My first blog !: Software

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VSO Software Video Converter v1.1.0.1 + Crack Free Download

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Software Maintenance Implications on Cost and Schedule

Abstract The dictionary defines maintenance as, "The work of keeping something in proper order." However, this definition does not necessarily fit for software. Software maintenance is different from hardware maintenance because software doesn't physically wear out, but often gets less useful with age. Software is typically delivered with undiscovered flaws. Therefore, software maintenance is: "The process of modifying existing operational software while leaving its primary functions intact." Maintenance typically exceeds fifty percent of the systems' life cycle cost . While software maintenance can be treated as a level of effort activity, there are consequences on quality, functionality, reliability, cost and schedule that can be mitigated through the use of parametric estimation techniques.1. INTRODUCTION One of the greatest challenges facing software engineers is the management of change control. It has been estimated that the cost of change control can be between 40% and 70% of the life cycle costs . Software engineers have hoped that new languages and new process would greatly reduce these numbers; however this has not been the case. Fundamentally this is because software is still delivered with a significant number of defects. Capers Jones estimates that there are about 5 bugs per Function Point created during Development . Watts Humphrey found "... even experienced software engineers normally inject 100 or more defects per KSLOC . Capers Jones says, "A series of studies the defect density of software ranges from 49.5 to 94.5 errors per thousand lines of code ." The purpose of this article is to first review the fundamentals of software maintenance and to present alternative approaches to estimating software maintenance. A key element to note is that development and management decisions made during the development process can significantly affect the developmental cost and the resulting maintenance costs.2. SOFTWARE MAINTENANCE Maintenance activities include all work carried out post-delivery and should be distinguished from block modifications which represent significant design and development effort and supersede a previously released software package. These maintenance activities can be quite diverse, and it helps to identify exactly what post-delivery activities are to be included in an estimate of maintenance effort. Maintenance activities, once defined, may be evaluated in a quite different light than when called simply "maintenance". Software maintenance is different from hardware maintenance because software doesn't physically wear out, but software often gets less useful with age and it may be delivered with undiscovered flaws. In addition to the undiscovered flaws, it is common that some number of known defects pass from the development organization to the maintenance group. Accurate estimation of the effort required to maintain delivered software is aided by the decomposition of the overall effort into the various activities that make up the whole process.3. APPROACHING THE MAINTENANCE ISSUE Maintenance is a complicated and structured process. In his textbook, Estimating Software Intensive Systems, Richard Stuzke outlines the typical software maintenance process. It is apparent that the process is more than just writing new code.The following checklist can be used to explore the realism and accuracy of maintenance requirements.o Which pieces of software will be maintained?o How long will the system need to be maintained?o Are you estimating the entire maintenance problem, or just incremental maintenance?o What level of maintenance is required?o Is that which is being called maintenance in fact a new development project?o Who will do the maintenance? Will it be done organically by the original developer? Will there be a separate team? Will there be a separate organization?o Will maintainers be using the same tools used during development? Are any proprietary tools required for maintenance?o How much Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) is there? How tightly coupled are the interfaces?o Some follow-on development may be disguised as maintenance. This will either inflate maintenance figures, or else cause shortfalls if basic maintenance gets pushed aside. These questions will help you ask whether maintenance is being honestly represented.o Is the activity really an incremental improvement?o Are healthy chunks of the original code being rewritten or changed?o Will additional staff be brought in to perform the upgrade?o Is the maintenance effort schedule regular and fairly flat, or does it contain staffing humps that look like new development?4. SANITY CHECKS Although sanity checks should be sought on a year-by-year basis, they should not be attempted for overall development. The reason for this is that maintenance activities can be carried on indefinitely, rendering any life-cycle rules useless. As an example, consider Grady (p. 17):We spend about 2 to 3 times as much effort maintaining and enhancing software as we spend creating new software.This and similar observations apply at an organizational level and higher, but not for a specific project. Any development group with a history will be embroiled in the long tail ends of their many delivered projects, still needing indefinite attention. Here are a few quick sanity checks:o One maintainer can handle about 10,000 lines per year.o Overall life-cycle effort is typically 40% development and 60% maintenance.o Maintenance costs on average are one-sixth of yearly development costs.o Successful systems are usually maintained for 10 to 20 years.Finally, as in development, the amount of code that is new versus modified makes a difference. The effective size, that is, the equivalent effort if all the work were new code, is still the key input for both development and maintenance cost estimation.5. FIVE ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES All <a href="http://www.galorath.com/index.php/products/software/C5/" rel="nofollow" target="_new">software estimation</a> techniques must be able to model the theory and the likely real world result. The real world scenario is that over time, the overlay of changes upon changes makes software increasingly difficult to maintain and thus less useful. Maintenance effort estimation techniques range from the simplistic level of effort method, through more thoughtful analysis and development practice modifications, to the use of parametric models in order to use historical data to project future needs.5.1 Level of Effort As is sometimes the case in the development environment, software maintenance can be modeled as a level of effort activity. Given the repair category activities and the great variance that they show, this approach clearly has deficiencies. In this approach, a level of effort to maintain software is based on size and type.5.2 Level of Effort Plus Stuzke proposed that software maintenance starts with basic level of effort (minimum people needed to have a core competency and then that that basic core staff must be modified by assessing three additional factors; configuration management, quality assurance, and project management. His process addressed some of the additional factors affecting software maintenance.5.3 Maintenance Change Factor Software Cost Estimation with COCOMO II (Boehm 2000) proposes a deceivingly simple, but also quite useful methodology for determining annual maintenance. Maintenance is one of the menu selections in the menu bar. In COCOMO II Maintenance encompasses the process of modifying existing operational software while leaving its primary functions intact. This process excludes:o Major re-design and re-development (more than 50% new code) of a new software product performing substantially the same functions.o Design and development of a sizeable (more than 20% of the source instructions comprising the existing product) interfacing software package which requires relatively little redesigning of the existing product.o Data processing system operations, data entry, and modification of values in the database.The maintenance calculations are heavily based upon the Maintenance Change Factor (MCF) and the Maintenance Adjustment Factor (MAF). The MCF is similar to the Annual change Traffic in COCOMO81, except that maintenance periods other than a year can be used. The resulting maintenance effort estimation formula is the same as the COCOMO II Post Architecture development model.As stated previously, three cost drivers for maintenance differ from development. Those cost drivers are software reliability, modern programming practices, and schedule. COCOMO II assumes that increased investment in software reliability and use of modern programming practices during software development has a strong positive effect upon the maintenance stage.Annual Maintenance Effort = (Annual Change Traffic) * (Original Software Development Effort)The quantity Original Software Development Effort refers to the total effort (person-months or other unit of measure) expended throughout development, even if a multi-year project.The multiplier Annual Change Traffic is the proportion of the overall software to be modified during the year. This is relatively easy to obtain from engineering estimates. Developers often maintain change lists, or have a sense of proportional change to be required even before development is complete.5.4 Managing Software Maintenance Costs by Developmental Techniques and Management Decisions During DevelopmentWhen it comes to maintenance, "a penny spent is a pound saved." Better development practices (even if more expensive) can significantly reduce maintenance effort, and reduce overall life cycle cost. The more effort put into development, the less required in maintenance. As an example, the software development cost and schedule can be significantly impacted (reduced) by letting the number of defects delivered grow. This cost and schedule reduction is more than offset by the increase in maintenance cost. The following discussion is an example of how management decision can significantly affect/reduce software maintenance costs.Lloyd Huff and George Novak of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics in their paper "Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Performance Based Software Sustainment for the F-35 Lightning II" propose a series of development and management decision designed to impact and reduce software maintenance costs. They propose an eight step process to estimate and control software maintenance . Their proposed steps are:1. Strive for Commonality2. Apply Industrial Engineering Practices to Software3. Engage4. Adopt a Holistic Approach to Sustainment5. Develop Highly Maintainable Systems and Software6. Manage the Off-the-Shelf Software7. Plan for the Unexpected8. Analyze and Refine the Software Sustainment Business Case (use Parametric software sustainment cost estimates)5.5 A Parametric Assessment of Software MaintenanceParametric models like SEER for Software allow maintenance to be modeled in either of two ways:Estimating maintenance as a part of the total lifecycle cost. Choosing the appropriate Maintenance category parameters will include an estimate of maintenance effort with the development estimate for the individual software program. Several reports and charts show breakdowns of development vs. maintenance effort. This method is best used to evaluate life cycle costs for each individual software program.Estimating maintenance as a separate activity. Using the appropriate maintenance parameters for the software to be maintained you can model the maintenance effort as a separate activity. This method will allow you to fine tune your maintenance estimate by adjusting parameters. Maintenance size should be the same as development size, but should be entered as all pre-existing code. This method can also be useful in breaking out total project maintenance costs from project development costs.A good parametric estimate for maintenance includes a wide range of information. Critical information for completing a software maintenance estimate is the size or amount of software that will be maintained, the quality of that software, the quality and availability of the documentation, and the type or amount of maintenance that will be done. Many organizations don't actually estimate maintenance costs; they simply have a budget for software maintenance. In this case, a parametric model should be used to compute how much maintenance can actually be performed with the given budget.Estimating and planning for maintenance are critical activities if the software is required to function properly throughout its expected life. Even with a limited budget, a plan can be made to use the resources available in the most efficient, productive manner. Looking at the diagram above, you can see that not only are the multiple inputs that impact the maintenance, but there are several key outputs that provide the information necessary to plan a successful maintenance effort.6. Conclusion The conclusions of this article are:o Software maintenance can be modeled using a simplistic method like Level of Effort Staffing, but this technique has significant drawbacks.o Software maintenance costs can be significantly affected by management decisions during the developmental process.o Software maintenance can be accurately estimated using parametric processes.o Software maintenance is best modeled when development and management decisions are coupled with parametric cost estimation techniques.REFERENCES [1] Software Maintenance Concepts and Practices (second Edition) by Penny Grubb and Armstrong Takang, World Scientific, 2005.[2] Estimating Software Intensive Systems; Richard Stuzke, 2005, Addison-Wesley.[3] Lloyd Huff, George Novak; Lockheed Martin Aeronautics; Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Performance Based Software Sustainment for the F-35 Lightning II.[4] G. Edward Bryan, "CP-6: Quality and Productivity Measures in the 15-Year Life Cycle of an Operating System," Software Quality Journal 2, 129-144, June 1993.[5] Software Sizing, Estimation, and Risk Management; Daniel D. Galorath, Michael W. Evans, 2006, Auerbach Publications.			 			 				Bob Hunt is Vice President for Services of Galorath Incorporated - <a href="http://www.galorath.com" target="_new">http://www.galorath.com</a> - providing project management estimating software for complex projects. Mr. Hunt is responsible for the management and technical direction of the services staff and the quality of the services products.

