From manufacturing to Software development – what can we learn!

November 6, 2021November 6, 2021Mohamed Sami

The world knows manufacturing since almost the age of human beings on earth by creating different tools to help in their daily living routines. It was not at scale at the time but it is a sort of manufacturing process.

The manufacturing process has been advanced starting with Industry 1.0 until reaching Industry 4.0 with the mix of advanced technology, data & AI to improve the manufacturing process and strengthen the factory of the future with many innovative scenarios of full automation, connected supply chain, predictive maintenance, and others.

Going deeper into the manufacturing process, I found that there are lots of similarities in objectives, concerns, and challenges with the software engineering development process. This beauty of knowing the similarities and differences can make us learn how we can use the combined knowledge of two different industries to bring more innovation and efficiency for both.

In this article, I discuss from my observation what are similarities and the learning between both processes. To make good anatomy of the two, let us see them from different aspects

The Validation and Verification Model – The V-Model

August 27, 2018February 13, 2019Mohamed Sami

What is V-Model?

V-Model is mostly known as the validation and verification software development process model (The Vee Model), and It is one of the most know software development methodology. Although it is considered as an improvement to the waterfall model and it has some similarities as the process also based on sequential steps moving down in a linear way, it differs from the waterfall model as the steps move upwards after the coding phase to form the typical V shape. This V shape demonstrates the relationships between each phase of the development life cycle and its associated phase of testing.

Validation and Verification in SDLC

August 6, 2018November 10, 2018Mohamed Sami

In Software Engineering, we chant the term of validation and verification a lot between the software team members. Actually, it is used across the software project phases and I think there is a misconception in understanding the two terminologies and when to use them.

3 types of application software you should know

July 2, 2018November 10, 2018Mohamed Sami

Software solution design process always targets the reuse of components and modules to speed up the development process, lower the project cost, and provide the customers with a faster valuable solution.

For any Software project initiation, mainly the solution architect think about if we already have a similar solution or application for the requested requirements or not. If it is possible to use some parts of the code or not. Maybe, we should search for ready-made products that we can use if a company or someone already developed this application and it satisfied our requirements.

Always, we will observe this kind of discussion for any project initiation and in solution architecture process.

In this article, we will discuss the 3 types of application software any software engineer, software project manager, technical sales, or architect should know.

The Software Process Improvement (SPI) – Reward or Risk

June 26, 2018December 16, 2020Mohamed Sami

Most of the Software companies large, medium, small, or startup usually face issues in their software development projects and its delivery. The issues can vary from lack of documentation, lack of following the process, lack of process governance, lack of the integration and collaboration between the teams, lack of requirements traceability, lack of technology management, …etc.

We have discussed in a previous post the trends of software projects and that large software projects on the average run 66% over budget and 33% over schedule; as many as 17% of projects go so badly that they can threaten the existence of the company.

Therefore, some methods and techniques started to exist to tackle the software process issues to suggest different improvements and identify issues and inefficiencies in the process. These methods became a standard which the companies can follow to improve their software process. Moreover, each method established its ecosystem, from providing the training and certificates for the method to provide consultancy to help companies to improve based on actual practices.

In this article, It will be good to ask yourself if the software process improvement is a peril to have or a promise for a better change for the organization and to have a superior advantage in the market. For answering this, we will discuss in this article what is SPI?, what is the SPI process steps? what are the different methods?, the motivators and demotivators of SPI projects, what are the common success factors for SPI project implementation?

The Waterfall Model, a different perspective

February 16, 2018November 10, 2018Mohamed Sami

What is the Waterfall Model (Waterfall Methodology)?

It is mostly known as the traditional software development process model, widely used until now, and the most popular SDLC model and the one you should avoid to use. Moreover, it was the first introduced presentation of the software lifecycle.

You can read this Wikipedia page to know the waterfall model history.

The Waterfall Model is a linear sequential flow. In which progress is seen as flowing steadily downwards (like a waterfall) through the phases of software implementation. This means that any phase in the development process begins only if the previous phase is complete. The waterfall approach does not define the process to go back to the previous phase to handle changes in requirement.

