System Transformation Portal

Keep It Simple: Try Integrated Tools

By William M. Ulrich
(Originally appeared in Computerworld July 16, 2001) 

It's an age-old question: Should IT acquire an integrated set of software management, maintenance and development tools, or should it license a series of point tools, each with niche functionality? The vendor community offers you a choice. But what's the best option?

In general, an integrated tool suite offers advantages over a collection of niche products. 

As IT seeks to automate software specification, development, enhancement and management activities, the number of software products fulfilling these requirements is growing. For example, tools that help analysts and developers build and deploy applications are rapidly evolving. Many niche tools, which individually provide Universal Markup Language (UML) visual object modeling, source-code editing and debugging functions, have been bundled into integrated development environments (IDE).

Integrated product suites extend well beyond IDE. Software tools can also help IT managers and developers track project progress, coordinate companywide personnel use and account for the many documents that are byproducts of these projects.

Additional products help maintain and enhance the IT knowledge base by capturing and cataloging user requests, requirements and documentation in a knowledge repository. White-board tools allow business and IT analysts to exchange ideas via virtual meetings. These collaboration tools allow IT to streamline ongoing communications with users and customers to expedite projects and meet critical business requirements.

But why should IT care if these products are delivered as stand-alone tools or as part of an integrated suite? Because the tasks performed and the deliverables produced by these tools are related. To effectively leverage the capabilities of individual tools, the information these tools produce needs to be leveraged by related tools. For example, a UML model produced by one tool might be used by an IDE to generate a Java application.

The level of tool integration offered by software vendors varies. They can bundle internal or third-party tools under a product suite, or deliver a framework with integration interfaces to third-party tools.

The ideal is an integrated product suite, with a rich set of functional tools that can integrate with third-party products. This approach provides a product framework, delivers baseline functionality and accommodates other tools already in use. Integrated product suites also reduce the number of vendors you need to deal with and allow you to train people on just one product, simplifying the product acceptance and deployment process.

Ideally, a vendor offering a software product suite meets the following criteria: The product should provide a framework with a Web-enabled interface, it should have a rich set of integrated, functional tools created by the vendor and acquired or licensed for bundling into the product suite. Such a product should have an open repository that facilitates the exchange of information from one tool to another while offering an open interface to other third-party products.

For example, a collaborative work environment might include tools for project management, resource tracking, analysis and design and document management, as well as other tools to simplify enterprise project tracking and deployment. This product should also be able to move information between stand-alone tools. This provides IT with an integrated product suite that accommodates niche products already in use.

Consider these fundamental requirements when looking at your next product acquisition. Selecting an integrated suite that accommodates third-party products will simplify the acquisition, deployment and management of your software tool environment.