and accessibility levels, to name a few.
To Sum Up
So if you want to build better applications, and applications that are more reliable:
- Understand your requirements well, and expect them to change
- Aim High, not only to meet, but to exceed your requirements
- Put Architecture first, at the solution level and at the design level, using
experienced architects - Generate re-usable components that will grow in reliability over time, and
learn how to build APIs that are widely re-useable - Train your development team on your architectural requirements and guidelines, and do peer reviews against your guidelines
- Understand the processes surrounding your application, and improve on them
Yes, you'll still have to document your product requirements well, especially so that you can verify them against the candidate releases. But you'll also be able to better withstand
the storms of changing requirements, evolving standards and competition.
I'm sure I've only scratched the surface, but maybe I've also ruffled a few feathers -
Let's hear from you.
About the author
Joe Farah is the President and CEO of Neuma Technology and is a regular contributor to the CM Journal. Prior to co-founding Neuma in 1990 and directing the development of CM+, Joe was Director of Software Architecture and Technology at Mitel, and in the 1970s a Development Manager at Nortel (Bell-Northern Research) where he developed the Program Library System (PLS) still heavily in use by Nortel's largest projects. A software developer since the late 1960s, Joe holds a B.A.Sc. degree in Engineering Science from the University of Toronto. You can contact Joe at farah@neuma.com
