rad methodology - projects
21st Century IT Delivery - Rapid Application Development (RAD)
Corporate strategy sets IT's critical success factors (CSFs), which lead to defining structure, resources and deployment strategies. As the need to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of IT reaches new velocities from technological and economic drives, organisations are demanding IT departments reset their CSFs. Business impacts beyond cost management will increase in importance and business expectations will be looking for greater integrated IT service provisioning than is experienced today. IT services must provide responsive business goal driven solutions.
Delivery methodologies based on process, procedures and heavily weighted by risk mitigation will dominate the failed IT projects space. The winners in IT service delivery will be those with the courage to engage in methodologies and suppliers based on the business user's needs and perception.
Rapid Application Development (RAD) methods were originated to respond to the highly structured, controlled and generally inflexible IT practices of expensive mainframe and large scale computing environments. Formalised by Dynamic Systems Development Methodology (DSDM), RAD focuses on bringing the IT team into greater proximity with the business teams, whilst bringing more financial accountability to the IT team's expenditure.
RAD has continued to evolve as business and IT teams become increasingly aware and comfortable with each other. Many terms are applied to rapid application development, including the tools and techniques collectively described under the term "Agile". Many organisations are familiar with Agile, but may not be confident, particularly when the introduction of the methodology has been introduced by external parties or heavily technically focused teams.
Agile Project Management, from estimating and planning to day-to-day implementation is necessary to ensure Agile Development is effective and ultimately efficient. Lack of Agile Project Management will negate many of the Agile Development advantages.
For over 20 years, OCS has been at the forefront of provision of bespoke development services that are based around delivering to focused requirements in short timeframes to satisfy urgent business needs and hence deliver the benefits of:
- Exploiting business opportunities
- Re-establishing responsive IT services to the business
- Improving productivity
- Reducing time stealers, costs, elapsed time, delivery
- And creating real business IT synergy.
As an original member of the DSDM Consortium in 1994, OCS initially developed its own propriety RAD Methodology which has evolved over the years, most recently through the advent of Agile, EXTREME and Crystal Clear techniques. The success of OCS' RAD Methodology lies in the continual enhancement that selecting the most appropriate thinking from the latest schools of software development brings. The saying goes, the proof of the pudding is in the eating and OCS' delivery track record has delivered many a gourmet meal.
The major components of OCS' RAD Methodology are based on readily recognisable components of modern software engineering methods, including:
- Formal scoping and requirements analysis (to ensure focus remains on business objectives and outcomes)
- High level analysis and design (to ensure technical integrity of the solution with underlying environment)
- Highly skilled multi-disciplined teams formed to satisfy required functional and technical requirements
- Structured iterations and timeboxed deliveries driven by prioritised requirements (to maintain control and delivery management)
- Pro-active management and escalation (to remove time-stealers, delays and road blocks)
- Revisited and revised estimates and plans leveraging team knowledge acquisition
- Sustained and close proximity contact with key business users, including use of survey and test audiences
- Planning for uncertainty with continuous and incremental updates derived from acquired knowledge.
Further, OCS supplements the methodology with techniques such as:
- Test driven programming: to improve quality and deliverable compliance during build
- Peer review: multi-pairing approach using architectural design and data owner to ensure technical integrity
- Daily check-ins: ensuring on-going quality product delivery and forward acceleration to target deliverables
- Constant code refactoring: ensuring simplicity of design to reduce cost of maintenance and future enhancements.
In order to provide a modern, flexible and responsive delivery methodology ready to deliver to your business needs.
To discuss OCS' methodologies please email: info@ocs-consulting.com or call 020 8236 7777.