Methodology is like strategy, it will give us perspective from time to time to keep us on the right path.
There are two distinct methodologies:
1. The older waterfall approach flows sequentially downwards through phases of analysis, design, implementation, testing, and maintenance. There is no turning back. The result is linear. The requirement specification needs to be 100% accurate upfront or the resulting system may not be operational as desired. This can be a problem when requirements change before the project is completed.
2. The newer iterative approach assume changes can be made anywhere at anytime. Additional features can be designed, developed and tested in repeated cycles. It is done only when no more addition or change is required. The gain can be exponential because of the learning on each iteration.
Key Points:
A. Delivery is #1 key success in project management
B. The best development methodology is Agile which is both iterative and incremental.
C. When cross functional training is combined with agile methodology and an agile platform such as Rintagi, projects can be delivered faster with less resource, lower cost and higher quality.
Business analysis is about doing the right thing. Doing the wrong thing right is wrong. Just doing the right thing is not good enough, we have to do the right thing.
Key Points:
A. Business analysis is about doing the right thing.
B. Problem solving, effective communication and storytelling techniques are essential skills in business analysis.
C. Use Zachman framework to communicate the requirements easily to all stakeholders and team members.
Processing modelling is about using simple notations to represent a process graphically so it can be visualized, analyzed and improved. In my opinion, a process without business rules is like a body without a soul. Every unique business must have its own unique business rules. Therefore it is essential to describe the process with its business rules along the way.
Important Reading:
A. Improving Business Processes (Pocket Mentor) 2010 by Harvard Business School Press
B. Business Rules Applied: Building Better Systems Using the Business Rules Approach 2001 by Barbara von Halle.
Follow the users… find out how they would interact with the system to achieve their goals. Systems analysis consists of a set of possible sequences of interactions between systems and users related to a particular goal to identify, clarify, and organize system requirements.
Key Points:
A. Always follow the users... 'user' is the 'object' in 'object orientation' of systems analysis.
B. Use cases help identify and visualize all the scenarios for each types of users.
C. Use cases pave the way for test cases.
In my opinion, data model can make or break a system.
A well designed data model is fast, good and cheap. Yes, all three.
It should be fast on data manipulation such as create, read, update and deletion; we call that CRUD.
To be good, it should be well thought out to handle the intended use of the system; each entity should have it’s own unique function, well tested from all angles, and robust enough to cope with incorrect input and errors during execution;
In addition, it should be low maintenance and save space.
All in all it should be doing the right things right at a reasonable cost.
By the time data model is done:
A. There should be sufficient test data & test cases available for verification.
B. Business rules and algorithm to apply to the test data.
An overview of how a great mission-critical system can be developed on Rintagi platform. Our platform can deliver a fully functional system in the same amount of time it takes traditional developement to produce a wireframe. Learn what makes Rintagi great and how you can make it work for you.
Key Points:
A. Rintagi platform reduces the requirements for wire framing and prototyping.
B. It is well architected to make changes on the fly.
C. Clean code is regenerated from scratch all the time to avoid patches and to perform rejuvenation.
Learn the secret to testing and how we can use less resources to produce better results. Testing is very important in a mission-critical system. The nature of software is that we can have 99 things right but if one major thing is wrong, the program breaks. Build mission-critical programs with no major bugs by following our proven testing methodology.
Testing is about:
A. Fully understand the business requirements.
B. Keep asking how do I know I have done the right thing right.
Exhausting all possible use-case scenarios
Verification by comprehensive test data
Using an automated platform such as Rintagi to reduce testing requirements
The relentless practice of repetition on testing
See how deployment is done and evaluate different deployment options by analyzing the pros and cons of each.
Key Points:
A. There are four ways to deploy a production system and each of them has its pros and cons
B. Need to make the trade-offs and choose wisely.
C. On-premises or self-service deployment are recommended for mission-critical applications.
Change in the IT industry is happening at a breakneck pace. Organizations that aren't catching up will be left behind. Learn what to do when confronted with a change request from a client and how Rintagi can help.
Key Points:
A. Change is inevitable, it is our future, we need to embrace it
B. Change can be managed - via urgency & priority determination, costs and benefits analysis, and impact analysis.
C. Rintagi platform automates many changes via 'drag & drop', 'change on the fly', and 'late change no penalty'