Prototype, Applications Backlog, Programming, Efficiency, Productivity, Software, and Software Maintenance

According to industry experts, eighty-two per cent of a program's bugs are introduced during the specification process, seventeen per cent are introduced during detail design, and only one per cent are introduced during coding. The way to improve programming efficiency is through prototyping. Prototyping enables the finished program to more precisely meet the user's requirements. This, in turn, lowers maintenance requirements and increases the useful life cycle of an application. Because seventy to eighty per cent of a programmer's time is spent on maintenance and enhancements, prototyping frees valuable resources that can be better applied to the applications backlog.

System Development, Prototype, Programming, Applications Programming, Productivity, and Efficiency

If used properly, prototyping can be a useful tool, but if used improperly can cause more problems than it solves. To be effective, prototyping should be used within a systems development methodology, though there are times when its use is inappropriate. It should be remembered that prototypes are full working representations of a complete system; poorly designed prototypes will result in poorly designed systems. It should also be realized that while prototyping may reduce coding time, it will not necessarily reduce total project time.

Prototype, Application Development Software, Productivity, Software Packages, Clarion Software Corp. -- Product information, and Personal Developer (Program development software) -- Usage

Clarion Software Corp has created the Personal Developer programming tool aimed at revolutionizing the standard method of prototyping survival critical programs. The traditional method most businesses use for application prototyping is a costly process usually involving a computer expert designing a program around a business task that he is unfamiliar with and a middle-manager, with little or no in-depth computer knowledge, critiquing the computer program. Personal Developer is a subset of Clarion's Professional Developer and has a tutorial with step-by-step instructions for building fully relational programs, and complete upward compatibility with Professional Developer. The clever product reveals an intelligent approach to boosting productivity.

Productivity, Software Engineering, Standard, Prototype, New Technique, Software engineering -- Methods, Prototypes, Engineering -- Usage, and Software -- Reusability

Software organizations are developing new software engineering approaches that emulate practices in more traditional engineering disciplines in response to government's demand for larger and more complex software systems that outdistance even modern software engineering practices. Among the approaches are techniques to identify and resolve implementation risks earlier in the development life cycle - an approach referred to as prototyping - and techniques to develop software systems designs based on systematic use of standard parts - an approach that is a form of software reuse. Prototyping and reuse in practice are two sides of the same coin. Standards are needed in the standard parts themselves and the development environments that would support their use.

MIS, Productivity, Object-Oriented Programming, Applications Programming, Object-Oriented Programming -- Usage, and Applications Programming -- Methods

Many believe that object-oriented technology (OOT) can be utilized in a variety of application development environments, but to be utilized effectively, end users and programmers need to understand just what OOT is. OOT often is thought of as a prototyping tool, but it really is a new way to approach applications development. Instead of focusing on modeling business processes, users focus on creating objects, which are made up of data and actions connected to elements in a business process. Common claims attributed to OOT include the suggestion that OOT improves productivity and maintenance and that OOT reduces complexity. Users need to analyze each of these claims and begin to create a solid measuring program so that they can see whether they are actually achieving simplification and productivity benefits when using OOT.

Trade Show, Product Introduction, C Programming Language, Application Development Software, Productivity, Blue Sky Software Corp. -- Product introduction, ViewSoft Inc. -- Product introduction, Sterling Software Inc. -- Product introduction, WinMaker Pro 6.0 (Application development software) -- Product introduction, Utah for Windows 1.1 (Application development software) -- Product introduction, Answer:TestPro for Windows 2.5 (Debugging/testing software) -- Product introduction, Computer software industry -- Product introduction, and Program development software -- Product introduction

Three application development software packages designed to spur programming productivity in the C++ programming language are introduced at the Software Development East '94 trade show. Blue Sky Software Corp's WinMaker Pro 6.0, available for $495 until Dec 1994 and $995 in 1995, is touted as making it as easy to program in C++ as in Visual Basic. It offers programmers a code generator and prototyping tool as well as a Project Manager function that simplifies access to database and object resources. ViewSoft Inc's Utah for Windows 1.1 enables programmers to quickly prototype GUIs and comes with an Extensible Toolkit that allows usersw to create complex application elements. It is offered at the introductory price of $495 for a limited time. Sterling Software's Answer TestPro for Windows 2.5, beginning at $10,000, enables programmers to quickly construct an automated test script library.

Applications Programming, Backlog, High Technology, Productivity, and Programming Language

Third-generation languages and manual coding are inefficient and must be replaced by new technology. There is a movement away from third-generation programming languages to more productive and automated fourth-generation languages. Development centers require productivity improvements to handle the growing backlog of applications. Productivity improvements can be obtain by eliminating hand coding, using automated applications development tools, providing end users with automated tools, using new prototyping, and developing methodologies tied to automation. As information services move from a mainframe-oriented environment to an end-user environment with networks of personal computers, the advantages of fourth-generation languages become obvious.