Software Maintenance Implications on Cost and Schedule

Abstract The dictionary defines maintenance as, "The work of keeping something in proper order." However, this definition do...

Do You Ignore Your Software Security? Yes You Do!

The problem.Sure you too are ignoring your software security! That is, unless you are one of the 0.1 percent of users who do read the End User License Agreement (EULA, also known as software license). Else, well, then you sign contracts blindfolded because that box full of legal mumbo-jumbo when you install a program... yes, it is a contract!Software security wouldn't really be an issue, if all software licenses were simple agreements setting out reasonable terms of use. Unfortunately, most are lengthy texts with legal slang that leave those few who do read them bedeviled and thwarted. Some enclose terms to which the ordinary user would object if he acknowledged what he was agreeing to. For example, in extension to protection against cracking, many software licenses now contribute the software company the right to gather information about your computer and have it automatically sent to the software marketer. Some, in particular software licenses for freeware, hold clauses whereby you agree to the installation of added software you do not want, some of it conspicuous spyware or adware. As a result, one might assume that the freeware is to blame for all the bad things that have happened, however, isn't it the end user who doesn't read the legal material, who is to blame?Either way, people do not read the EULA. When downloading and installing software, we are usually curious about what the new software will bring. That EULA is just one more thing to drop time on because it is usually not readable in a short amount of time, hence not read at all. But indeed, the next thought that then arises is: what have you agreed to when you clicked I agree?Especially with freeware, there can be an even greater problem. Freeware is not always free. Sure, it is not free to reverse engineer, modify, or redistribute freeware, but there is also the kind of freeware that is disguised as adware or even as spyware.An example.Remember from about 5 years ago when Gator created a storm of protest. Its GAIN Publishing End User License Agreement stated the user was automatically agreeing with also installing the GAIN AdServer software when accepting the EULA. So, the software license gave the company permission to install software that collected certain identifiable information about web surfing and computer usage. This software came immediately along with the freeware and was installed in the same process. At the end, this resulted in a display of all types of ads on the user's computer.Next the EULA mentioned that Gator even unauthorized the use of popular uninstallers for their own tools on which countless people trusted to remove this unwanted stuff from their machines. But also, users were prohibited from using devices like web monitoring programs or similar on the GAIN AdServer and its messages, thus eliminating all possible control. Obviously, such clauses are no longer related to software protection against cracking and were more than a bridge too far for many users.So, if all is specified in the product's software license, then it is also what can help decide about what you want to have installed, or not! Indeed, especially the software balancing at the edge of legal boundaries will try to straighten out what is not completely right. And you guessed it correctly: that is most frequently revealed in the EULA.Lawyers.In lawyer terms, an End User License Agreement is a legal contract between a software application author and the software user. It is a license that grants the user the right to use a computer software in a specific and well determined way. Usually, a EULA specifies the number of computers a user can use the software on, that reverse engineering or cracking or any other form of illegal piracy is prohibited, and any legal rights they are forfeiting by agreeing to the EULA. The user is usually asked to check a button to accept the terms of the EULA, or is supposed consenting it by opening the shrink wrap on the application package, or even just by simply using the application. The user can refuse to enter into the agreement by returning the software product for a refund or by clicking I do not accept when prompted to accept the EULA during an install in which case the software installation is usually ended. By the way, for websites, the TOS (terms of service) is the legal counterpart from the End User License Agreement for software.So far, all may seem quite normal, however, the software license is infamous for containing stealthy clauses maintaining preposterous restrictions on the behaviour of software users whilst providing the software developer or vendor with highly intruding powers. For example, Microsoft software licenses give the company the right to gather information about the user's system and its use and to provide this information to other organizations. They also grant Microsoft the right to make changes to the user's computer without requesting permission. Now, don't be mistaken by thinking this is a Microsoft-only affair, software licenses frequently have a clause that allows vendors to make changes to users' systems without asking or notifying the user.Remark that adding the bad things to software have mostly happened with freeware, however, there seems a trend lately to shift those same bad habits towards shareware and trialware, yes also the terms of service of some well-known companies have been under fire.Possibilities.One might get the feeling that little can be done to fight a bad EULA or TOS. Well, that is not entirely true, recently there have been cases where popular services have changed their terms of service because of the user's aversion for a few too flagrant terms within them. Hence, complaining does work indeed!An example is Facebook who changed its TOS back to the old one after people complained in mass that the terms of use suddenly said that Facebook kept all rights to the user's content, even if he deleted his account. Another example is Google's Chrome browser's terms of service which gave Google a non-exclusive right to display and distribute all content transmitted through the browser.In fact, a basic idea behind the EULA is quite reasonable: to protect the vendor from software piracy. But the worry is that software licenses are getting more and more restricting all the time. e.g. Microsoft started in vista's EULA to prohibit the installment in virtual machines though this is exactly what researchers and reviewers are using all the time.Recently, the trend to include more and more limitations on what users can do with the software they pay for becomes quite distressing. Certain license agreements now disallow users from releasing or publishing information about the functioning of the software. That effectively prevents reviewers as well as software security experts from reporting about their experiences with a specific piece of software. Such determinations are way past protection against illegal practices.The solution.It is attorney material but you may wonder whether these licenses are legal. According to lawyers though, most of them do hold up in court, the exception being if the text is not reasonably understandable. Another exception has to do with minors who are mostly liberated for the agreements made this way.Either way, the fact that a EULA might not be lawfully enforceable is of little comfort because it is being enforced on you whether you like it or not. Once the program is installed on your PC, the damage is done and it doesn't even matter if the signed contract were legally invalid. Already simply by using the computer, the user is confirming his part of the contract.The primary idea behind the software license - creating a clear legal defense against illegal software piracy - has long been bypassed indeed. Well, be warned, a click of the computer mouse could produce a good deal of trouble. Hence, only one advice can be given: throw away that blindfold, do read the EULA, and that does not apply to freeware only!			 			 				Jose Sogiros is a developer with 5 years of experience in the software protection business but he is also a developer creating smart, renovating and user-friendly developer tools to help efficiently produce better protection software. See more info on software protection [http://www.larp64.com] or for more information about anti cracking software [http://www.larp64.com/cracking.html], hacking and software piracy.

Do You Ignore Your Software Security? Yes You Do!

The problem. Sure you too are ignoring your software security! That is, unless you are one of the 0.1 percent of users who do read the ...

