Process Discipline: A Balanced Approach to Development Projects
Supporting the unique requirements of a custom software development project by selecting the right balance and timing of processes is the key to a project's ultimate success.
Every IT department is under pressure to complete projects on time and on budget. While Web 2.0 advocates herald innovative user-generated software and “Web mash-ups,” enterprises continue to struggle with issues of time, cost, and management within the software development lifecycle, including:
- Reducing the cost of new code in the application development, maintenance and testing process
- Migrating from legacy systems to next-generation platforms
- Customizing applications to interface with leading ERP solutions
- Mining legacy data to serve as the foundation for new business directions
- Freeing up key internal resources by outsourcing application maintenance
- Dozens of other mission-critical coding processes
Managing finite application development resources inevitably must resolve an ever-present predicament: should free rein be given to programmers’ creative and sometimes chaotic energies, or should organizations adopt and apply more rigorous process-oriented methodologies in hopes of achieving greater control over schedules, deliverables, and quality? Ultimately, each organization needs to find its own balance. Based on our project engagement experiences, Lionbridge firmly believes that process discipline is the key to delivering quality and customer satisfaction.
Process discipline comes in many forms, but the presence of process does not guarantee benefits. Neither are all processes equal. Applying the right process at the right time is the key to maximizing success.
In this paper, we will examine the challenges development and management organizations face in today’s service-oriented environment and offer process discipline approaches and models for you to consider tailoring for your specific situation.
Download this Whitepaper (pdf, English)