Software Maintenance, Programming, Productivity, Survey, Program Development Techniques, Structured Programming, and Programmer

Software maintenance may be the major programming problem for the remainder of this century. According to a Computerworld survey, average programmers spend about fifty-five percent of their time on maintenance, up from forty-five percent in 1984. There are several ways to improve programmer productivity, including using structured programming techniques, computer-aided software engineering methods, reusable code, and prototyping aids.

Application Development Software, Software Selection, Software Packages, Criteria, Productivity, and Efficiency

Though viewed with skepticism when they first arrived on the scene in the late 1970s, the market for application development tools is now booming. In 1983, sales reached $215 million; that figure is expected to grow to one billion dollars by 1987. Productivity gains from the use of program development tools range anywhere from ten to 400 percent. It should be realized, however, that the quality, not the quantity, of code is the most important consideration. While using development tools enables programmers to write good code more quickly, they also enable programmers to write bad code more quickly. When considering the purchase of an application development tool, there are several factors to be evaluated, including efficiency, usability by nonprofessionals, prototyping techniques, procedural power, interpretive benefits, integration, file support flexibility and hardware independence.

Application Development Software, Management of EDP, Applications Backlog, Productivity, Nonprocedural Languages, Microcomputer, Program Generators, DBMS, and Information Centers

Fouth-generation languages, program generators, prototyping aids, data dictionaries, data base management systems (DBMS), information centers, and personal computers are all heralded as solutions to the problem of applications backlog. In fact, they lengthen backlog and do not improve productivity. In and of themselves, they should not be expected to solve problems of backlog and inefficiency. The key is proper management of program development tools, not chaotic implementation of available technology.

Artificial Intelligence, Productivity, Software, MIS, Market Segmentation, Expert Systems, Natural Language Interfaces, Software Complexity, and General Ledger Accounting Software

Artificial intelligence (AI) has two commercially valuable market segments: expert systems and natural language interfaces. Some of the productivity gains made by natural language interfaces include: applications prototyping, database applications design, development and maintenance, IBM structured query language coding, user self-sufficiency, and streamlined applications. Expert systems provide MIS with three main advantages: a new applications group, enhancement of existing applications, and the proliferation of intelligent debuggers. Natural language interfaces and expert systems can be used to enhance the productivity of general ledger applications.

Productivity, Software Packages, Design, Task Analysis, Systems Analysis, Software Engineering, Industrial productivity, and Software -- Design and construction

Providing functions users really need and making those functions easy to use are the keys to increasing end-user productivity. Providing useless functions or functions that end users find difficult can penalize system resources and productivity. First-hand knowledge of how users work and understanding their mental models of the tasks involved is required to create useful and usable software. Task analysis involves controlled observations of potential system users performing their regular work. The systems approach looks at how computer systems fit into an organization. Trade-offs between personnel selection, training, tasks, or procedures design and software design can then be made. Standardized user interfaces, prototyping, usability objectives, and testing are some other ways to improve end-user productivity.

Software Design, Productivity, Performance, Programming, End User, Application Development Software, New Technique, Applications Programming, and E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. -- Product development

Divisions of the Du Pont Co. have adopted a new software design methodology called Rapid Iterative Production Prototyping (RIPP) that allows end user feedback to be considered throughout the software design process and increases productivity as much as 600 percent. While traditional software development includes five phases, RIPP combines the phases and removes any time-consuming analyses. The tool has been gaining popularity throughout the company's departments. The creation and use of the RIPP system at Du Pont is described.

Programming, Computers, Applications Programming, Productivity, Structured Programming, and Software Engineering

The productivity of programmers and the quality of programming are diminishing because of the systems, individuals, and approaches involved. While these problems do exist, there are some solution to increasing programmer productivity and programming quality. One solution is embedded in modular coding, concurrent documentation, reuse of old program parts, and utilization of the better known algorithms. Also, new techniques can be helpful such as, for example, rapid prototyping, development of computer-assisted software, and restructuring engines.

Expert Systems, Artificial Intelligence, Productivity, Efficiency, System Development, Analysis, and Product Development

What expert systems practitioners do and how they do it is no longer a mystery now that expert systems are available commercially, but while some individuals believe that the expert systems business is based on techniques similar to conventional systems, in reality the development of expert systems differs considerably from the development experience of conventional systems. A close examination of the expert system development reveals the fundamental difference between conventional systems and expert systems: a small prototype solving a small portion of a problem is the beginning of an expert system, a process different from any formal prototyping and in contrast with most methods for constructing conventional systems. Developers of expert systems are not prisoners of their systems, and they are constantly learning more about how the systems should be constructed. Expert systems are not magical, but they do represent an honest attempt to improve productivity in organizations.