| | SEPTEMBER 20169CIOReviewIntegrated Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) is a totally integrated set of tools and processes that help organizations manage the complete lifecycle of an application developmentvalue of software. Having the right combination of tools and processes along with a streamlined workflow can make the job easier. There are a number of vendors and open source groups who provide tools to manage each of the ALM phases. Some vendors bring together a range of tools to support several aspects of ALM. However, ALM tools should be integrated not only horizontally, but also vertically so that connections can be established among cross-functional tools involved in the process, and therefore, the three distinct ALM phases can be performed well.Any organization that wants to adapt to quickly changing requirements of customers and develop scalable and high-quality business applications on time, at lower cost, needs to set up an ALM framework around its teams and tools. One should take a broad and holistic view of ALM beyond SDLC steps, as that is mission critical to developing any business application.Integrated Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) is a totally integrated set of tools and processes that help organizations manage the complete lifecycle of an application development. It connects different teams, activities, platforms, tools, and processes.Organizations often spend millions in individual software development tools for managing Requirements, Projects, Portfolios, Software designs, Development, Testing, Deployment, Release and other functional areas. However, these tools are not connected to each other, and therefore, lead to cumbersome manual procedures while synchronizing data or processes between them. The situation worsens if teams working on those tools are geographically isolated and on different time zones. It is important that enterprises employ an integrated suite of tools that keeps team members in sync with each other. This ensures a greater degree of collaboration among cross-functional teams followed by better quality application and faster delivery.Added value of using Integrated ALM:· Overcomes challenges of globally distributed development - keeps all stakeholders synchronized· Ensures seamless collaboration among ALM tools behind firewalls across diverse networks· Manages projects and resources across the tools, breaking down organizational silos · Helps monitoring exact status of different teams working on different areas of a project · Maintains a centralized and single data repository for multiple ALM phases and artifacts · Provides ALM tools interoperability, cross-repository linking and transparency across organizations· Establishes end-to-end traceability of artifacts from within users' preferred tool environment· Automates lifecycle processes cutting across tool boundaries · Reduces manual hand-offs between teams and tools mitigating chances of human error· Saves time and cost in managing complex, multifarious projects· Enforces best practice processes across best-of-breed tools. No compromise on tool selection and its operability · Ensures code quality and performance throughout the lifecycle processes.
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