Software Engineering and the Intelligence Community - Setting Real Time Standards

Software engineering is an essential discipline when designing and implementing high performance data enterprises. Although software engineers are not certified or sanctioned by any standards body, use of software engineers with experience in the Intelligence Community increases chances of success.Software Engineering DefinedSoftware engineering is the application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the development, operation, and maintenance of software, and the study of these approaches; that is, the application of engineering to software. (Source Wikipedia)Knowledge of programming is the main pre-requisite to becoming a software engineer, but it is not sufficient. Many software engineers have degrees in Computer Science or mathematics and physics due to the lack of software engineering programs in higher education. An organized mind and an interest in problem solving are also prerequisites.However, as data networks become more complex and indispensable in large organizations higher education has started to change with the introduction of new software engineering degrees, especially in post-graduate education.Software Engineering as a DisciplineSoftware engineering contains a number of separate yet interrelated disciplines.* Software requirements* Software design* Software development* Software testing* Software maintenance* Software configuration management* Software engineering management, see also project management* Software development process* Software engineering tools and Computer Aided Software Engineering* Software quality* Social Software EngineeringEach sub discipline has its own performance requirements and processes for success.Jobs in Software Engineering - A Strong MarketBecause the field of software engineering is broad and growing more complex because of the introduction of new technologies and applications, the potential for job growth is significant even in a down economy.According to the Federal Government studies, the demand for qualified software engineers is significant and will continue to grow, Computer software engineers are one of the occupations projected to grow the fastest and add the most new jobs over the 2006-16 decade. Excellent job prospects are expected for applicants with at least bachelor's degree in computer engineering or computer science and with practical work experience. Computer software engineers must continually strive to acquire new skills in conjunction with the rapid changes that occur in computer technology. Because computer networks and computing hardware and software are growing in power and complexity, the demand for qualified Software engineers is high. As the United States continues to be an information driven society new, high paying jobs with quality benefit packages are available in the economy.This is particularly true as the economy emerges from its depressed state.Employment of computer software engineers is projected to increase by 38 percent over the 2006 to 2016 period, which is much faster than the average for all occupations. This occupation will generate about 324,000 new jobs, over the projections decade, one of the largest employment increases of any occupation.Significant drivers of growth in the demand for software engineers include adoption of new technologies for information efficiency in a competitive environment. This is particularly true as information networks grow in sophistication and interconnect.In addition, information security concerns and cyber threats have given rise to new software requirements.Concerns over "cyber security" will result in businesses and government continuing to invest heavily in software that protects their networks and vital electronic infrastructure from attack. Cyber Security has become a major area of concern for the U,S, Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community.Very few organizations are willing to trust the security of their networks to low cost, offshore software engineering firms.Finally, in economic and competitive terms low cost offshore outsourcing is not a real threat because software engineering requires innovation and intense research and development expenditures. (Source: <a href="http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos267.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_new">Bureau of Labor Statistics</a>)One area with a tremendous appetite for software engineers is the Federal Government. The Federal Government continues to grow and, with the present trend in Government spending, greater demand for IT and Cyber Security engineering specialists will also generate job demand..Ensuring Quality Standards - A ProblemWhile there is tremendous demand for engineering professionals, the systems and networks designed and implemented by software engineers are often the heart of any large business of government enterprise. Quality and efficiency cannot be sacrificed by substandard performance.Many who call themselves "Software Engineer" are not fully qualified and often produce low quality work output.Many professions enforce quality standards through professional certification boards but professional certification of software engineers is confusing and, while many view it as a tool to improve professional practice, others consider it as an unnecessary encumbrance.In the United States, most certification programs in the IT industry are oriented toward specific technologies, and are managed by the vendors of these technologies.No matter which way the debate goes, full accreditation will not serve as a quality standard backstop for software engineers in the foreseeable future so other, on the job standards, must be used to ensure engineering quality.Documented past performance that is favorable or a history of software development in a demanding industry has now become a major factor to determine future success.Software Engineering and the Intelligence Community - Real Time CertificationWith the absence of any standard certification programs, employers and government service contractors must exercise great care when utilizing software engineers.to design or restore critical network or enterprise software.Because networks and the software that run them are becoming more critical to business operations and more complex, the chances of an inexperienced or unqualified software engineer irrevocably damaging all or part of the network has increased.One major error by an unqualified engineer could ruin an entire networking enterprise and bring down an organization. This is particularly true for large government.agencies tasked with the collection and processing of sensitive data.Of all Federal Government agencies, a case can be made that the Intelligence Community [http://www.intelligence.gov/1-members.shtml] is the most demanding and discriminating when it comes to software engineering. This level of excellence requirement is because of the size of the data networks involved and the mission requirements to ensure national security.In addition to the mission critical demands of each agency and its clients for real time data, continuous, massive amounts of sensitive data are collected on a 24x7 basis.This data must be processed, analyzed, protected and disseminated in an efficient way that protects national security interests. Data protection and cyber security are new challenges to the software engineer and place additional performance demands..A design flaw in the architecture of a network could be fatal for the entire collection system and and the introduction of a virus or other cyber breach could crash the entire system.Because of the classified/sensitive nature of the data collected in the Intelligence Community high level security clearances are also required and this places further burdens on the integrity of the individual.Servicing the needs of the Intelligence Community is a demanding task but the experience will test the skills, work ethic and judgment of even the most seasoned software engineer. Thus engineers with IC experience command a premium wage and benefits based upon proving themselves capable,When a formal certification is not available, broad and extensive software engineering experience in the Intelligence Community on a job candidate's resume is often a valuable real time substitute.			 			 				Jon M. Stout is Chief Executive Officer of Aspiration Software LLC. Aspiration Software LLC is an Information Technology/Cyber Security services provider focused on the Intelligence Community (IC). For more information about Software Engineering [http://www.aspirationsoftware.com/capabilites.html] and Cyber Security and Information Technology in the Intelligence Community go to <a href="http://aspirationsoftware.com" target="_new">http://aspirationsoftware.com</a>.

Software Engineering and the Intelligence Community - Setting Real Time Standards

Software engineering is an essential discipline when designing and implementing high performance data enterprises. Although software en...

