Component-Based Development

The use of reusable components significantly increases software development productivity. But not by accident, as there are a number of issues which need to be addressed.

Our proven component-based approach to development addresses these issues and produces durable, easily extensible and highly maintainable systems and is the result of our work with many companies from a number of different vertical markets. It allows us to help you drive out your key objectives and thereby establish your core business, expressed as processes and/or concepts. These can be designed and implemented as robust components, and then plugged together to rapidly build scalable systems.

Are you thinking of using component-based development and looking for help ? Please phone us on +44 1249 815081 or mail us at more@oig.co.uk

Addressing the issues

The issues range from 'who develops or uses such components' to 'how component quality is assured.' To adequately address these issues a suitable infrastructure is required which involves gathering specific skills and establishing key standards.

In determining the range of specific skills you require, consider the importance of the following:

• Business knowledge and design to ensure competitive edge
• Management and steering to ensure acceptance
• Assessment, specification and communication to ensure reuse and
• Administration to ensure reusability

Components should be concepts which all consumers, from business users to developers, readily recognise, while reliability must be assured through careful development control to guarantee reusability. The following standards are an essential part of CBD:

• Repeatable techniques for business modelling and requirements gathering
• Notation and method for component modelling
• Pattern-driven design
• Interface specification
• Architecture and
• A reusable approach

Our component-based approach to development is incremental, so you start with a relatively small part of the business and then bring in other areas as and when you are ready. At the same time the approach is immediately productive, allowing you to rapidly drive-out your key objectives and core business.

We focus on the clear separation of static, stable business concepts from more dynamic business processes and practices. The resultant concepts are then designed,specified, implemented, reviewed and refined to robust components or bought. Next their reusability needs to be tested, before establishing them as your core components. These can then be plugged together to provide the business processes and thereby build easily extensible and highly maintainable systems.

Component-Based Development Cycle and Component Man © OIG Ltd 2002-2003

We encourage the use of established techniques for requirements gathering and component analysis and the use of standard notation throughout such as the UML and OPEN's OML. The component design is pattern-driven and employs industry standards to produce the component specifications and thereby ensure their quality.

We have used this approach with IT and business people, allowing those closest to the problem to be actively involved in the identification of the components. This creates a greater sense of ownership, thereby encouraging reuse in any subsequent projects.

We have combined our approach to CBD with delivery on industry standard platforms including the J2EE providing our clients with a complete end-to-end solution. Our approach ensures the effecient development, testing and integration of J2EE components, in all architectural tiers, that are truly reusable and are actually reused. This is achieved without impacting on the aggressive development timescales often found in J2EE development projects while providing the business with early and continuous visibility of real working software.

To discuss how CBD could increase your software development productivity phone us on +44 1249 815081 or mail us at more@oig.co.uk