Lessons from the factory floor: Software production lines V2

Building information systems today mirrors an old-fashioned artisan workshop. Teams of specialists laboriously handcraft systems from scratch with the precision of watchmakers, treating each component as a unique, intricate piece. This approach romanticizes what should be a precise and streamlined process.

It's time for a wake-up call:
Building systems IS NOT an art form - it's a production line that demands modern efficiency.

The rise of software production lines…

Due to the inherent inefficiencies of this craftsmanship approach, the IT industry began dreaming of software factories and software production lines (SPL’s) in the mid 90’s. The concept drew inspiration from industrial manufacturing lines, where the arrangement of tools, machines, and workers in a sequential flow drastically reduced manufacturing time and labor costs, making products more affordable to the public. A key aspect was automation — the introduction of machines that could perform tasks previously done by hand. This shift resulted not only in efficiency, but also products that were consistently high in quality and with less defects, marking a significant improvement over the variable results typical of manual craftsmanship.

.. and the fall

The adoption of SPLs beyond academia was limited, and failed for reasons much like the ones that earlier killed the software and component reuse:

SPLs required a shift from project-focused development to a strategic, long-term approach, which organizations were (and still are) incapable of.
Managing a product line is more complicated than handling a single project or product.
The establishment of software factory demands significant upfront investment.
The limitations of the 1990s technology for such a sophisticated approach.
Determining appropriate granularity; how much should be standardized and how much should be customizable proved difficult.

The world just wasn’t ready.
We believe it is now.

Industrial approach to application development

LeBLANC has trivialized the development of large business applications. This was made possible by two key innovations: First, we invested in resolving key limitations on the old software product lines, so you don’t have to. Secondly: Major investments in developing unique Model Driven Development (MDD) automation tools required by the product line thinking. Combined, these offer a powerful, disruptive methodology and tooling to revolutionize business application development.

LeBLANC and Software product lines V2

LeBLANC Method: Analogous to a conveyor belt in industrial product lines, the method ensures a streamlined, guided process with the right people doing the right things at the right time, optimizing the workflow and maximizing efficiency.
Model Driven Development: MDD introduces significant automation into the development process, with typically over 80% of the application automatically produced. This reduces the need for human labor, dramatically speeds up the development cycle, and produces applications with stable, predictable high quality.

Our key enhancements to SPL

Crystal clear scope: SPL designed for business application domain. Encapsulates over three decades of experience in business application building best practices.
Standard features: Core functionalities that are common to every application.
Conventions and business logic: Maintain consistency and operational integrity.
Identity and access management: Robust mechanisms for authentication, authorization, and data access controls.
Proven architecture: Utilization of battle-tested frameworks, architectures and conventions used in thousands of domain applications.
Coding standards: Established idioms and conventions that ensure clean, understandable, and maintainable code.
Enhanced security: Meets government security standards, with ability to further enhance with anything that Azure offers in security domain.
Automated environments: Automated no-hassle builds and deployment to hosted development and testing environments.
Cloud native: Built on modern Azure PaaS services.
Customizable: Each application and its runtime infrastructure remains fully customizable to suit tailoring for organization specific needs without compromising the integrity of the core architecture.

Cost-effective, maintenance-free

Minimal upfront investments: LeBLANC software factory is offered as a pay-as-you-go SaaS service on the >Azure Marketplace
Future-Proofing & continuous updates: Secure your investments over time. LeBLANC actively maintains the product line, adapting to shifting technology trends and solutions to common business challenges. This proactive approach ensures that your applications stay current and future-proof, reducing technical debt without the need to overhaul your existing systems as your fundamental business needs remain unchanged.

Conlusion

LeBLANC revolutionizes business application development by replacing the traditional, artisanal approach with an industrial-scale production line. Standardization, automation, and continuous improvement enhances efficiency, quality, scalability and cost-effectiveness. This transformation allows businesses to embrace a future where IT solutions are as reliable and predictable as products from industrial manufacturing. Step into a new era of streamlined, maintenance-free application development that adapts seamlessly to evolving market demands.

What do you think? In the age of automation, can you still afford to handicraft your applications manually?
Join the revolution, contact us today: janne.hansen@leblanc.fi.

Automatically yours:
Janne Hansen
LeBLANC Finland Oy