We’ve spent the last decade watching the shifts and trends in an industry that is eating the world. Software is increasingly becoming the basis for competitive advantage in nearly every industry. As Tasktop has evolved from an organization that focused solely on the developer to an organization that is now focused on the end-to-end aspects of delivering software from idea to plans to code to tests to operations, we’ve learned a ton about software delivery and what it takes to be successful.
Our customers have shared their challenges and struggles with us. All too often, these conversations are captured on white boards, where we help customers think through how they deliver software at a technical level but not necessarily as a business process.
Software Lifecycle Integration (SLI) basiert auf mehreren Jahrzehnten Erfahrung und Wissen. Von Miks Tagen bei Xerox Parc und Intentional, Gails akademischen Grundlagen, Daves Erfahrung mit dem Rational Unified Process und seinen Gesprächen mit Tausenden von Kunden und ISVs als Research Director bei Forrester, Nicoles Tage bei Borland, als sie mit deren Software Lifecycle Tools arbeitete, Bettys Zeit bei der Entwicklung von Go-to-Market Strategien bei SmartBear, Lance's Erfahrungen mit modernen Anforderungs-Technologien bei Accept und sogar meine Sichtweise aus der reinen Geschäftswelt, die zwischen Startups und riesigen Unternehmen, die Software entwickeln, hin und her springt. Wir alle haben uns bei Tasktop zusammengeschlossen, weil jeder von uns auf seine Weise die Probleme erlebt hat, die wir mit SLI und unseren Produkten zu lösen versuchen. Neben der Intuition, die uns diese Erfahrungen aus der Vergangenheit vermitteln, waren die Gespräche mit unseren Kunden und Partnern , die wir seit dem Start von Tasktop im Januar 2007 geführt haben, ebenso wichtig. In vielerlei Hinsicht fühlt es sich so an, als ob dieses Bootstrap-Team von fast 60 Leuten unbemerkt von Anfang an an der Software Lifecycle Integration gearbeitet hat. Es erübrigt sich also zu sagen, dass wir glauben, dass SLI groß rauskommen wird, wirklich groß!
As my colleague Dave West reminds me nearly every day, software has enabled the automation of nearly every business process (e.g., supply chain, customer relationship, purchasing, logistics) with one notable exception… itself. When you think about Software Delivery as a business process, it suddenly becomes clear as to why SLI matters. Integration is the underlying basis for automation. Without integration, business process automation is nearly impossible. Once information flows between the various constituents involved in the business process, all of sudden you have the basis for a tremendous amount of business value: – a powerful Build, Measure, Learn loop for continuous improvement – collaboration between disparate teams while still allowing the teams to have the freedom to choose tools and processes that make them most efficient and productive – visibility and traceability between stakeholders that are the underpinnings of business insight
So integration matters fundamentally. At a macro level there is simply more demand for technologists than there is supply and this divergence is growing. Many people outside of technology are recognizing this e.g., in the 2013 State of the Union, President Obama called for the country to produce a million more STEM graduates in the next decade. That’s one way of solving the problem. We believe that if you can reduce the failures and delays in software delivery, if collaboration across the silos becomes the norm versus the exception, and wisdom can be gleaned form the business process of software delivery, software delivery productivity will go up dramatically. We believe the smooth flow of information between the people who need that information to do their jobs is the missing and required element to driving these outcomes.
To learn more and for a step by step methodology to help you make the business case for SLI in your organization, please see the Business Case for Software Lifecycle Integration (SLI) white paper (registration required) or contact us. We’ve got a ton of white papers, videos, and other resources to help you learn more at blog.tasktop.com/SLI. Please provide feedback and help us grow the SLI community by participating.
