Factors to think about when selecting software tools
On this article you will get to know Factors to think about when selecting software tools. There are several factors to think about when deciding which tools to utilize to assist within the development of a software project. Not all tools are necessarily appropriate for a given project, while others could be critical. Each team should consider variety of things when choosing the tools to use within the software development of every project.
Usefulness
The primary factor when choosing whether to use a kind of tool, and which implementation of that tool is that the usefulness it’ll provide to the general completion of the project.
Applicability to Environment
Not all tools apply to all or any environments. For instance, a Windows desktop application will haven’t any use for an internet deployment tool.
Company Standards
In larger organizations, and sometimes in smaller ones also, use of certain tools are going to be mandated so as to realize goals or to suits established policy. Standardization of tools can help a corporation move developers easily between projects as required, and provides management an assurance that similar processes are followed among different project and project teams leading to homogeneous product quality.
Prior Team Experience with Tool
To a point, most software features a learning curve. The choice of specific tools are often influenced by the extent of experience developers may have already got with it. That specific experience also can be used as a resource choose whether a tool could be useful within the project or not, as developers usually form strong opinions on such matters and are usually not shy about expressing them.
Integration
How well a tool integrates into other tools can greatly impact the worth it adds to the team and therefore the project. Some Integration takes the shape of “convenience” integration (i.e., the source control utility integrates with the IDE such a developer automatically causes a file to be verified once he begins editing it). Other deeper integration merges information and responds to events between tools to deliver high value to the team and to other groups within the organization. An example of this deeper integration is where source control integrates with bug tracking which successively integrates with incident (or customer problem) tracking. A code change checked in to source control can signal the bug tracker that a fix is out there for a reported bug; that bug could also be related to an event report, which may then be updated with the status of the work that has been done that would (eventually) resolve that incident.
Overhead
All software features a learning curve, to at least one degree or another. Complex tools also can require time and energy to deploy with the team and integrate into existing development software. Additionally to initial deployment and learning curve, many tools take some amount of your time and energy to use. This overhead should be taken under consideration when evaluating the general value of the tool.
Conclusion
The selection of tools may be a critical step within the development of a software project. There’s a good sort of sorts of tools available — more than are discussed here. Within each type or category, there are many specific products to settle on from. Careful selection can have an incredible impact on the efficiency and supreme success of the software development project.