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| The Need for Better Software Processes | |||||||
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Design and manufacture of software products is one of the most complex
activities in modern business. It is also becoming one of the most
critical activities. Despite this, the software development process
is still largely done using ad hoc manual methods. These manual
processes are poorly defined, undocumented, inconsistent, incomplete,
inefficient, and error-prone. These problems lead to increased costs
and lower quality, wasted time and effort, lost opportunities and
increased liability for the consequences of failure.
To stay on top in this fast-changing industry, software companies must address these concerns. For those companies which must also meet outside standards such as ISO 9000, ISO 9001 or the Configuration Maturity Model, these problems are required to be eliminated.
What Makes QEF Different? |
Unlike the other approaches, QEF provides the flexibility to adapt to
emerging requirements and technologies which are inevitable in the
dynamic world of software development.
| QEF brings technological advantages vastly superior to the solutions used in the industry today. And QEF tools gain a fervent following amongst users because it has solved their difficult software process problems. One user says that QEF makes the other tools look like toys. For example, one important aspect of software development is Software Configuration Management, comprised of building the product and managing the different versions of the source code. QEF works with the many versioning systems available to address the build or software construction aspect of Software Configuration. QEF is technologically superior to any of the tools offered by its competition. Most Software Configuration Management companies advertise some sort of "configuration builder" technology. Although extravagant claims are made for these facilities, in practice, they are typically minor variants of a 30 year tool called "make".
Make doesn't make it |
Make was intended to address only a few of the issues
involved in building very small projects. As the complexity and size
of software products and the range of machines on which that software
was to run increased, its inability to handle large scale projects
became increasingly apparent. It is clearly inadequate for today's
complex software environment.
(For a technological comparison of QEF and make see
Qef vs. Make.)
| To have the competitive edge, companies must automate every aspect of the software process that they can. This requires a sophisticated, high-level framework on which to base the process. A true software automation package pulls together all of the tools and process elements into a coherent system. Version management, change control, release management, build management, approval processes all have to be tied together along with the actual tools that implement each step (compilers, bug trackers, installers and so on). The system must also include test setups, verification and auditing steps to make sure that the product is moved successfully through the process. This is what QEF offers. The QEF Software Process Automation System is the result of 20 years of research into the field of Software Process Automation by a top researcher in the field, David Tilbrook.
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| whyqef.qh - 1.17 - 03/10/24 |
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