Software Sales Rep Success

How to be a Successful Software Sales RepBeing a software sales rep can be a very exciting and lucrative career. The US economy is based on innovation and new technology, so the demand will always be high. Beyond that, CNBC recently reported that sales jobs are still in good supply because companies are focusing on hiring revenue-generating jobs. Essentially, sales jobs are always recession proof. That being said, being a good software sales rep will always be in demand and you will always have options, even in hard economic times.Software sales jobs also offer opportunities to make a lot of money to anybody regardless of experience and education. Sales in general are meritocratic. That means regardless of experience or education, anyone who can get the job done can be successful. Sales jobs are one of the best jobs without a college degree.In this article, I will give you tools on how to be a successful in software sales. If you are able to master these few things, you will be a successful.Step 1The first step in being successful is to find the right software company. That's right, the first step of success has nothing to do with you. In order to grow good crop, you have to have good soil and good weather. No matter how hard you work and no matter how good a farmer you are, if the soil and weather is bad, you won't be able to grow good produce. In the same way, being a successful sales rep starts with finding good soil and good weather.Good Soil - Good Software CompanyIf you want good soil to grow your sales success in, find a good software company. What does that mean? First, find a software company with a good product and an innovative technology. There are many software companies with not so good software. If that is the case, it will be difficult to sell. How can you find out? Well, do some research and see if you can find out if the software company is growing. If the software company is growing, that probably means they have a good product and have good management. Even if a software company is big but is not growing, it's a sign that you might not want to work there.Good Weather - Good IndustryFind a software company in a growing industry. If a company makes software for a declining industry, it will affect the sales of the software company. Go into a new and growing industry. Get in on the ground floor in innovation. Some good new and growing industries is in green technology and software as service industries. But make sure the software company is developing products and services with a felt need and demand already existing in the market. Don't work for a software company that is developing a product for an anticipated market. Make sure the market is already there.Find good soil and good weather. Find a company with good software and good management. Find a company in an industry that is growing. Without these two components, you will be fighting uphill.Step 2The next thing you need to do is get over your fear of rejection. This is an area you will grow in, but you need to start the process. If you don't grow in this area, you will not succeed. Here's how you can get over your fear and reduce the emotional stress, strain and drain that can ensue.Know and Believe in Your Product. This goes back to step 1, but you need to know and genuinely believe in your product if you are going to succeed. If you don't honestly see the value and benefits of your product and how it's better than your competitor, than you will never be able to get over the emotional uneasiness selling it. I don't know if I could have stayed in the software companies that I've worked for if I didn't genuinely believe in the product. Before I signed on to work as a software sales rep for a software company, I made sure I knew the product and the competitors to make sure I could sell it with passion and integrity.Make It Impersonal Realize. that it's not YOU they are rejecting, it is your software. If you genuinely believe in your product, than you can always go back to that conviction and let your fear and feelings of rejection go away. Remember, most people reject your software, not because it's bad, but because they don't really know how good it is. That's your job is to make them realize how great your product is.Believe the Best in People. When people reject you, there is a tendency to dislike, hate and rant against your prospects. There were many times I hung up the phone discouraged and even hurt when someone rejected my offering. Don't give in to that or it will emotionally drain you over time and you won't be able to sustain your tenure as a software sales rep. Give them the benefit of the doubt, and believe the best in them. I remember when I was a young sales rep working for a high tech software company. I called a prospect and he angrily hung up on me. Two weeks later, I was training someone on making cold calls, and decided I'd call this same prospect back as a training tool for my trainee. To my great surprise, he not only talked to me, but he ended up buying our software. When he angrily hung up on me, he didn't know who I was, who I was with, what software I had. He was just having a bad day. It had nothing to do with me! Whenever someone rejects me, or I get tempted to have harsh feelings about them, I quiet myself and internally wish the best for them. I know, it sounds cheesy, but it works and I can make my next call happy, which makes a huge different in sales.Step 3 Becoming successful in any sales is a numbers game. Keep track of the numbers. It'll also give you an idea of product demand and areas for growth. Below are some of the numbers that the best software sales reps keep track of.Cold Calling Dials. Virtually all sales involve large amounts of cold calling. At the very least, cold calling is where you'll most probably need to start. So, the first category you'll want to track is your cold calling numbers. Let me give you an idea of the volume of cold calling that is typical and necessary in most software sales jobs. The max you'll be capable of doing is probably 150 cold calling dials a day. I once worked at a software company where this was the minimum requirement. It's possible, but it's hard.One of the best sales reps we had made around 75 dials a day. This included cold calling as well as follow up calls and etc. But don't think if you're starting out that this is sufficient. This guy had tons of sales experience and new how to maximize his efforts. The only way to do that is by making calls. So when a sales rep is starting out, he/she should make at least 100-150 cold calls a day. This is the best way to practice and get better. Once you're good enough to just make 50-75 calls a day, you'll still have a full day, but with more purposeful and quality calling. But again, you can't get there overnight and you ONLY get there by making the calls. At my last software sales job, I made around 50 cold calls a day, but that's because I was also doing presentations as well.Cold calling is very important, and I can't emphasize it enough. It's hard, but if you can press through the initial emotional turmoil and hit your stride, this will lead to your success as a sales rep. Remember, sales is a numbers game. Even if you're bad at sales, if you're product is decent and the market is large, you should be able to get sales just by calling tons of people.Number of Appointments Set and Kept. Many software companies have started doing webinars to do sales presentations of their software. It's an easy and efficient way to get that initial exposure to a potential client and it's a great way to get you started without having to learn a ton or be able to do a great job at presenting the software. Typically, the best sales rep or one of the executives will run these webinars. If this is how your company is set up, you should shoot to get about 4-5 appointments per day. With good follow up, about 50-75% of those you made appointments with will actually show up. That means for every 4-5 people you sign up for a webinar, you'll get about 2-3 people actually show up.Closing Numbers. If you make 100-150 cold calls a day, you should be able to make 4-5 presentations per day. A good software package will have a 15-25% closing rate of those that showed up to a presentation. That means you should be able to close 2-4 sales a week, even if you're not that great at cold calling.Don't Make Excuses for Not Making Calls. Sometimes software sales reps are so tired of making the calls that they allow themselves to get distracted by other "productive" activities like research, learning the software and other activities. Don't fool yourself. If you're not making the calls, you won't succeed. Let yourself get a break now and then, but be realistic that it's only a break until the real work of making the calls start again.Also, don't get over complicate the numbers game. Don't get so bogged down by advanced numbers analysis that you stop making calls. I usually just make tick marks on my notepad while I'm making calls. It's simple as that. Don't get tempted to be sophisticated at the expense of actually making the calls. The quality of your sales skills will improve over time with practice, but don't make the mistake of waiting until you're 'good' to make the calls. Getting 'good' will only come with doing it.Work from Home Software Sales Rep JobsTo begin to find a good software sales rep jobs, you have to begin by finding a good company to work for with a good product.. Then you have to have the drive and discipline to make the calls and track the numbers. If you have these things ingrained in your value system, you are a great candidate for work from home software sales jobs. The great thing about software is that the product is electronic, which means you can showcase it on the internet and present it over the phone. Unlike a physical widget that people need to touch and feel, software doesn't require that component.Many companies have opted to hire sales people to work from home to save on employment costs, because these sales reps are generally independent contractors, and general overhead like building and equipment. And because it can be presented on the internet, you can do it from home. Software is a good industry to try to find a good and legitimate work from home job.			 			 				David CJ Jones Sales and Management Consultant <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Sales-Conferencing-Make-Money-with-Webinars" target="_new">Sales Conferencing Software Companies</a>

Software Sales Rep Success

How to be a Successful Software Sales Rep Being a software sales rep can be a very exciting and lucrative career. The US economy is bas...

