Application Lifecycle Management Tools Research Articles

Developing Consumer Electronics Software Using A-SPICE: Infotainment Development Experience

This article presents one experience with the design and implementation of a consumer electronics (CE) software module using automotive software process improvement and capability determination (A-SPICE) methodology. Electronic program guide (EPG) engine software module is a very stable, configurable product that ensures high performance and satisfies different television standards. It is designed to operate on a wide range of hardware platforms, especially in automotive multimedia systems. Since the EPG engine had to be integrated into the automotive infotainment system, that module was developed in compliance with the Hersteller Initiative Software-Manufacturer's software initiative metrics and A-SPICE standard. Application lifecycle management tool was used in the development process for project management and for generating data for analysis purposes. The software itself was tested during the whole project lifecycle using several static and dynamic code analysis methods. Difficulties concerning testing procedures, code quality, and complying with A-SPICE standard were detected and resolved. Since the CEs software development is not that strict as automotive one, this article points out the advantages of introducing the A-SPICE methodology in the CE field.

A model-driven engineering approach for supporting questionnaire-based gap analysis processes through application lifecycle management systems

Gap analysis is a common approach in industry to evaluate the gaps between the implemented software processes and the requirements of process quality frameworks or standard norms. Gap analysis processes are usually executed by means of questionnaires that need to be crafted ad hoc according to specific appraisal goals. The approaches used for developing, compiling and evaluating the answers given to these questionnaires usually do not follow well-defined methodologies or processes, and lack adequate tool support. This paper aims at investigating novel approaches for the execution of questionnaire-based gap analysis (QBGA) processes in industrial practices. We propose the adoption of state-of-the-art software engineering technologies and methodologies like application lifecycle management (ALM) and model-driven engineering (MDE) to support these processes. We perform an industrial survey for understanding the main issues affecting questionnaire-based gap analysis processes in industrial practices. We exploit model-driven engineering for building an ALM-based tool that supports the QBGA process execution and allows us to overcome the emerged process issues. We implement the GADGET tool to apply the MDE approach we use for developing the ALM-based tool. The feasibility of the proposed approach has been evaluated by a case study conducted in the automotive industrial domain. Two different QBGA processes have been configured and implemented in an ALM system with the support of the GADGET tool. The resulting ALM tool was used to perform the gap analysis processes. Semi-structured interviews with the involved industrial personnel were conducted to carry out a qualitative evaluation. The case study results show that the introduction of ALM improves the quality of the questionnaire-based gap analysis processes. Moreover, the adoption of model-driven engineering approach implemented by the GADGET tool provides a viable solution for configuring application lifecycle management systems and supporting the process execution.

Auction‐based serious game for bug tracking

Today, one of the challenges in software engineering is utilising application lifecycle management (ALM) tools effectively in software development. In particular, it is hard for software developers to engage with the work items that are appointed to themselves in these ALM tools. In this study, the authors have focused on bug tracking in ALM where one of the most important metrics is mean time to resolution that is the average time to fix a reported bug. To improve this metric, they developed a serious game application based on an auction-based reward mechanism. The ultimate aim of this approach is to create an incentive structure for software practitioners to find and resolved bugs that are auctioned where participants are encouraged to solve and test more bugs in less time and improve quality of software development in a competitive environment. They conduct hypothesis tests by performing a Monte Carlo simulation. The preliminary results of this research support the idea that using a gamification approach for an issue tracking system enhances the productivity and decreases mean time to resolution.

The Value of a Single Solution for End-to-End ALM Tool Support

A single solution for application lifecycle management (ALM) support lets stakeholders see their requirements throughout the ALM process. This ranges from idea origination through to seeing when, and to which environments, an application was released and the changes it has undergone. Such a solution provides metrics that natively cover the ALM process and provide new insights. Finally, it provides a collaboration platform that brings all stakeholders together with a single view over a single source of truth throughout ALM.

A Critical View on PLM/ALM Convergence in Practice and Research

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the main driver for industrial smart products produced by an increasing number of manufacturers. The overall functionality of smart products is a combination of mechanical, electrical/electronic functions (hardware functions) and software functions. For hardware and software there are different lifecycle models: Product lifecycle management (PLM) focuses on hardware, application lifecycle management (ALM) focuses on software. Smart products force manufacturers to converge both lifecycle models step by step. Although seemingly important, the research community leaves this innovative area mostly up to the PLM tool vendors and the ALM tool vendors, resulting in them driving the convergence.This paper points out the mismatch between industry and academia regarding the PLM/ALM convergence. We encourage academia to increase research activities and we propose potential research topics.

Agile Tool Market Growing with the Philosophy

The market for application life-cycle management (ALM) tools for agile development is booming. However, tool vendors and analysts are far too busy jockeying for position to spend too long appreciating the irony of the matter. The first principle of the agile manifesto, after all, is "individuals and interactions over processes and tools. The paper discusses that the burgeoning agile ALM tool landscape reflects the software market's need to scale agile from small application and teams to cross-enterprise architectures and back.