something is free, there is no cost and you automatically save by choosing it as your tool. Asrepparttar saying goes, "There is no free lunch." What isrepparttar 133551 catch? Hidden costs! Hidden costs include such things asrepparttar 133552 hours needed to compile, setup, customize, and maintainrepparttar 133553 solution. Many open source solutions requirerepparttar 133554 person administeringrepparttar 133555 solution be familiar with, if not an expert in, scripting and one or more programming languages or meta languages. There are additional costs in upgrading which are further increased if you have modifiedrepparttar 133556 source code. For most development teams,repparttar 133557 cost ofrepparttar 133558 open source effort quickly exceedsrepparttar 133559 cost of purchasing and deploying TestTrack Pro.

5. Developing your own solution is not free.

Many database products onrepparttar 133560 market today can help you build a solution from scratch. The problem is you are performing a custom software development effort that includes all ofrepparttar 133561 costs you currently incur and are able to bill when developing solutions you sell to your customers. Seapine Software has a team of software engineers and quality assurance personnel working full time on improving TestTrack Pro. With an in-house solution, like an open source solution,repparttar 133562 cost of developing your own solution quickly exceedsrepparttar 133563 cost of purchasing and deploying TestTrack Pro.

6. Bug tracking should be easy to install, use, and maintain.

Your bug tracking solution is supposed to save you time. It should not take days or even hours to install a bug tracking solution. The software should also work out ofrepparttar 133564 box with minimal customization. You should be able to customize it as you are using it. And, you should not have to dedicate a person to maintain it.

Make surerepparttar 133565 product you select saves you time, improves your process, and allows clear communication ofrepparttar 133566 issues to all team members. Ease-of-use is a REAL benefit of TestTrack Pro. Seapine Software delivers a solution that is easy to install, easy to use, easy to maintain, without compromising features.

Established in 1995, Seapine Software has emerged into a proven leader in providing advanced cross-platform software life-cycle management solutions. Backed by market-leading technical support, a rapidly growing community of customers in over 52 countries, an unmatched combination of flexibility, and speed and ease of use, there isn't a better choice than Seapine.


Effective Software Development Process

Written by Blane Warrene


Continued from page 1
* Doesrepparttar architecture meetrepparttar 133550 standards ofrepparttar 133551 organization and industry standards? * Scale ofrepparttar 133552 system to handlerepparttar 133553 level of use and growth of systems such as data storage, new interfaces, future improvements and modules. User Interface Design This can be a web browser based GUI or a software GUI. Either way, consideration should be given to both design ofrepparttar 133554 interface and discussion of how to handle changes torepparttar 133555 interface so as not to disrupt underlying application development. Database Design This isrepparttar 133556 place to architectrepparttar 133557 top-level view ofrepparttar 133558 database for this application. Depending uponrepparttar 133559 scale, perhaps some ETL (extraction, transformation and load) tools may be used for design purposes. This is an area where challenges and risks can be identified further, as mentioned earlier. This would include reliance upon data sources or interfaces outside ofrepparttar 133560 control ofrepparttar 133561 technical team. Roles and Responsibilities A final step is to assign resources torepparttar 133562 varying sections ofrepparttar 133563 whole application. This is where expertise and experience are married torepparttar 133564 components and systems required to completerepparttar 133565 project. The completed design specifications will naturally lead to a functional specification. This makes it important to take an additional step prior to moving forward. This is a good time to bringrepparttar 133566 original charter group back together with a presentation that shows howrepparttar 133567 design ofrepparttar 133568 system answersrepparttar 133569 business requirements and meetsrepparttar 133570 overall scope ofrepparttar 133571 charter. This discussion will most likely bring about some changes torepparttar 133572 design, andrepparttar 133573 previously agreed upon change management process should be used to updaterepparttar 133574 design specification and move on torepparttar 133575 final stage prior to gettingrepparttar 133576 programming started. Functional Specification The goal of a functional specification is to achieve a handbook reference forrepparttar 133577 technical team to develop, integrate, test and finally release a completed application. This document is much easier to complete withrepparttar 133578 previous road map documents in hand. The technical team will never lose sight ofrepparttar 133579 business goals throughrepparttar 133580 charter and requirements, andrepparttar 133581 design document has setrepparttar 133582 parameters through whichrepparttar 133583 project will be accomplished. Also,repparttar 133584 repeated steps of communicating back torepparttar 133585 original group keepsrepparttar 133586 flow of information on status and issues between business and technical teams and support does not waver forrepparttar 133587 project. Now isrepparttar 133588 time to address language specifics and how issues such as hardware and software dependencies and limitations will be addressed, performance requirements, security requirements, error handling and overall logging requirements. The applications varying sections are addressed withrepparttar 133589 resource(s) in mind. This will enable a very clear timeline to be drawn and matched againstrepparttar 133590 original timeline fromrepparttar 133591 charter and updates may need to be provided torepparttar 133592 original group (keep in mind those QA and testers we mentioned) for scheduling. Again, be sure to userepparttar 133593 change management process. The completed functional specification will read like a technical reference guide forrepparttar 133594 resources to constructrepparttar 133595 application. It will provide a timeline to be followed and reported upon. And ultimately, it should lead to successful testing and completion ofrepparttar 133596 project. Conclusion Critical torepparttar 133597 success of any endeavor is communicating issues and solutions, andrepparttar 133598 steps to achieve results. In application development, communication is very critical, not just between technical team members, but also between senior management and business users involved inrepparttar 133599 project, as well as your QA and testers who will sign-off prior to deployment. The steps of any application project userepparttar 133600 business charter, business requirements, design and functional specification to ensure scope management and that goals are met withrepparttar 133601 end result. However, there can be a disconnect between these parties asrepparttar 133602 project is underway andrepparttar 133603 coding begins. This can lead to loss of momentum and support from non-technical staff and managers, scope creep and/or misunderstandings, which may lead to failure. To avoid this, consider setting broad parameters for reporting status and general communications when buildingrepparttar 133604 charter atrepparttar 133605 inception ofrepparttar 133606 project. These can be scheduled meetings, e-mail updates and even presentations as needed. Also ensure your change management process is inrepparttar 133607 charter, and that it entails communicating change requests to this group with a clearly defined process for approvals and comments. While some ofrepparttar 133608 project will seem technical and difficult to follow by non-technical team members,repparttar 133609 group remains informed, can feel they are invested inrepparttar 133610 success ofrepparttar 133611 project, and can be your biggest cheerleaders when obstacles arise.

Prior to participating in the founding of BMRW & Associates, Blane served most recently as the Director of Technology for VESTAX Securities Corporation. In this capacity he was responsible for the management and evolution of the IT infrastructure and services for internal operations and field technology services for VESTAX financial advisors.

Blane brings substantial knowledge in application & data integration, mining and management .


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