Abstract: Software development best practices can save you money and make your team more productive. When software development teams don’t invest in a solid development platform, it makes their work harder and often ends up costing them more money over time. A hosted platform, however, provides a level of convenience and savings that makes it the obvious choice for today’s IT development, management, and consulting organizations.

Abstract: Because products ultimately define a manufacturing company’s success, product development is mission-critical by definition. It’s also expensive—in most manufacturing sectors, companies annually reinvest between 3 and 8 percent of their total revenues back into product development. Find out how to leverage global product development to gain a dramatic increase in productivity within your product development operation.

Abstract: Software company Terra Technology’s development team often worked remotely, without a centralized development system. Managing documents manually was quickly becoming an unproductive use of the team s time—and increased its chances of making errors. Since using ProjectLocker’s document management system, Terra Technology has saved valuable time and money, and can now focus on its core competency—supply chain software.

Abstract: One of the most formidable IT challenges that companies must solve is the extreme cost of the development process. Don’t let your data warehouse development project become part of the 50 percent that’s abandoned—and don’t lose time and money. Learn how to optimize your development process and improve the performance of your database management systems through a complete examination and debugging of your database schema.

Abstract: Your web site can be your best marketing and sales tool in a global market. Stale content, however, isn't useful to visitors—so you have to make sure your site is constantly updated. How can you reduce the time and financial expense of using multiple systems and multiple forms of content to revise your site? A software-as-a-service (SaaS) content management system (CMS) might be the solution you're looking for. Read more.

Abstract: Life cycle development can be a complicated and intimidating process for many organizations. Are you struggling to adapt the development process successfully to your own projects? Do you want to use various formal life cycle processes such as Agile, Incremental, Spiral, and Waterfall, or various informal processes, such as extreme programming (XP) and others? Are you burdened by the development process? This paper will explain how you can simply and easily adopt any life cycle process.

Abstract: Failed projects do not bode well for the vendor. It can cause their sales cycle costs only to rise even more and their reputation to suffer or, at least, become suspect. Surely, the consequences can be much more severe for the client where an incorrect software selection can lead to business losses. Accordingly, it is in everyone's best interest to select the right enterprise software and do it economically but with confidence.

Abstract: When The Clientele Group of Epicor Software Corporation was faced with scalability and performance limits in their CRM software, they redesigned their application around the Microsoft® .NET Framework. A server architecture based on SQL Server™ 2000 and XML Web services removes their scalability limits, and supports multiple client applications. A smart client built with Windows® Forms gives customer support personnel a responsive application that is easy to deploy and update. A Web portal built with ASP.NET Web Forms gives authorized customers access to the same records as customer support sees internally. The new architecture can support 500 users on a single dual-CPU server, and offers many ways to scale up and out.

Abstract: For the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to fulfill its vital health mission, it must expedite and streamline its workflow processes—and the forms, approvals, and documents associated with those processes. As NIMH grew, tracking and managing forms was just one challenge that needed to be addressed. Learn about the Web-based workflow software that provides users with automated business process management.

Abstract: Since our research-driven beginnings, Johnson & Johnson Advanced Sterilization Products (ASP) has continually improved the new product development (NPD) process. Detailed process mapping has revealed three tiers of business metrics, starting with drivers and moving up through execution metrics to business performance metrics. When driver metrics improves, so does business performance. Six Sigma tools helps identify specific metrics at all tiers and the causality linkages among them. Each NPD process step at ASP results in a deliverable, and each deliverable relates to a trade-off triangle (cost-time-resources) and, ultimately, to investment dollars. To track performance, ASP calculates how actual NPD decisions and what-if scenarios affect deliverables, alter investment triangles, and thereby influence business results. ASP uses similar process and tools, including the investment triangles and Six Sigma QFD, to make idea management decisions. The IDweb real-time software environment enables both the NPD and idea management processes at ASP. By deploying the strategic planning, idea management, portfolio and pipeline management, process management, and resource management modules of IDweb, ASP has increased throughput by 20 percent and reduced cycle time by 40 percent.

Abstract: Recently, the traditional method of selecting software based on functions and features has come under scrutiny. Some even suggest that this method is unduly drawn out and fails to focus on the critical processes of business. As you might expect, vendors would rather sell you out-of-the-box business processes and solutions that would improve efficiency, increase yields, and drive their costs down. A third alternative for selecting software, which will be discussed in this article, attempts to provide the assurances needed by the buyer and the efficiency desired by the vendor.

Abstract: Smart companies are investigating all possible software support and maintenance (S&M) options. Alternative software S&M is not for all businesses, but it seems a logical option for technologically conservative (and savvy) companies that do not need all the available upgrades.

Abstract: There are two prevailing approaches for selecting enterprise-wide software: the functions and features approach and the business processes approach. Yet a third alternative does exist—one that takes the best aspects of these two to provide the assurances needed by the buyer and the efficiency desired by the vendor.

Abstract: European nearshore locations are viewed as a complementary and alternative sourcing option to onshore and offshore locations. It offers a language and culture fit, and in some cases enjoys certain international trade agreements with the client's residing countries. Malta is an ideal nearshore location because it offers significant reduced development and implementation risks and lower hidden costs.

Abstract: In this article we describe author's experience with the distributed development of multi-lingual three-tier Java/ CORBA/database Internet applications. We believe that the described tips and tricks of trade may be of great use to readers who are involved with Java applications development.

Abstract: Custom application development is a trusted, tested strategy to ensure effective application of resources for business advancement and continuity, with minimal risk and solid return on investment (ROI). What’s that, you say? High cost? Low dependability? Long timelines? The custom application development model is plagued by myths. Find out why they’re all wrong.

Abstract: Microsoft development tools will help developers and independent Microsoft software vendors integrate Microsoft Dynamics GP with existing applications. This accounting and business management system includes many features and benefits, as well as guidelines to help developers choose the right tools for various development tasks and create custom applications that integrate with Microsoft Dynamics GP.

Abstract: Development and problem solving happens too often at the testing stage, once product prototypes have been built. This can be costly, both in terms of the time and the resources expended. Computer-aided design (CAD) and exercises (CAE) can address your concerns about product safety and performance, as well as augment your return on investment (ROI). Shift your product development paradigm with digital engineering tools.