Current Management Opportunities and Challenges in the Software Industry

During the past 30 years the world went through a very dynamic technological transformation. In retrospective, it can be stated without exaggeration that the emergence of electronic devices and the Internet have greatly impacted daily life as well as managerial practice to an unforeseen extent. The computerization of multiple business processes and the creation of large scale databases, among many other radical technological advances, have lead to enormous cost savings and quality improvements over the years. The interconnection of financial markets through electronic means and the worldwide adoption of the Internet have greatly reduced transaction and communication costs and brought nations and cultures closer to one another than ever imaginable. Computers are now fundamental tools in almost all businesses around the world and their application and adaptation to specific business problems in the form of software development is a practice that many companies perform on their own. In the past, such computerization and automation efforts were very costly and therefore only practiced by large corporations. Over the years, however, the software industry emerged to offer off-the-shelf solutions and services to smaller companies. Today, having survived the massive dotcom crash of the year 2000, software development businesses established themselves as strong players in the technology industry.The emergence of numerous computer standards and technologies has created many challenges and opportunities. One of the main opportunities provided by the software sector is relatively low entry barrier. Since the software business is not capital intensive, successful market entry largely depends on know-how and specific industry domain knowledge. Entrepreneurs with the right skills can relatively easily compete with large corporations and thereby pose a considerable threat to other, much larger organizations. Companies, on the other hand, need to find ways to reduce turnover and protect their intellectual property; hence, the strong knowledge dependence combined with the relatively short lifespan of computer technologies makes knowledge workers very important to the organization. Knowledge workers in this industry therefore enjoy stronger bargaining power and require a different management style and work environment than in other sectors, especially those industries that have higher market entry capital requirements. This relatively strong position of software personnel challenges human resource strategies in organizations and it also raises concerns about the protection of intellectual property.The relatively young industry is blessed with sheer endless new opportunities, such as the ability of companies to cooperate with other organizations around the globe without interruption and incur practically no communication costs. In addition, no import tariffs exist making the transfer of software across borders very efficient; however, the industry with its craft-like professions suffers from lack of standards and quality problems. The successful management of such dynamic organizations challenges today's managers as well as contemporary management science because traditional management styles, such as Weberian bureaucracies, seem to be unable to cope with unstable environments.Challenges in the Software IndustryMany studies indicate that present-day software development practices are highly inefficient and wasteful (Flitman, 2003). On average, projects are only 62% efficient, which translates to a waste of 37 %. The typical software development project has the following distribution of work effort: 12% planning, 10% specification, 42% quality control, 17% implementation, and 19% software building (2003). There are many possible interpretations of the nature of this distribution of resources. First, the extraordinarily high share of 42% for quality control purposes can indicate a lack of standards and standardized work practices. This large waste of effort may also be the result of inefficient planning and specification processes. Because the share of 19% for software building is a function of software complexity, hardware, and tools used, there is a chance to reduce it by carefully managing and standardizing internal work processes. The disappointing share of only 17% for implementation, however, should be alarming to business owners, since implementation activities are the main activity that results in revenue. The relatively low productivity level reported by Flitman (2003) seems to be also reflected in the fact that the average U.S. programmer produces approximately 7,700 lines of code per year, which translates to just 33 per workday (Slavova, 2000). Considering that a large software project, such as Microsoft Word, is reported by Microsoft to require 2 to 3 million lines of code, it becomes obvious how costly such projects can become and that productivity and quality management are major concerns to today's software businesses. The challenge for contemporary software managers is to find the root of the productivity problem and a remedy in the form of a management practice.A plethora of recent studies addresses software development productivity and quality concerns. Elliott, Dawson, and Edwards (2007) conclude that there is a lack of quality skills in current organizations. Furthermore, the researchers put partial blame on prevailing organizational cultures, which can lead to counterproductive work habits. Of the main problems identified, project documentation was found to be lacking because documents are deficient in detail and not updated frequent enough. Quality control in the form of software testing is not practiced as often and there seems to be a lack of quality assurance processes to ensure that software is built with quality in mind from the beginning. Organizational culture was found to be deficient in companies were workers tend to avoid confrontation and therefore avoid product tests altogether (2007).Since knowledge workers are the main drive in software organizations, creating a fruitful and efficient organizational culture constitutes a main challenge to today's managers. The relationship between organizational culture and quality and productivity in software businesses was recently investigated by Mathew (2007). Software organizations tend to be people-centered and their dependency on knowledge workers is also reflected by the enormous spending remuneration and benefits of more than 50% of revenue. As the industry matures and grows further, the challenge to organizations is that larger number of employees need to be managed which brings culture to the focus of management. Mathew (2007) found that the most important influence on productivity was achieved by creating an environment of mutual trust. Higher levels of trust lead to greater employee autonomy and empowerment, which strengthened the existing management view that trust and organizational effectiveness are highly related. Those companies with higher trust and empowerment levels benefitted from more intensive employee involvement and thereby achieved better quality products (2007).Product quality, however, depends on other factors as well that reach beyond the discussion of work processes. Relatively high employee turnover was found to have a detrimental effect on product quality and organizational culture (Hamid & Tarek, 1992). Constant turnover and succession increase project completion costs, cause considerable delays, and expose organization to higher risks because their development processes can be severely disrupted. While human resources strategies should help find ways to retain key personnel in the company, organizations need to nevertheless be prepared for turnovers and minimize their risks. One of the greatest risks for people-centered, knowledge worker organizations is the loss of knowledge when employees leave.Knowledge management has evolved into a relatively new discipline in the last two decades but is mostly practiced by large, global organizations only (Mehta, 2008). As corporations realized the importance of knowledge management activities to mitigate the risk of know-how loss within their organizations, they started employing chief knowledge officers and crews with the goal of collecting and organizing information. By building custom knowledge management platforms, companies can benefit from increased transfer, storage, and availability of critical business information. Such activities can help companies innovate and build knowledge capital over time (2008). The challenge remains, however, to set up such systems and to elicit employee support for knowledge management systems. In addition, these systems leave another critical question open. What happens when top performers take all the knowledge with them when they leave?Another crucial variable affecting software product and service quality is top management involvement. Projects in the software industry commonly fail due to one or a combination of the following three major causes: poor project planning, a weak business case, and lack of top management support and involvement (Zwikael, 2008). Software projects are similar to projects in other industries by focusing on timely project completion, budget, and compliance to specifications, the industry requires specific support processes from top management to facilitate projects. These processes are summarized in Table 1. Key support processes, such as the appropriate assignment of project managers and the existence of project success measurement, indicate that successful companies demonstrate a higher level of project progress control than others; however, Zwikael acknowledges that top managers rarely focus on these key processes and instead prefer to deal with those processes that are easier for them to work on personally.Table 1The ten most critical top management support processes in the software sector (Zwikael, 2008). Those processes marked with an asterisk (*) were found to be the most important.Support ProcessAppropriate project manager assignment *Refreshing project proceduresInvolvement of the project manager during initiation stageCommunication between the project manager and the organization *Existence of project success measurement *Supportive project organizational structureExistence of interactive interdepartmental project groups *Organizational projects resource planningProject management office involvementUse of standard project management software *Opportunities in the Software IndustryThe advent of low cost communication via the Internet and the diversification of the software industry into many different branches brought a multitude of new market opportunities. Some of the main opportunities are rooted in the low costs of communication, while others originated from the possibility of geographic diversification and international collaboration.One major opportunity which especially larger organizations seek to seize is geographic diversification in the form of globally distributed software development. Kotlarsky, Oshri, van Hillegersberg, and Kumar (2007) have researched this source of opportunities that is mainly practiced by multinational companies; however, an increasing number of small companies is also reported to be benefitting from dispersed software development across national boundaries. The study revealed that software companies can achieve significantly higher levels of productivity by creating reusable software components and reducing task interdependencies. By reducing interdependence, the produced modules are more likely to become useful in future projects on their own; furthermore, this reduction of intertwined computer code also has a positive effect on project teams. Teams in companies that globally distribute their developments benefit from increased autonomy and reduced communication requirements. The authors point out, however, that the prerequisites to distributing software development are not only good project planning but also the standardization of tools and development procedures. Without such prearrangements it may become almost impossible to manage and consolidate the various distributed team activities (2007). Especially for teams working across countries away from one another, it may pay off to deploy video or other Internet-based conferencing technologies and exploit huge savings potentials. But are these means of communication effective?In the last decade a new form of organization has emerged that has taken the most advantage of the Internet. Virtual organizations exist entirely in cyberspace and their team members communicate mostly, if not exclusively, via the Internet using webcams and messaging software. The challenge for managers in virtual organizations is to exploit the new technology but also to find ways to motivate and direct the workforce and work processes. A study by Andres (2002) compared virtual software development teams with face-to-face teams and identified several challenges and opportunities for virtual managers. Managing work from a different time zone can be problematic due to the lack of physical presence. Communication will need to be asynchronous or can only occur at work hours that overlap in both time zones. Virtual teams facilitate this process by using email and voice/text messaging but more importantly by reducing the interdependency of tasks. Andres (2002) suggested that these types of communication have lower "social presence" meaning that humans have a need and ability to feel the presence of others in the group. The problem with many computerized communication channels is that visual clues, utterances, body language clues and clues from the person's voice are missing. When placed on a social presence continuum, the various communication types rank as follows from the lowest to the highest: email, phone, video conferencing, and face-to-face meetings. Andres' comparison between development teams using video-conferencing versus face-to-face meetings revealed that the latter group was far more efficient and productive, even though the video-conferencing team benefitted from reduced travel costs and time.The study conducted in 2002, however, has several shortcomings. First, it is already seven years old and Internet costs have dropped and speeds have improved significantly since then. Considering the improvements in video quality and availability and computer speeds, this form of communication became more feasible recently. In addition, today's managers are just now starting to learn how to use these means of communication efficiently. For example, even though email technology has been around for two decades now, many managers still find that emails can create a lot of ambiguity. The challenge to future generations of managers will be to change their writing style to match the limitations of email and other text messaging technologies. Another important factor to consider is that written communication may be stored indefinitely and have legal consequences; hence, more often than not, managers may intentionally prefer to avoid such communication channels for political or legal reasons. The study by Andres (2002), however, resulted in a negative view of video conferencing probably because the technology was not yet matured and the team members were not yet comfortable with it.For video conferencing to work well, all participants need to be knowledgeable of the peculiar characteristics of that technology and adjust their