The Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) – the LANSA Way
The LANSA Way is a full application Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) methodology for building business-oriented, database-centric applications as a collection of robust and reusable services. In short, LANSA lets you develop applications faster and at a fraction of the cost of traditional development methodologies because, in most cases, you just assemble business components and do not write code. LANSA recognizes that reusing existing assets, to create new composite applications, dramatically lowers both the cost and complexity of delivering new business systems.
Our customers have discovered that the LANSA Way is better than conventional development methodologies because:
- their applications are easier to change
- they are not tied to a particular infrastructure configuration
- they get a tailored system in less time than it takes to implement a package
- their existing investments in code, data and skills is reused, thereby saving money and reducing technical risk
- their applications easily connect and share data with other systems via standard interfaces like XML
Regardless of whether you are looking to develop new solutions, modernize your legacy applications or integrate and extend business systems, LANSA has the right product for you.
It would seem obvious that the "best" development tools are those that significantly reduce the entire SDLC time as well as the cost of ongoing application maintenance, modernization and extension. Rapid Application Development (RAD) techniques will help reduce the SDLC effort and are desirable characteristics in a software development tool. The LANSA Way incorporates a RAD methodology that spans all of the SDLC phases helping to reduce the effort needed for each phase.
Because of LANSA's unique metadata repository, ongoing maintenance, modernization and extension are LANSA's forté. This is the phase in the SDLC that most other tools except LANSA often forget!
Time and cost spent at each of the SDLC phases
 |  |  |  |  |
| Phase 1 Requirements Analysis | Phase 2 System Design | Phase 3 Development | Phase 4 Test & Implement | Phase 5 Maintain & Enhance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Click for details | Click for details | Click for details | Click for details | Click for details |
Click the links above to view details of each stage of the LANSA SDLC.
Phase 1 – Requirements Analysis
Tasks:
- Requirements analysis
- System definition
- Prototyping
LANSA tools to use:
- Visual LANSA Framework Prototyping Wizard
- Visual LANSA Repository Builder
Benefits of using LANSA:
- Framework driven requirement specification
- Get it right the first time by prototyping your project
- Improve usability and user buy-in by letting them use the prototyped system
- Manage user/customer expectations
- Manage IT staff expectations
- More accurate size and cost estimate
Phase 2 – System Design
Tasks:
- System design
- Database design
- Business Process Integration design
LANSA tools to use:
- Visual LANSA Modeler
- Visual LANSA Repository Builder
- Visual LANSA Framework
- LANSA Composer
Benefits of using LANSA:
- Choice of deployment platform
- Choice of Application Interface (MVC,AJAX,SOA, etc.)
- Choice of user interface (browser, Windows rich-client or portable devices)
- Centralized/reusable business rules
- Centralized/reusable business processes
- Normalized database design
- Framework driven design process
- Reuse/integration of existing data and functions and systems
Phase 3 – Development
Tasks:
- Develop system
- Business Process Integration
LANSA tools to use:
- Visual LANSA IDE
- LANSA Integrator
- LANSA Composer
Benefits of using LANSA:
- User prototype from the design phase as basis for system
- Framework driven development process
- One integrated suite of development tools
- Lower skill requirements
- Multi skilling
- Business level coding
- Task tracking and audit
- Downplay/hide technology focus
- Easy-to-learn and master
Phase 4 – Test and Implement
Tasks:
- User acceptance testing
- System and performance testing
- Implementation/deployment
LANSA tools to use:
- Visual LANSA Deployment Tool
Benefits of using LANSA:
- Deploy same code to multiple platforms
- Task and change control tracking
- RDML level debugging
- Multitier, real-time client/server testing and tracing
- Just-In-Time deployment
Phase 5 – Ongoing Maintenance and Enhancements
Tasks:
- Ongoing system maintenance
- Extend and enhance functionality
LANSA tools to use:
- Visual LANSA Repository Builder
- Visual LANSA IDE
- LANSA Integrator
- LANSA Composer
Benefits of using LANSA:
- Centralized/reusable business rules
- Centralized/reusable business processes
- Repository based impact analysis
- Business focused 4GL
This is the phase in the SDLC that all other tools except LANSA forgot!
It would seem obvious that the "best" SDLC tools are those that significantly reduce the time and cost of Application Maintenance, Modernization and Extension.
Because of LANSA's unique Meta Data Repository, maintenance, modernization and extension are LANSA's forté.