A software factory is a structured collection of related software assets that aids in producing computer software applications or software components according to specific, externally defined end-user requirements through an assembly process. A software factory applies manufacturing techniques and principles to software development to mimic the benefits of traditional manufacturing. Software factories are generally involved with outsourced software creation.
Description In software engineering and enterprise software architecture, a software factory is a software product line that configures extensive tools, processes, and content using a template based on a schema to automate the development and maintenance of variants of an archetypical product by adapting, assembling, and configuring framework-based components. Since coding requires a software engineer (or the parallel in traditional manufacturing, a skilled craftsman) it is eliminated from the process at the application layer, and the software is created by assembling predefined components instead of using traditional IDEs. Traditional coding is left only for creating new components or services. As with traditional manufacturing, the engineering is left to creation of the components and the requirements gathering for the system. The end result of manufacturing in a software factory is a composite application.
Purpose Software-factory-based application development addresses the problem of traditional application development where applications are developed and delivered without taking advantage of the knowledge gained and the assets produced from developing similar applications. Many approaches, such as training, documentation, and frameworks, are used to address this problem; however, using these approaches to consistently apply the valuable knowledge previously gained during development of multiple applications can be an inefficient and error-prone process. Software factories address this problem by encoding proven practices for developing a specific style of application within a package of integrated guidance that is easy for project teams to adopt. Developing applications using a suitable software factory can provide many benefits, such as improved productivity, quality and evolution capability.
Components Software factories are unique and therefore contain a unique set of assets designed to help build a specific type of application. In general, most software factories contain interrelated assets of the following types:
Factory Schema: A document that categorizes and summarizes the assets used to build and maintain a system (such as XML documents, models, etc.) in an orderly way, and defines relationships between them. Reference implementation: Provides an example of a realistic, finished product that the software factory helps developers build. Architecture guidance and patterns: Help explain application design choices and the motivation for those choices. How-to topics: Provide procedures and instructions for completing tasks. Recipes: Automate procedures in How-to topics, either entirely or in specific steps. They can help developers complete routine tasks with minimal input. Templates: Pre-made application elements with placeholders for arguments. They can be used for creating initial project items. Designers: Provide information that developers can use to model applications at a higher level of abstraction. Reusable code: Components that implement common functionality or mechanisms. Integration of reusable code in a software factory reduces the requirements for manually written code and encourages reuse across applications.
Product development Building a product using a software factory involves the following activities:
Problem analysis: Determines whether the product is in the scope of a software factory. The fit determines whether all or some of the product is built with the software factory. Product specification: Defines the product requirements by outlining the differences from the product line requirements using a range of product specification mechanisms. Product design: Maps the differences in requirements to differences in product line architecture and development process to produce a customized process. Product implementation: A range of mechanisms can be used to develop the implementation depending on the extent of the differences. Product deployment: Involves creating or reusing default deployment constraints and configuring the required resources necessary to install the executables being deployed. Product testing: Involves creating or reusing test assets (such as test cases, data sets, and scripts) and applying instrumentation and measurement tools.
Benefits Developing applications using a software factory can provide many benefits when compared to conventional software development approaches. These include the following:
Consistency: Software factories can be used to build multiple instances of a software product line (a set of applications sharing similar features and architecture), making it easier to achieve consistency. This simplifies governance and also lowers training and maintenance costs. Quality: Using a software factory makes it easier for developers to learn and implement proven practices. Because of the integration of reusable code, developers are able to spend more time working on features that are unique to each application, reducing the likelihood of design flaws and code defects. Applications developed using a software factory can also be verified before deployment, ensuring that factory-specific best practices were followed during development. Productivity: Many application development activities can be streamlined and automated, such as reusing software assets and generating code from abstractions of the application elements and mechanisms. These benefits can provide value to several different teams in the following ways:
Value for business Business tasks can be simplified which can significantly increase user productivity. This is achieved through using common and consistent user interfaces that reduce the need for end-user training. Easy deployment of new and updated functionality and flexible user interfaces also allows end users to perform tasks in a way that follows the business workflow. Data quality improvements reduce the need for data exchange between application parts through the ALT+TAB and copy and paste techniques.
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