communication style and speech accordingly. Regardless of meeting type, another important factor is preparation. What could be researched in conjunction with Andres' study in the future is the degree of preparation of the group. Do team members invest enough time in preparing questions and answers for their teammates before coming to the meeting? Video conferences may require more preparation than face-to-face meetings in some circumstances.Another opportunity for software businesses and challenge for managers worldwide is outsourcing. In the year 2007, $70 billion were spent globally for outsourced software development (Scott, 2007). Given the extreme shortage of IT skills in the U.S. and Europe, many companies take advantage of globalization by choosing international suppliers for their software development tasks. Outsourcing, however, requires elaborate coordination between the organization and its many supplier groups. The idea is that in total, coordination costs and problems are less costly than in-house development; however, this goal is not always achieved. While outsourcing, when it is deployed and coordinated correctly, can result in 24 hour development worldwide and thereby provide continuous services to the organization around the clock, it may result in the loss of intellectual property. While mechanic parts are patentable in most countries that support intellectual property rights, software is not patentable in most countries outside North America.In addition to the challenge of managing outsourcing, software organizations exploit technologies in various ways to save costs, for example by offering remote access, telecommuting, and service-oriented architectures (SOA) (Scott, 2007). Remote access and telecommuting has increased six-fold between 1997 and 2005 and resulted in $300 million annual savings due to a reduction of office space (2007). SOA is a similar concept and involves a software rental for customers. Instead of buying, installing, and maintaining software and servers, customers can rent a service online and reduce the total cost of ownership because these activities are no longer required on the customer side. Gradually the virtualization of the software business opens new horizons and provides further opportunities but it also presents managers with endless challenges.Some of the strengths and weaknesses of offshore and virtual team development were studied by Slavova (2000). In the year 2000, India and Ireland were the largest offshore software development locations. Offshore companies can offer up to 60% cost reduction, a faster completion of development tasks by distributing them around the globe, and specific domain knowledge which they acquired over the years providing similar services to other customers. The integration of work from external sources, however, constitutes a major hurdle. Furthermore, language and cultural issues can cause serious communication problems that put the project at risk, especially when misunderstandings cause misinterpretations of project specification documents. Slavova (2000) found that the most common remedy and strategy avoiding problems with offshore suppliers is to visit them frequently face-to-face; however, this tactic results in higher travel costs and disruptions of the managers' workflows and hence may offset the benefits gained for outsourcing altogether. Managers in the software business need therefore to balance the risks and opportunity potentials before engaging in outsourcing because for many companies this strategy failed to pay off in the end.A huge opportunity that emerged in the last decade is online innovation. The collective innovation effort of many individuals and companies is generally known as open-source on the Internet and it has lead to many advances in the computer technology, such as the free Linux operating system. At first businesses felt threatened by this wave of developments on the market because the businesses perceived that open-source solutions were in competition with their products. In many cases this was and still is in fact true; however, a couple of companies, including IBM, are exploiting this new way of innovation for their own and for a common benefit (Vujovic & Ulhøi, 2008). Because software companies operate in an increasingly instable environment, they struggle to create continuously new and better products. By exposing the computer code to the public on the Internet, companies can benefit from ideas submitted by the public, especially other companies. Furthermore, companies benefit from free bug finding and testing by external users but one of the primary reasons for "going open-source" is the quick adoption and spread of the company's technology at a relatively little or no cost. The spread of IBM's open-source technology, for example, is also free marketing for the company. But how can companies make money by offering something for free?The closed innovation model (the traditional model of providing software without revealing the software code) can be combined with open-source, so the company can charge for the product. In other cases, the company can reveal the technological platform on the Internet for free and then sell specialized tools which utilize the new platform. The big money savers are obviously the shared development, testing, and maintenance costs since many interested parties work on the same project.The knowledge-sharing model of open-source is nothing new, however. The philosophy and the benefits of open innovation models have been already realized in the third quarter of the nineteenth century. Back then, open innovation was practiced in the UK iron andUS steel industry. The cooperation of many industry players ended the domination of proprietary technologies for which costly royalties were due (Vujovic & Ulhøi, 2008). Given the dynamic environment of the IT industry and the short lifespan of computer technologies, the adoption of open innovation models gained much more popularity. By analyzing the largest open-source players in the market, Vujovic and Ulhøi put together a list of supportive strategies, which is shown in Table 2. Several of these strategies are quite relevant from a top management perspective as well, such as deploying open-source to block a competitor and using the open model as a gateway for greater market share.Table 2Strategies for adopting the open-source approach (Vujovic & Ulhøi, 2008).Business StrategyObtaining higher market shareObtaining market powerBetter adoption of a product and thereby establishing standardsShifting competitive advantage to another architectural layerMaking the product more ubiquitousDelivering faster time-to-marketSpurring innovationComplementing a revenue core streamBlocking a competitorConclusionReviewing the rather recent emergence of the IT industry and the software industry in particular, several parallels can be drawn to management history. While Taylor's scientific management was a highlight in the evolution of management science (Wren, 2005), the software industry seems to be lagging behind such great advancement. Due to its high level of complexity, the software development discipline is still plagued with quality problems stemming from a lack of standardization. Similar to Taylor's efforts, managers need to analyze software development processes and develop industry-wide standards and measures. Once such measures and procedures exist, this will help make software projects much more predictable.Much of today's software industry practices would have been a déjà vu for Taylor, if he was still alive. In addition, the anomie and social disorganization concerns during the social person era apply today more dramatically than in the past. Mayo described in the 1940s how managers overemphasized on technical problems in the hope of raising efficiency ignoring the human social element (p. 296). The same situation is now evident to a larger degree in the computer industry. The rapid technological advances have created many opportunities and changed the work environment drastically. At the same time, however, management was unable to prepare for these dramatic shifts technology would bring to the workplace. At best, managers are simply reacting to technological advances because the consequences are mostly unpredictable given the complexity of human nature. For example, email brought several benefits such as low cost and simple asynchronous communication; however, many email messages are misunderstood because they are not written appropriately. Moreover, IT knowledge workers are struggling to keep up with the vast number of messages received per day as they constitute a severe disruption of the daily workflow.As knowledge workers are becoming more and more essential to an organization's survival and as organizations in this industry mature and require greater headcounts, the span of control is becoming an issue for managers to handle correctly. As discussed in Wren (2005), as the team size increases, the number of interrelations to be managed rises astronomically (p. 353). Managing larger teams poses a great problem because the sheer number of interrelations makes it also more difficult to develop trust within the team. Motivating large groups of knowledge workers can hence be tricky, especially because creative tasks can require a large degree of collaboration. Work design is hence a major hurdle for future managers to overcome. Much emphasis has been on hygiene factors and not on motivators of the workforce. Flexible hours, telecommuting, empowerment, and increased responsibility may help in the short-term but for the long-term management will need to find new strategies for retaining knowledge workers.Product quality remains a big issue. Deming's ideas are good but quality assurance in the software world is difficult to implement due to the lack of standards and measures. The open-source innovation model may provide some relief in this respect because the greater involvement of external developers can help improve overall quality. On the other hand, however, open-source projects are hard to manage for the same reason. Since open-source projects are self-directed and not owned by anyone in particular, those projects sometimes suffer from uncontrolled, tumorlike growth.Several of Deming's deadly sins (Wren, 2005, p. 463) apply directly to the software industry. Most products are made from scratch rather than from components and there is little standardization in software organizations. Since software developers have a tendency to see their job as a craft they defy standards and procedures. In addition, the rather complex environment with its dynamic requirements and the push for meeting deadlines make it easy for practitioners to lose sight of quality improvements through the preparation of organizational standards. High turnover and individual performance measures continue to be industry practice, even though many scientists, such as Deming, have argued for long that such measures are counterproductive.Future managers need to find ways to compensate for the high turnover, if they cannot find a way to avoid it. The division of labor might work well for the company but it is not well perceived by the workforce which tends to require constant challenge. Top performers disfavor mundane tasks and prefer to walk away with all their knowledge. IBM has successfully deployed job enlargement for some time to combat this phenomenon (Wren, 2005, p.332). Unfortunately, this strategy might not work for every company and it can only be used within certain boundaries of the organization. Given the developments of the last two decades, managers will need to confront the discipline of knowledge worker management and find a workable solution for their organization.The integration of management science with the advances in psychology and sociology may provide a route towards the solution of the knowledge worker management problem. It is crucial for managers to have an accurate understanding of the motivational drives for this particular group of the workforce. These employees enjoy higher income, greater flexibility and freedom, and greater bargain power. This puts them in a gray zone between the traditional, lower skilled employee and an owner in the company because knowledge workers create intellectual capital in the company. Because most of this capital is lost and remains with the employees when they decide to leave the organization, turnover can be much more damaging than with traditional workers. Managers can therefore not simply apply conventional strategies to this dissimilar group of employees; rather, they need to seek for more creative incentives for motivating and retaining knowledge workers.ReferencesAndres, H. P. (2002). A comparison of face-to-face and virtual software development teams. Team Performance Management, 8, 39-49. Retrieved March 15, 2009 from ProQuest.Elliott, M., Dawson, R., Edwards, J. (2007). An analysis of software quality management at AWE plc. Software Quality Journal, 15, 347-364. Retrieved March 15, 2009 from ProQuest.Flitman, A. (2003). Towards meaningful benchmarking of software development team productivity. Benchmarking, 10, 382-350. Retrieved March 15, 2009 from ProQuest.Hamid, A., Tarek, K. (1992). Investigating the impacts of managerial turnover/succession on software project performance. Journal of Management Information Systems, 9, 127-145. Retrieved March 15, 2009 from ProQuest.Kotlarsky, J., Oshri, I., van Hillegersberg, J., Kumar, K. (2007). Globally distributed component-based software development: an exploratory study of knowledge management and work division. Journal of Information Technology, 22, 161-174. Retrieved March 15, 2009 from ProQuest.Mathew, J. (2007). The relationship of organizational culture with productivity and quality; A study of Indian software organizations. Employee Relations, 29, 677-697. Retrieved March 15, 2009 from ProQuest.Mehta, N. (2008). Successful knowledge management implementation in global software companies. Journal of Knowledge Management, 12, 42-57. Retrieved March 15, 2009 from ProQuest.Scott, J. E. (2007). Mobility, business process management, software sourcing, and maturity model trends: Propositions for the IS organization of the future. Information Systems Management, 24, 139-146. Retrieved March 15, 2009 from ProQuest.Slavova, S. (2000). Offshore software development: strengths and weaknesses. Academy of Information and Management Sciences, 4, 16-22. Retrieved March 15, 2009 from ProQuest.Vujovic, S., Ulhøi, J. P. (2008). Online innovation: the case of open source software development. European Journal of Innovation Management, 11, 142-157. Retrieved March 15, 2009 from ProQuest.Wren, D.A. (2005). The history of management thought. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley PublishingZwikael, O. (2008). Top management involvement in project management; a cross country study of the software industry. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 1, 498-513. Retrieved March 15, 2009 from ProQuest.			 			 				Copyright 2009 by Savas Papadopoulos, FastNeuron Inc Savas Papadopoulos is a software business consultant with FastNeuron Inc <a href="http://www.fastneuron.com" target="_new">http://www.fastneuron.com</a> He can be reached at 410 571 5950 or via email: <a href="mailto:savas@fastneuron.com">savas@fastneuron.com</a>. Related articles can be accessed here: <a href="http://fastneuron.com/Misc/tabid/58/Default.aspx" target="_new">http://fastneuron.com/Misc/tabid/58/Default.aspx</a>

