In a recent press release by Micro Focus®, a leading provider of enterprise application modernization, testing and management solutions, stated that the company launched its Online Application Value Profile (AVP). The AVP is an online self-assessment tool that helps software organizations begin the process of making strategic and continuous improvements to the software development lifecycle (SDLC). A lack of SDLC project models is often identified as the root cause of IT project failures in organizations across multiple industries and geographies.
“Given the current austere budget environment, the Online Application Value Profile (AVP) self-assessment tool may help agencies identify improvement areas to reduce costs and/or the need to create new applications,” said Tod Tompkin, Vice President of Sales Operations for the Federal Government division at Micro Focus.
According to the press release, software development teams are caught between pressures to produce more software, increase quality and meet rigid schedules as pressure mounts on these organizations to increase productivity and understand potential return on investment for any given project. This causes difficult challenges for teams. A recent report from The Standish Group found that in spite of the methodologies and tools thrown at the problem, 63 percent of projects are late, over budget or fail entirely.
“The AVP’s unique methodology for profiling and analyzing an organization’s software development lifecycle relative to the business expectations facing the software development group provides an opportunity to examine all potential improvement opportunities and then prioritize and isolate a few practices to focus on initially,” stated the document. “After completing the online profile, users are presented with a PDF report free-of-charge which details peer comparisons around technology maturity, a profile of critical performance indicators and recommendations for next steps to help continue the application value path.”
Micro Focus’ Application Value Profile is an objective analysis that aids organizations identify improvement opportunities to secure an utmost return from its software development and testing investments. The AVP investigates business concerns and processes in the areas of Project Management, Change and Configuration Management, Quality Management and Requirements Management by providing a strategy for improving development and testing capabilities. It also estimates the potential business value of change for the company as well. The AVP’s sensible approach is clear and provides a foundation for creating a solid, feasible plan for expansion.
“Leaders in organizations typically have little issue making decisions; however, we often find that they lack the data they need to make informed decisions,” said Richard Novak, President of Micro Focus North America. “With the output of the AVP, we work with organizations to make intelligent, informed decisions regarding where to invest in improvements – based on optimizing business impact.”
AVP utilizes a set of targeted questions to evaluate three main information technology areas of an organization: Requirements, Change Processes and Quality. These results are customized to the organization’s standards and provide an illustrated graph that represents the organization’s agility, productivity and business alignment. Users receive suggestions from Micro Focus based on this evaluation.
“Businesses of every size and in every industry are looking for new ways to reduce the cost of operations, while continuing to attract, serve and satisfy valuable customers,” Novak said. “As a result, CIOs are more dependent than ever on IT departments and software developers to ensure that their business-critical applications are supporting strategic growth objectives in a cost-effective manner. The Micro Focus Online Application Value Profile empowers users to see how their application practices stack up against competition and provides the opportunity to go one step further to determine specific return on investment and recommend immediate steps towards achieving agility and efficiency.”
Micro Focus is a member of the FTSE 250. The company provides innovative software that allows other businesses to dramatically improve the business value of their own enterprise applications.
To learn more about Micro Focus’ Application Value Profile, click here.