Borland Addresses Leading Cause of Software Project Failure with New Requirements Definition and Management Solution
New Caliber DefineIT closes the communications gap between IT and business stakeholders
CUPERTINO, Calif. -- Apr. 17, 2006 -- Borland Software Corporation, a global leader for software delivery optimization (SDO), today announced a new solution to help organizations improve their processes for defining and managing software requirements. Borland's new Requirements Definition and Management solution packages customized process improvement and training services with innovative new products to facilitate the elicitation, analysis, specification, validation, and management of requirements.
As part of this new solution, Borland also introduced Caliber(r) DefineIT(TM), a new requirements definition product that lets analysts visually specify functional requirements, execute graphical storyboards, model use cases and scenarios, and automatically generate the necessary test cases for validating quality within the software lifecycle. These capabilities help close the communications gap between business and IT, enabling customers to get requirements right from the very beginning.
"No single factor is responsible for more wasted effort, rework, or failed projects than inadequate requirements," stated Carl Zetie of Forrester Research in a January 2006 research report. "For many companies, improving the communication of requirements between IT and business managers both gathering the requirements from the business and confirming understanding to the business is the single improvement with the biggest measurable impact."[1]
The Impact of Poor Requirements
Analysts and users alike cite inaccurate, incomplete, and mismanaged requirements as the number one reason for software project failure. The Standish Group's annual CHAOS report indicates three of the top five reasons for project failure are related to requirements. In addition, requirements errors are a primary factor behind most rework efforts, which according to industry statistics, can add up to 40 percent of the total development effort within a given project.
"Requirements set the stage and impact every phase within the software lifecycle," said Rick Jackson, chief marketing officer and senior vice president of products at Borland Software. "Yet, most requirements management products and processes focus only on tracking the status and evolution of requirements, not whether the requirements are defined correctly up front or validated among all the stakeholders. Bad requirements can cause a ripple effect that leads to significant rework, project delays, budget overruns, a poor user experience or even outright failure. We're working with our customers to solve this issue."
Getting Requirements Right the First Time, Every Time
Borland's Requirements Definition and Management solution includes Caliber Analyst, the first enterprise product to integrate a visual tool for requirements definition (Caliber DefineIT) with an enterprise-class requirements management system (CaliberRM). When combined with Borland's Accelerate process framework and customized training, CaliberAnalyst not only facilitates more effective collaboration between business and IT stakeholders who often have differing frames of reference, communication styles and priorities but also provides the automation and traceability that analysts need to manage requirements from start to finish.
Caliber DefineIT helps teams capture end-user scenarios in a simple, visual form that both business and IT users readily understand. It then enables analysts to detail requirements with attributes, screenshots, prototypes, images, text-based documents and more to deliver clear and understandable requirements. Teams can then execute storyboards to aid the review process so stakeholders can effectively determine if the requirements are accurate and complete. Caliber DefineIT can also automatically generate lifecycle assets such as activity diagrams, use case diagrams, business process models and test scenarios to accelerate higher quality development.
The Borland Requirements Definition and Management solution currently integrates with Borland's Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) products, as well as Microsoft(r) Visual Studio(r) Team System, Mercury Quality Center(TM) and Eclipse, to support and improve collaboration across heterogeneous development environments. Borland also expects integration with Segue SilkTest to be completed later this year. The Borland Requirements Definition and Management solution also includes assessments, executive alignment sessions and personalized process improvement workshops led by Borland Solution Architects, as well as an array of training options to facilitate rapid adoption of the processes and Borland products.
"One of the biggest challenges our clients face is communication, as business and IT often speak different languages," said Mac Felsing, co-founder, and principal mentor at Process-Exchange, Inc., a software and consulting company focused on helping enterprises define and refine their software development processes. "Caliber DefineIT helps analysts capture information in business terms, convert it automatically to amore formal representation, and provide immediate feedback on the validity of what has been captured. This really bridges the communications gap, ensuring that the information as expressed by the business is successfully translated into IT language without loss of meaning."
Requirements definition and management is one of the four core software development processes that Borland is helping customers master in an effort to make their software development efforts more manageable, predictable, and successful. The other areas that Borland is addressing include IT Management and Governance, Change Management, and Lifecycle Quality Management.
Availability
The Borland Requirements Definition and Management solution will be available in early May. For teams that wish to address a specific area related to requirements, such as the traceability and management of requirements, Borland offers Accelerators, a set of packaged offerings that include process guidance, technology, and skills training and can be implemented in a matter of weeks.
To learn more about this solution, or to assess how effectively your organization handles requirements using Borland's Requirements Definition and Management Self Assessment, please visit: http://www.borland.com/us/solutions/requirements_definition_management/index.html.
About Borland
Founded in 1983, Borland Software Corporation (NASDAQ: BORL) is the global leader in platform independent solutions for Software Delivery Optimization. The company provides the software and services that align the people, process, and technology required to maximize the business value of software. To learn more about delivering quality software, on time and within budget, visit http://www.borland.com.
Borland, Caliber, DefineIT, CaliberRM, Together, and all other Borland brand and product names are service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of Borland Software Corporation in the United States and other countries. Mercury Quality Center is a trademark of Mercury Interactive in the United States and/or other countries. Microsoft and Visual Studio are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.
Safe Harbor Statement
This release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined under the Federal Securities Laws, including the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is subject to the safe harbors created by such laws. Forward-looking statements may relate to, but are not limited to, the potential benefits to be derived from Borland's Requirements Definition and Management solution. Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations that involve a number of uncertainties and risks that may cause actual events or results to differ materially. Factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially include, among others, our ability to enhance the quality and scalability of our products, improve the integration and overall functionality of these products as part of our ALM software development platform and evolve our ALM platform toward our vision of SDO; our ability to integrate quality verification metrics, acceptance of our products and services including our enterprise software development platform/solution; our ability to successfully deliver on large transactions; our ability to successfully integrate our operations with Segue Software, Inc.; our ability to efficiently divest our IDE products; our ability to successfully complete the restructuring of our company; our ability to establish or enhance strategic alliances; rapid technological and business change that can adversely affect the demand for Borland products and services; and general economic factors and capital market conditions. These and other risks may be detailed from time to time in Borland periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, its latest Annual Report on Form 10-K and its latest Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, copies of which may be obtained from www.sec.gov. Borland is under no obligation to (and expressly disclaims any such obligation to) update or alter its forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Information contained on our Web site is not incorporated by reference in, or made a part of this press release.
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[1] Forrester Research, "A New Year's Resolution for Application Development: Adopt the Seven Habits," January 25, 2006