In this article, we will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the waterfall, should we avoid it? when to use it? and the waterfall model pitfall, and why I see it as the father of the SDLC models.

5 Steps to Software Development Effort Estimation

January 15, 2018November 10, 2018Mohamed Sami

The software development effort estimation is an essential activity before any software project initiation. In this article, I will illustrate how to easily estimate the software effort using known estimation techniques which are Function Points Analysis (FPA) and Constructive Cost Model (COCOMO).

Architectural Styles, Architecture Patterns, Design Patterns, and Language Idioms

July 2, 2017November 10, 2018Mohamed Sami

If you attended any of Software Architectures classes or read any books regarding the Software Architecture, it is common to have buildings Architecture as an analogy to understand the main concept of the Software Architecture. We will use the same here to understand what is the style and what is the pattern

An architectural style is characterized by the features that make a building or other structure notable and historically identifiable. A style may include such elements as form, a method of construction, building materials, and regional character. Most architecture can be classified as a chronology of styles which changes over time reflecting changing fashions, beliefs, and religions, or the emergence of new ideas, technology, or materials which make new styles possible.

What do you need to know about the Software Development phases

June 13, 2017November 10, 2018Mohamed Sami

Software development lifecycle models have different strategies and methodologies for the software development process and I wrote about the different types of development models, please review this article for more information, we also discussed how to select the most suitable model based on your project context.

Regardless, what model you have selected, these models are sharing mostly the same development phases with different arrangements, a more or a less phase. Furthermore, they can be implemented in an iterative and incremental model.

In this article, we will discuss the most common phases across all SDLC models. I will add other articles to discuss each phase in details 🙂 Read more →

Software Scope vs. Requirement specifications

May 14, 2017October 19, 2019Mohamed Sami

Did you face any situation where you have been confused between the software scope and its requirements? If YES, I think you are not alone, There are a lot of misunderstanding in software engineering practices between software scope and its requirement specifications. Most of the time, the software project missed the scope and fall in scope creep dilemma without any notice, and without the alignment with the software scope which turns the project and software to be unsuccessful.

The best SDLC model

May 5, 2017August 18, 2019Mohamed Sami

I received a lot of emails and comments regarding the best software development life cycle model. So, I had to write my opinion about that.

Actually, I think there is nothing called the best in absolute general, the best for me maybe not the best for you at this moment. Similarly, there is nothing called the best SDLC model in absolute general, you need to decide which one you need to use according to the software project context and what product or software you are developing, what about your competitors? And what are the team capabilities you have?

Architectural Design Decisions

April 29, 2017November 10, 2018Mohamed Sami

There is no doubt how the architecture is important to shape the solution and define its characteristics in the different architecture domains, and how this solution will be adaptable and dynamic to absorb new business needs and handle different stakeholders’ concerns.

In most architecture development processes, different decisions are taken in the different architecture domains. Architects may make different decisions, such as choosing a specific component, in the conceptual architecture and follow a specific architecture pattern.

Quality Function Deployment

December 7, 2016November 10, 2018Mohamed Sami

Introduction

Quality Function Deployment was developed by Yoji Akao in Japan in 1966. By 1972 the power of the approach had been well demonstrated at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Kobe Shipyard [1]and in 1978 the first book on the subject was published in Japanese and then later translated into English in 1994. [2]

The QFD methodology can be used for both tangible products and non-tangible services, including manufactured goods, service industry, software products, IT projects, business process development, government, healthcare, environmental initiatives, and many other applications.

Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

March 14, 2016August 11, 2018Mohamed Sami

I created consolidated slides to illustrate most of the popular software development models. I hope that you will like it. Read more →

Difference between Software Architecture, Software Structure, and Software Design

January 5, 2013December 16, 2020Mohamed Sami

Introduction

Over the past 10-15 years, Software architecture has been widely spread in the software engineering community, To the extent that there are currently many career positions for software architect like Technical Architect and Chief Architect. Also, Architecture has involved in many different domains, for example, the architecture used to describe and refer to the internal structure of microprocessor and structure of machines or Network. For that matter, Trying to find one widely accepted definition for software architecture is not easy, and this issue has been introduced in many books when the authors start defining software architecture.

