Micro Focus ADM R&D group for ALM Octane deploys Micro Focus Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Octane to create a single unified tool for software development processes using different methodologies and accelerating application release times.
Many ALM solutions have needed to evolve as the software development process has become increasingly sophisticated. Choosing the right solution is especially challenging when a business seeks real-time visibility across numerous development projects running under both non-Agile and Agile methodologies. Moreover, when an organization requires a solution that is also quality-focused with accelerated delivery, analytical and testing transitioning capabilities, the task becomes harder. This was the challenge faced by ADM R&D Group for ALM Octane managers when they sought a new ALM solution.
“We needed a holistic overview of all software development activities,” explains Ruly Weisbach, product research and development director, ADM R&D Group for ALM Octane.
“In contrast with the ALM solutions we’ve previously employed, the new tool had to be armed with a raft of other important capabilities as well as being both quality and Agile focused.”
After defining the ALM requirements and assessing the offerings, the Israel-based research and development team opted for ALM Octane, the multi-national’s latest next-generation ALM software solution.
“We’ve identified a highly scalable, user-friendly, enterprise-grade ALM offering that provides real-time visibility across the entire software development process,” continues Weisbach.
ALM Octane helps software developers plan, define, build, test, track and deliver high-quality, high-performance applications more quickly, satisfying the demands of today’s highly competitive environment. Operating as an onpremise or as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offering, this unified platform defines, manages and automates activities while gaining insight to deliver applications from conception to production.
The streamlined ALM platform uses popular developer toolsets like Jenkins and GIT to deliver continuous quality while the solution’s software lifecycle management capabilities specifically suit organizations with Lean, Agile and DevOps-focused teams.
“When running several projects, the Octane platform provides the current status quickly and clearly. We swiftly see whether projects are on-track or if there are major issues to resolve,” says Weisbach. “Octane rapidly assesses the reasons for build errors, quality or CI problems, compilation and client environmental issues. It takes about one minute to understand what’s happening and, within another minute, we’ve contacted the most appropriate team member to implement a fix.”
Weisbach believes his team could not manage and react to issues in this manner with their earlier ALM solution. “In the past, issues could remain unidentified for a week as we were blissfully unaware of a problem that could potentially seriously affect our organization,” he adds.
From the user perspective, ALM Octane has several distinct advantages over earlier ALM solutions. Developers get all the data from their CI pipelines via a full integration while an ability to relate all information rapidly identifies what needs fixing and generates visibility across every project. Agile release train and the entire application delivery pipeline. “ALM Octane provides an all-inclusive picture of the software development process,” reveals Weisbach. “The platform readily conducts multiple changes, supports both non-Agile and Agile environments well and is more flexible than other ALM solutions when transitioning from these different methodologies.”
Distinct from many other ALM tools, the functionally-rich Octane platform focuses on both software quality and the Agile process and Weisbach’s team has found its ability to transition from manual to automated testing especially useful. “When we’re introducing a software feature, for example, we initially define what’s to be done and what manual tests to perform,” declares Weisbach. “With Octane, we close the loop and transition to automated testing with one unified tool rather than multiple tools.”
The ADM R&D Group developers recently appreciated Octane’s analytical capability. By analysing all the testing activities conducted during a project, the software quickly identified the real problem. Spending too much time conducting unstable automated tests proved to be the issue rather than the quality of the manual tests performed by the developers. “The Octane platform is so much more user-friendly than any other ALM tool we’ve used. It’s so finely tuned to what we need to do and will undoubtedly provide real-world customers with a competitive edge by accelerating time-to-market,” concludes Weisbach.
