News
Serena Offers Vision to Companies
- By Kathleen Ohlson
- May 31, 2005
In an effort to ease developers’ burden, Serena Software recently introduced
software to allow business users to plan, model and prototype their applications
before one line of code is written.
Serena ProcessView Composer is a framework that models business processes,
user interfaces, system connections and application data in an integrated environment
designed specifically for business users.
Businesses have been using word processors, whiteboards, post-its and static
screen shots to define and organize applications, causing lots of headaches
for IT. Developers have had to gather these disparate documents and information
only to guess what their business users wanted and expected. As a result, projects
have failed, millions of dollars have been wasted and business opportunities
have been missed.
Targeting process designers, application consultants, business analysts and
other users, ProcessView has a Microsoft Office-like interface to make it business
user-friendly. ProcessView’s graphical approach allows businesses to describe
the application they want and give IT an understanding of the full requirements
before coding begins.
The software, which will be available in June, offers an XML-based, shared
visual taxonomy for defining application requirements and prototypes. Its purpose
is to streamline business processes by modeling existing and proposed business
processes, activity flows and interaction scenarios, as well as modeling connections
to existing business systems, the applications and infrastructure that enterprises
have.
Other features include:
- Constructing detailed application data models to optimize data collection
and storage
- Defining business, system and functional requirements for visual models
- Modeling key activity flows and test cases before and during application
development
- Automating detailed business documents, including requirements and specifications
- Publishing full-feature application prototypes so business users see exactly
what they are getting
- Capturing and importing existing Web applications
The visual application models and prototypes in ProcessView may help offshore
developers who normally rely on written requirements. ProcessView builds an
integrated business and IT architecture to enable executive sponsors to visualize
applications that will run on service-oriented architecture platforms. Businesses
would also be able to model corporate compliance processes and activities, ensuring
they can prove, achieve and sustain compliance.
About the Author
Kathleen Ohlson is senior editor at Application Development Trends magazine.