SOFTWARE ENGINEERING

Software Architecture

Software architecture is the backbone of any enterprise-wide information system because the system's quality attributes are largely permitted or precluded by its architecture, which not only represents an abstract reusable model that can be used across applications but also provides a common ground for mediating conflicting goals & requirements.

The Artilligence Software Engineering Methodology begins with Architecture. While the Client/Server Architecture is a versatile, message-based and modular infrastructure that improves usability, flexibility, interoperability and scalability, we consider it obsolete in the modern context. We, therefore, endorse a Distributed/Collaborative Enterprise Architecture based on the Distributed Object Model using shared, reusable Business Models (not just objects) as a basic structural design. It combines the benefits of standardized business object models and distributed object computing to provide a flexible, robust and evolutionary platform for all systems development needs of an organization, including:

  • New systems development
  • eBusiness transformation of existing systems
  • Legacy systems reengineering (white-box modernization)
  • Black-box (non-intrusive) modernization of information systems (without knowledge of the internals of a legacy system)
  • Reengineering legacy "Application Server based" client/server applications into "ORB (Object Request Broker) based" distributed object systems
  • Extending legacy CORBA/COM/DCOM/COM+ systems using shared, reusable business models

Development Methodology

We use and advocate a tool-based software development methodology using Software Components. When required, we extend the paradigm to integrate Open Systems based commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) software products into an application. Our software engineers employ:

  • Object-Oriented Analysis & Design methods using UML
  • Defined Object Frameworks
  • Defined Business Processes
  • A comprehensive repository of Business Objects

Applications

Artilligence provides full life-cycle software engineering services on a turnkey basis to develop software in diverse application areas, including but not limited to, the following:

  • eBusiness/eCommerce/mCommerce and other Web-centric applications, including eBusiness vortals and Web-enablement/transformation of legacy systems
  • Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) & Supply Chain Management Systems for Manufacturing (MRP II), Wholesale & Retail Distribution, and Banking/Insurance/Brokerage industries
  • Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Sales Force Automation (SFA) Systems, including interfacing these with ERP systems
  • Business Intelligence Systems, including Data Warehousing, DataMart, Data Mining & OLAP (On-Line Analytical Processing)
  • Large/Hybrid Database Management applications
  • Knowledge-based applications in Artificial Intelligence
  • Document Management systems
  • Government & Community systems
  • Data Acquisition & Control Systems for industrial automation and other applications

Services

We are adept in every phase of the software development and deployment life cycle. The following is only a representative list of services we provide.

Architectural Design: We study the organization's needs from the Information Engineering standpoint and develop an Architecture that addresses the enterprise-wide requirement at any level of abstraction, thereby providing a unified and consistent guideline for developing software-intensive systems across the board.

Business Process Reengineering Studies: Our domain experts conduct an investigation into your existing business processes and propose changes that are better aligned with the corporate objectives. The resultant findings may be used in collaboration with our software engineers to map the new business processes with the set functionalities of an ERP system.

Feasibility Studies: Any successful I.T. systems implementation begins with a study by a domain expert of what is feasible and what is not. An integral part of the study is the Discovery process that reveals what is "possible" for your business. These possibilities sometimes dictate the feasibility of the project under consideration, and sometimes have an even broader impact on the overall company strategy.

Proof-of-Concept Prototyping: What the feasibility and discovery process reveals must oftentimes be demonstrated in a tangible form before users can truly comprehend the consequences of such a system. Depending on whether the requirements are slanted towards user-satisfaction, functionality fulfillment or performance evaluation, we employ the right prototyping tools to deploy a proof-of-concept system that help decision-making based on experience and facts.

Systems Study & Design: Our senior consultants have domain expertise on diverse industrial and commercial applications. Our time-tested methodologies ensure a speedy and well-validated process life cycle whereby user specifications are transported through extensive modeling steps into programmable technical specifications. Use of object-oriented methodologies employing re-useable objects is now an almost standard practice regardless of the target application or development software involved.

Programming: Our programmers are available on a worldwide basis to produce efficient code using virtually every popular development platform. We structure the project to best suit your economy structure and can perform this task either on a fixed-cost turnkey basis or on a variable cost time-and-material basis — or a mixture of the two.

Quality Assurance: Quality Assurance is performed as an integral part of the programming process, and only verified and validated software is moved to production for implementation. We encourage our clients to contribute team members towards the Q.A. Team.

Implementation: Software/system deployment, preceded and followed by user-training. We assist with data preparation, migration, conversion and other processes that are sometimes necessary.

Software Maintenance & Extension: All software is a living and evolving entity that must change with time in keeping with changes in the market and/or the internal business process. Our work does not just stop with software deployment and implementation. If required, we can continue to be responsible for all maintenance and improvement related work.

Software Migration & Porting: We have experience in the following types of migration:.

  • COBOL to COBOL with RDBMS
  • COBOL to C++ with RDBMS
  • COBOL to Unix/C/Oracle
  • COBOL to PowerBuilder
  • COBOL to Visual Basic
  • COBOL to Delphi
  • Informix to Oracle
  • Informix to C and DB2 on MVS/ESA
  • Informix to PowerBuilder & Sybase
  • RPG/400 to COBOL/Oracle
  • RPG/400 to PowerBuilder
  • RPG/400 to Delphi
  • Other migrations and portings involving Unisys, Wang, NCR, Honeywell Bull, Phillips and ICL