What is Application Development?
Application development is the process of designing, creating, testing, and maintaining software applications or systems. It covers a wide range of activities, from coding and debugging to deploying and updating software solutions.
The role of software development in PLM and manufacturing
Application development is integral to the creation of smart, connected products. These products combine mechanical, electrical, and software components and are becoming increasingly common in industries like automotive, aerospace, and consumer electronics. To manage the complexity of these products, many organizations are integrating ALM (application lifecycle management) and PLM (product lifecycle management).
Incorporating software into physical products allows manufacturers to offer more intelligent features that can adapt over time. This adaptability is made possible through continuous software development that integrates seamlessly with the physical product’s lifecycle. By integrating ALM with PLM, companies can ensure seamless collaboration between hardware and software teams, enabling them to develop smarter products that meet the demands of modern consumers.
What are the benefits of application development?
Support smart product development
Integration of application development tools and processes with PLM (product lifecycle management) allows for better coordination of embedded systems with physical product design, enabling innovation in smart technologies.
Unify data management
Create a single source of truth by unifying data across hardware and software lifecycles. This consistency helps avoid errors and miscommunication between teams, ensuring that all stakeholders have access to up-to-date information.
Enhance collaboration
Bridge the gap between hardware and software teams, ensuring effective collaboration on complex products that require tight coordination between physical components and embedded software.
Improve traceability
Ensure every change, whether in software or hardware, is tracked in one place. This is essential for regulatory compliance, quality assurance, and managing complex products.
Ensure regulatory compliance
Simplify compliance by providing comprehensive documentation and traceability across both hardware and software lifecycles, ensuring that all regulatory requirements are met efficiently.
What's the best way to get started with application development in your organization?
Integrating application development into hardware development through ALM (application lifecycle management) and PLM (product lifecycle management) systems is essential for creating smart, connected products. Keep reading to discover our recommended approach to software development, or reach out to us for a free consultation today.
These tools should enable cross-disciplinary collaboration, data sharing, and traceability across both software and hardware lifecycles. Ensure that the tools you choose support integration standards such as OSLC (open services for lifecycle collaboration), which facilitate linking data between ALM and PLM rather than duplicating it.
These workflows ensure that changes in one system (e.g., a hardware design change in PLM) trigger corresponding actions in the other system (e.g., a software update in ALM). You’ll also need to identify key touchpoints where data needs to be shared, such as requirements management, testing, change management, and version control.
Implement Agile practices such as regular sprints, stand-ups, and retrospectives to keep both teams aligned on project goals. Use integrated systems to provide real-time feedback on changes made by either team. For example, if a new feature is added to the software, the hardware team should be notified immediately to assess any impact on physical components.
Ensure that all changes, whether they are software code updates or hardware design modifications, are tracked in a single digital thread. This unified approach helps identify issues early and reduces the risk of costly rework, maintains consistency across teams, and ensures compliance with industry standards.
Hardware development often follows longer cycles compared to iterative software releases. Use your integrated ALM-PLM system to synchronize release cycles between hardware and software teams. Implement CI/CD (continuous integration/continuous delivery) practices within your ALM system to automate testing and deployment of software updates.
Set up automated tests within your ALM system to verify that changes made in one system are correctly reflected in the other, and use simulation tools within your PLM system to test how new software features will interact with physical components before they’re deployed.
An integrated ALM-PLM system allows you to manage changes efficiently across both domains. Ensure that all changes are properly versioned so that teams can easily revert to previous versions if necessary. When a change is made in one system, it should automatically propagate relevant updates to the other system.
After deploying your smart product, continue monitoring its performance using both ALM and PLM systems. Use ALM to track defects reported by users or identified during post-launch testing. Use PLM to manage maintenance schedules for physical components while ensuring that any required software updates are delivered in parallel.
Need help with Application development?
Anders Malmgren and team are on-hand to provide tailored guidance and support with a deep knowledge of the full Dassault Systèmes portfolio. Reach out for a free consultation today.
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