White Box Techniques for Security Testing

May 1, 2012August 16, 2019Mohamed Sami

What is white box testing?

White box testing and analysis, by contrast with “black box” testing and analysis, that are mainly performed on the source code. Also known as glass box, structural, clear box, and open box testing.

White box analysis and tests include:

Static Analysis

It is known as “code review,” static analysis analyses source code before it is compiled, to detect coding errors, insecure coding constructs, and other indicators of security vulnerabilities or weaknesses that are detectable at the source code level. Static analyses can be manual or automated. In a manual analysis, the reviewer inspects the source code without the assistance of tools.

Choosing the right Software development life cycle model

March 21, 2012December 16, 2020Mohamed Sami

Selecting a Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) methodology is a challenging task for many organizations and software engineers. What tends to make it challenging is the fact that few organizations know what are the criteria to use in selecting a methodology to add value to the organization. Fewer still understand that a methodology might apply to more than one Life Cycle Model. Before considering a framework for selecting a given SDLC methodology, we need to define the different types and illustrate the advantages and disadvantages of those models (please see the Software Development Life Cycle Models and Methodologies).

Software Development Life Cycle Models and Methodologies

March 15, 2012December 29, 2021Mohamed Sami

Introduction

Software development life cycle (SDLC) is a series of phases that provide a common understanding of the software building process. How the software will be realized and developed from the business understanding and requirements elicitation phase to convert these business ideas and requirements into functions and features until its usage and operation to achieve the business needs. A good software engineer should have enough knowledge on how to choose the SDLC model based on the project context and the business requirements.

Therefore, it may be required to choose the right SDLC model according to the specific concerns and requirements of the project to ensure its success. I wrote another article on how to choose the right SDLC, you can follow this link for more information. Moreover, to learn more about Software Testing life cycles and SDLC phases you follow the links highlighted here.

In this article, we will explore the different types of SDLC models and the advantages and disadvantages of each one, and when to use them.

Software Security Testing in SDLC

March 2, 2012August 16, 2019Mohamed Sami

When to perform Software security analysis and tests?

Most of the software security practitioners would agree that the common practice of postponing security analysis and tests after the software implementation phase and even after it has been deployed (i.e., during its acceptance phase), makes it extremely difficult to address in a cost-effective, timely manner any vulnerabilities and weaknesses discovered during the analysis and testing process.

What is the software security testing?

February 28, 2012August 16, 2019Mohamed Sami

In the Software industry, Most of the clients have a main requirement which is

“We want the system to be secured”.

Security is a non-functional property of the system, the main goal for securing the system to make this system dependable. So, we can depend on this system and it can perform its excepted functions as required and specified.

Therefore, it is mandatory to run the security testing procedures to ensure that we can depend on this system, but we need also to consider some functional requirements on writing requirements specifications document that help to obtain this goal.

The Software Security Testing

February 26, 2012August 16, 2019Mohamed Sami

What did they say about Software security testing?

“Over 70 percent of security vulnerabilities exist at the application layer, not the network layer” Gartner.

“Hacking has moved from a hobbyist pursuit with a goal of notoriety to a criminal pursuit with a goal of money” Counterpane Internet Security.

“64 percent of developers are not confident in their ability to write secure applications” Microsoft Developer Research.

“Losses arising from vulnerable web applications are significant and expensive – up to $60 billion annually”IDC/IBM Systems Sciences Institute.

“If 50 percent of software vulnerabilities were removed prior to production use, enterprise configuration management and incident response costs would be reduced by 75 percent each.”Gartner.

5 Core competencies every Business Analysts MUST have

February 21, 2012August 16, 2019Mohamed Sami

The Business Analyst is a key role in any software project and he is responsible mainly for the output from the analysis which phase is critical for the software project success, in this article we will discuss 5 core competencies that business analyst should have. let us go through them.

Creative thinking

Creative thinking is the process by which we generate new ideas, imagine possibilities, and find relationships among seemingly unrelated concepts.