Current Management Opportunities and Challenges in the Software Industry

During the past 30 years the world went through a very dynamic technological transformation. In retrospective, it can be stated without...

25 Questions to Ask Every ERP Software Supplier

When engaging in the ERP selection process, demonstrated software functionality is key; however, asking ERP vendors the right questions about their respective businesses is just as critical to a successful ERP selection as software functionality. While the questions below contain some basic, general questions to ask software vendors about product functionality, these questions are primarily designed to provide selection team with a better understanding of software vendors' general business philosophies, organizational longevity, approach to ERP implementation and customer support, annual maintenance fees, software upgrades, and more.By requiring software vendors to answer the following questions, the software selection team will be armed with the necessary information to make well-informed final ERP selection.Company Background, Business Philosophy, and Corporate Vision1. Is your company an ERP software developer or value-added reseller (VAR)?2. How many years has your company been involved in the manufacturing or distribution software industry?3. How does your organization compare to other organizations in your industry relative to revenue per employee?4. Do you provide a money-back guarantee or software acceptance period which will allow us to ensure that the software does everything that it was represented to do during the sales process?5. What level of involvement does your organization's executive leadership have in the daily operations of the business and future product development? Has there been any recent changeover in your organization's senior management staff including outside investment organizations?Software Implementation and Customer Support1. Do you outsource your ERP implementation services to third-party service providers, or do you deliver implementation services in-house?2. What is your organization's average implementation services-to-software cost ratio (i.e. total cost of implementation services / total cost of software licenses)?3. What is the average software implementation time frame for a company of our size?4. Can our existing data be readily migrated to your proposed software solution? What level of effort and cost is associated with the data migration process?5. Are support calls answered by members of your staff, or do you outsource your technical support?6. Who is responsible for answering customer support calls? Who is the first person we speak to when we contact your customer support personnel, and what is their level of experience with your software? Do you offer 24/7 technical support?7. Where is your support staff located (geographically)?8. Does your organization provide a guaranteed maximum upper limit cost for any services work you perform for our company?Annual Maintenance and Software Upgrades1. When do you start to charge new customers for annual maintenance?2. What is your annual maintenance fee, and how is this maintenance fee calculated? What was your annual maintenance fee five years ago?3. Are software upgrades and future software releases included in your annual maintenance fee? How frequently do you release a major update or upgrade to the proposed software solution?Software Licensing, Technical Information, Features, and Future Development1. When was the first release for the proposed software solution? What is the current release for the proposed software solution, and when was it formally released for commercial availability?2. Was the proposed software solution developed by the existing software supplier, or was it originally developed by a software supplier who was subsequently acquired by the existing supplier?3. Where does your organization see the development of the proposed software solution going in the future? How long will you (or the developer of the software) continue to develop and support the proposed software solution?4. Is the complete application source code included at no additional cost in the price of software licenses? Do we get the source code directly, or is the source code placed in escrow?5. Is the software sold on a module-by-module basis, or is the software sold as an integrated whole for one all-inclusive price? What modules are included in the cost of software licenses? What specific functionality is not included in the base-level software package for the proposed software solution?6. What is the minimum number of concurrent or named user licenses we have to buy?7. Are there any restrictions on the database, hardware platform, network, or operating system environment for which the software is compatible?8. What is the degree of scalability offered by the proposed software solution? Will the software's existing functionality allow our business to grow without adding additional software functionality in the future to meet our needs?9. Are customer references available? May we visit one of your customers to see the proposed software solution being used in a live transaction environment prior to contract signing?			 			 				Alex Smith oversees TGI's sales to the small business manufacturing and <a href="http://www.tgiltd.com/distribution/distribution-software.html" target="_new">distribution software</a> marketplace. TGI is an industry-leading provider of manufacturing software and distribution software solutions to small and mid-market manufacturers and distributors. TGI's exclusive focus is on the <a href="http://www.tgiltd.com/services/erp-implementation-services.html" target="_new">erp implementation</a>, development and support of Enterprise 21, the company's fully-integrated business management software solution.

25 Questions to Ask Every ERP Software Supplier

When engaging in the ERP selection process, demonstrated software functionality is key; however, asking ERP vendors the right questions...

