Situation analysis:
Telelogic customers demanded cross-platform functionality
When faced with an urgent need to take their DOORS/ERS 5.0 software application
cross platform - an initiative that was driven by their customers' demands -
the publicly traded Swedish-based Telelogic turned to Mainsoft Corporation for
help. Telelogic is the leading supplier of solutions for real-time software
development and requirements management. Telelogic's tools cover all phases of
the development process, including requirements handling, analysis, design,
implementation and testing. The Telelogic DOORS/ERS application is used by more
than 50,000 users at more than 1,000 companies worldwide. The DOORS/ERS suite
is a multiplatform, enterprise tool designed to capture, link, trace, analyze
and manage information throughout the lifecycle of a software development
project. The application allows project managers, software engineers and others
to work collaboratively on a software project. It enables them to access the
same information, often within a distributed environment and on multiple
platforms. Telelogic's larger customers, particularly in the Aerospace and
Defense industries, use DOORS/ERS to manage largescale software development
projects for both UNIX® and
Windows® users, and, it was their
customer needs that drove Telelogic's urgent need for crossplatform
functionality. With a mixed set of users working on the same software project,
Telelogic has the added challenge of releasing changes and upgrades on both
UNIX and Windows platforms, simultaneously.
Decision process:
Accelerated development cycle drove urgency
A new version of DOORS/ERS was slated to provide a technical and
visual refresh for their user interface, as well as new, hierarchical data
management support. The new functionality would allow DOORS enterprise projects
to be easier to manage, particularly for customers with thousands of user
documents or DOORS modules working in distributed environments. With mostly
Windows-based developers in-house, the Windows version of DOORS/ERS 5.0 was
developed first, and a UNIX version was planned for release soon after.
Previous versions of DOORS/ERS included Telelogic's own abstraction code that
had successfully enabled porting between UNIX and Windows. However, late in the
development cycle, Telelogic found their own proprietary abstraction layer was
unable to meet the technical challenges of the proposed new product. The
current layer had reached end-of-life status. Porting the new Windows version
to UNIX was not going to be possible in the original timeframe. With a
fast-approaching release date, Telelogic considered hiring contract programmers
to help deliver the UNIX version on time. But even with additional staff, there
were lingering technical problems with the Windows-to-UNIX porting that still
needed to be resolved. The choice was to continue to invest in the in-house
development project or find a superior, long-term, solution.
Mainsoft solution:
Mainsoft for UNIX & Linux answered both time and technical
challenges
A competitive evaluation quickly proved Mainsoft for UNIX and Linux®
to be a winning alternative to Telelogic's proprietary technology. Mainsoft
provided a robust platform, ensuring DOORS/ERS 5.0 for Windows ported smoothly
to UNIX. Telelogic engineers found that not only was the Mainsoft solution easy
to install and use, but it provided a comprehensive compatability platform,
ensuring DOORS/ERS 5.0 for Windows ported smoothly to UNIX.
Client business results:
Mainsoft technology enabled Telelogic to create a high-quality UNIX build of
the new software from a Windows development environment. With only a few UNIX
developers in-house, the Windows version was quickly ported to the first UNIX
platform without additional resources - saving valuable time resources and
money when the pressure was on to deliver DOORS/ERS 5.0 across multiple
platforms.
DOORS/ERS 5.0 ships first UNIX solution
Using Mainsoft's technology, Telelogic was able to deliver on their promise of
DOORS/ERS 5.0 for both UNIX and Windows. By addressing the portability
challenge, Telelogic ensured the continued success of the DOORS/ERS suite.
Thanks to the Mainsoft for UNIX and Linux application porting platform, the
first version of DOORS/ERS 5.0 was shipped on Solaris just 90 days after the
Windows version. After some additional improvements to the DOORS product, DOORS
5.0 for HP-UX followed closely thereafter. Since then, all changes have
successfully been released on both Windows and multiple UNIX platforms
simultaneously, with zero delay between platforms. Now that DOORS/ERS 5.0 no
longer relies on a proprietary solution for portability, multiplatform support
is not only easier, but development costs have become more predictable.
Further, there is no longer a need to continue investment in a proprietary
solution. Most importantly, simultaneous deployment on both Windows and
multiple UNIX platforms avoids porting delays and ensures faster availability
of upgrades.
Mainsoft's platform-independent solution has also enabled Telelogic to remove
redundant platform-specific code from the product. Removing platform-specific
code will - with less code to support - produce significant on-going savings in
maintenance and support costs.
Project summary:
The new DOORS/ERS 5.0 underscores that Mainsoft's unique approach to porting
delivers dramatic results and can be rapidly implemented. A smooth pilot
evaluation, together with rapid, troublefree porting to Solaris and HP-UX, has
given Telelogic the confidence to deliver DOORS/ERS successfully on Windows and
UNIX platforms, both now and into the future.
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