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submitted: Aug 25th 2008 | by: GeorgePurdy | Total views: 3 | Word Count: 499 | |

Application lifecycle management uses many different approaches and disciplines to develop and deliver a software application to manage some of the essential functions of a business. This could be a complex system used to control the payroll and other financial functions of the industry. Alternatively, it could be a simple order tracking system for a branch office.

The lifecycle management for an application begins with the component development and continues on to system development. The final steps are to perform quality assurance on the system in addition to developing the maintenance processes for the software system. Each of these many steps is considered to be a specialized discipline in it of itself and requires a skilled individual.

Why is application lifecycle management important? Think of a manager who is in charge of a specific aspect of a particular business, perhaps sales. Since we are so dependent on techonology today, it would be impractical and ineffective to try to manage this function without a software system. This system would provide important information to the manager about how successful the sales teams are. Additionally, the system could report to the marketing department and higher management concerning the financial standing of the business.

To create this kind of system, you first determine what the system should do. These requirements will later form the basis of an agreement between both the system creators and the people purchasing these systems. As systems become more and more advanced, it takes longer to plan out what will be required. Once actual development is underway and planning is over, it takes a lot of time and money to start over from square one.

The system needs to be competitive. Planning and development are important, but quality assurance and testing are necessary to ensure that the system will have an edge. If a system is full of flashy additions that make it complex, it's still useless if it can perform with efficiency on a reliable basis. Each piece of software is carefully tested by teams of developers who check each portion to make sure it will fulfill it's requirements.

Not less important is the ease to maintain the system, upgrade it, and keep it current. The more time it passes the better more efficient technologies are adopted, making your hardware obsolete. As an example, any system made before the 90s is not likely to do well now days, since a lot is focused in online productivity.

Application lifecycle management could involve a complex system used to control the payroll and other financial functions, or a simple order tracking system for a branch office. It all starts with development of the components and continues to systems and processes for quality assurance and. Each of these steps is a discipline in itself. A business or manager without a software system to manage functions would be unthinkable in today's technically charged world. quality assurance or system testing is ever so important to have the system deliver the competitive edge. Last but not the least is system maintainability.

About the Author

George Purdy recently published some new articles on application lifecycle management. He's an established public speaker and writer. Look for other great resources and products on the next site management coaching training.

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