Software As a Service (SaaS) Software on Demand - Using SaaS the Smart Way

Software as a Service (SaaS) Today's business world demands that business owners quickly adapt to a changing environment. Businesses can improve internal operations when they are able to adapt to emerging technologies trends to reduce operational costs and ultimately improve service to clients. Businesses that fail to adapt find that attempting to function using old, supposedly tried-and-true methods and technologies can cost them significant amounts of money.When deployed correctly, Software as a Service (SaaS) can help your business reduce overhead costs associated with managing software installed and maintained on servers and client workstations. Software as a Service, also known as "software on demand" provides for quick deployment for many types of corporations and works particularly well within certain types of business operating models. Evolution of Software as a Service (SaaS)SaaS began with the development of hosted software space that first appeared commercially in 1998. These first-generation SaaS applications were applications that allowed Web-based access to software through a subscription from the SaaS vendor as opposed to traditional application licensing for software purchased "off-the-shelf."The licensing model encourages software vendors to restrict the use of their applications by objectively defining how and when the application software can be used. The EULAs (End-User License Agreements) define precisely how an application can be used.With SaaS, conventional CD software installation onto a workstation is completely done away with, and customers are granted full access to the application from their desktop PC. The PC essentially becomes a "thin client" when using SaaS; virtually all access functions are executed on the vendor's server in a remote data center. Basically, the desktop PC becomes a client and the vendor serves up the application(s) on demand; hence, SaaS is basically software on demand.At first, only certain companies were eager to adapt to SaaS. However, this group of companies made waves in their respective industries by becoming operationally effective when using SaaS. Today, more often than not, software is developed using the SaaS model because this delivery mechanism is a good fit for certain business operating models.SaaS is rapidly becoming a preferred delivery vehicle for corporations around the world. In certain instances, business owners are particularly happy with the total cost-of-ownership savings of the SaaS solution compared to that of buying software through conventional reseller channels. With the only financial responsibility in the form of a recurring subscription fee, costs are constant and predictable with SaaS. As many business owners know, this is not the case with perpetually licensed out-of-the-box software. By the third year of ownership of licensed software, total cost of ownership increases because many vendors are pushing for new hardware equipment and other upgrades to your IT infrastructure.Software as a Service (SaaS) Defined SaaS is just what the term implies: Software is supplied as a service by the software vendor. The application resides off-site at the vendor's datacenter where the vendor is responsible for maintaining the data, servers and all other related hardware. Access to the remotely located application is granted by a subscription that allows end users to utilize the software. Users run the SaaS application over the Internet.Vendors are able to maintain an application that works for multiple clients without considerable customization or integration issues. With traditional enterprise-level applications, this is not the case where many costs are generated customizing an application for a particular company. With SaaS, those costs are eliminated and the vendor has a single, easy-to-maintain application for multiple clients. Upgrades are a snap as is releasing new versions. When the vendor needs to upgrade its application or release a new version, it simply installs it in their data center, and all customers are instantly upgraded simultaneously the next time the application is accessed.In most cases the software must be configured in an environment by where customers are able to access multiple applications simultaneously. SaaS is also known as a "one size fits all" kind of solution. By maintaining the hardware, vendors assume much of the operational IT costs associated with maintaining the software and servers that run the application(s). Transitioning to SaaS at your company could save your organization a lot of money by shifting these operational costs over to the SaaS vendor. Doing so eliminates the number of IT hours necessary to maintain the software running in-house on workstations, plus it reduces hardware costs for additional servers and other related equipment.Shifting these responsibilities to the software vendor changes the customer-vendor relationship. Obviously, firms able to take advantage of SaaS are able to dramatically reduce operational costs and enable IT staff to focus on higher-order tasks within their organization. The SaaS platform also differs radically from traditional licensing methods in how the software is paid for. Gone are the large upfront costs with various consultancy fees and maintenance costs associated with adapting a new application company-wide. Instead, customers pay a subscription fee that may occur on a monthly or annual basis.SaaS software vendors make the trade-off for the upfront fees for a predictable, steady cash flow from a service-based relationship with the customer. Keeping the customer relationship intact is essential for the SaaS provider to maintain these revenue streams and to keep them flowing. It is this need that drives the SaaS vendor to provide a quality service in their application, along with quality customer service when needed.Oftentimes, it is the latter quality that many traditionally licensed software platforms are lacking. Regrettably, with certain SaaS vendors some of these companies are all about the customer up front when the application is initially being deployed only to essentially "forget" about the customer when it is time to provide some additional support. Obviously, forgetting about the customer is not in the SaaS vendor's best interest.It should also be noted certain enterprise software vendors often claim disinterest in developing SaaS applications, claiming SaaS is not able to provide the same level of sophistication inherent in their offerings. These vendors are underestimating the pervasiveness and agility of today's SaaS offerings. Considering that enterprise software vendors generate significant revenues from upfront costs, the reasoning behind the expressed dissatisfaction becomes even clearer.For small business owners, an enterprise software vendor may not be a viable option. For some vendors, it's simply not cost effective for large enterprise-centric SaaS vendors to support businesses with fewer than 10 end users. With the SaaS application offering, the level of customer service remains the same no matter how many users need access.Benefits of SaaS Savings generated by the relocation of an application from the customer's location to the vendor's data center are easily observable in terms of reduced IT staff hours or employees and the associated hardware needs. Other generated savings and benefits of SaaS are not so easily observable, are subtle in nature and can be far-reaching in their effectiveness.These benefits are worth mentioning: o Delivery of standardized software applications across departments, business units and the entire corporation. o Improved security and access to digital documents in-house and outside of the office via the Internet. o Comprehensive training supplied from the same SaaS vendors with a new subscription. o Ongoing customer support from the SaaS vendor continued throughout the term of the contract. o Reduced risk as opposed to retail-boxed licensed software. The software is always accessible, and you don't sacrifice productivity time should a workstation have to be rebuilt and you have to reinstall software.Anytime a business can embrace an improved operational process, cost savings are realized. Standards applied across the business environment reduce or remove variations in work performance. These variations occur when different employees, perhaps located at different work sites or even different departments within the same building, alter their work process when completing similar tasks. Defining standards helps your business succeed in the most cost-effective manner possible. Under certain operating models, SaaS improves these standards by requiring virtually all employees to access the same version of software. The centralized application provides an access medium employees use to run the software at the office or remotely.Access to files at the vendor's data center (or in some cases a local workstation) is enhanced through SaaS. Centralized access using high-speed Internet connections improves the likelihood that documents will be easy to find. Security can also be improved by locating the documents off-site. Located on the vendor's data center, your business documents are now maintained within the vendor's security standards. Quality SaaS vendors usually have very high levels of security. Oftentimes, they use encryption to protect documents as the documents pass to and from the data center back the user.Note: Be sure to review the SaaS vendor's security policy before signing any contract.Training supplied by the vendor at the time a subscription is purchased is another potential benefit of using SaaS. Reputable vendors provide training - after all, it is in their best interest to train customers to keep that constant revenue stream flowing. Customers will use the software if they know how to use it, and they are able to get what they need out of the application(s).SaaS training can be tailored to your company's specific needs. Extensive guides are both informative and easy to understand, and interactive help is readily available. Free trial periods are also common with SaaS vendors. During the free trial period, which usually lasts a few weeks or even a month or more, some vendors will take the time to train you on the software in order to acquire you as a client. In a service-based relationship established by virtue of the SaaS subscription, customer support continues for as long as the subscription remains current. This is also essential for the vendor to continue the relationship. Remember, a SaaS vendor wants to keep you happy, and they know that quality customer service goes a long way to retain clients.SaaS presents far less risks for customers than many traditional licensing models. SaaS vendors reduce the software transaction with the customer down to granting access with a subscription payment. For the customer, should the application not perform as expected, the loss is only limited to the price of the subscription. This is not the case with certain traditional software licensing models, where the total cost of the software is a loss should the application not live up to expectations. Also present within a SaaS licensing model: You're encouraged to consider purchasing more licenses than you need initially or else risk violating the defined EULA. The SaaS vendor isn't concerned with disk copying or reverse engineering of their product. All code is kept on-site, safely where it can't be shared unless access is granted.SaaS service agreement terms are pretty much cut and dry, and should be displayed on the vendor's Web site. These terms should be read and thoroughly understood. The vendor can easily terminate the customer relationship if a violation occurs by simply refusing access to the application. Before any company jumps into adapting SaaS, it is important to note what specific types of organizations are structured to benefit the most from SaaS. The fact is, there are specific types of companies that should not adopt SaaS. The best companies suited for SaaS are ones that have a unified operating model.If your business is considering the move to SaaS from conventional software, it's important that you ask yourself these five questions: o How will SaaS support our business better than traditional software licensing? o What is the total cost-of-ownership comparison between a three-year SaaS subscription with bundled services and purchasing software the conventional way? o Are there any special considerations for the SaaS software that would require modifications to your current systems or network infrastructure? o How would your end users' experience change with the SaaS model compared to conventional software? o What time frame is needed to introduce the SaaS application compared to that of conventional software?The Unified Business Operating Model It's been my firsthand experience that the unified operating model is usually the best fit for SaaS. For businesses that fall under this category, leveraging SaaS can significantly reduce deployment and maintenance costs.Obviously, not all companies operate under this business model. What the unified operating model has that other types of operation don't is that many applications are accessed through a centralized location. Businesses lacking this centralization may find it difficult to convert to SaaS. Centralized management is also important to the unified operating model as are standardized business units. Companies operating with heterogeneous business units, each with its own localized management and different business processes would also have some obstacles to overcome when transitioning to SaaS.Transformation into a unified operating model is not impossible. Many businesses strive toward unification by centralizing operations that streamline business processes and ultimately improve customer relationships while reducing operational costs simultaneously. Unified business operating models have transformed many companies operating under antiquated business models that simply don't work as well in today's business world. In the past, many companies diversified into new business sectors and developed individual business units that operated separately from other business units owned by the same company.The Internet revolution forced many companies to once again centralize business operations to facilitate communications and decision-making for the corporation operating on a global scale. Some companies not able to centralize all their business units spun them off into new, separate companies or sold them off to competitors. Even today, these actions continue. The unified business operating model is not limited to large, global operations. Businesses just starting can quickly establish themselves using this model. Choosing SaaS for application-supported business processes can help your new business venture during its initial start-up. Established small and medium businesses (SMBs) may also be operating in a unified manner.Risks of SaaS It should be noted that SaaS isn't for every company. While the unified business operating model presents the ideal model to take advantage of SaaS, there are other situations where the solution should not be implemented. Business-critical processes should not necessarily depend upon SaaS. It's important at the beginning to consider the ramifications of choosing SaaS before actually purchasing it. Risk analysis should be thoroughly conducted just as with any other new software platform under consideration. Businesses must consider how essential the SaaS functions are by considering how they would operate should the SaaS vendor to go offline. It's imperative that when evaluating an SaaS vendor, your company examines the vendor's track record of uptime availability.Do the following: Find other businesses that have adopted the platform and talk to them about their experiences with the vendors you're considering.Also, SaaS service agreements must be carefully read and understood for all the limitations implied by the agreement. Specifically, it is the payment that is due on time for the subscription to continue. Arrangements must be made ahead of time if, perhaps, your business chooses to have fewer licenses over the next billing period to guard against the vendor expecting more payment for the recurring subscription.Companies with high-value digital assets probably shouldn't consider SaaS. While performing data functions and storing information on the remote data center may enhance the data integrity of most businesses, this is not always the case with every operation. The customer in the SaaS vendor relationship must consider the promises the vendor agrees to as to how data is stored and maintained no matter what new applications are introduced as the relationship progresses.Here are some important recommendations to consider with SaaS:o Know what business operating models benefit most from SaaS and seriously, think through whether or not your company will benefit from SaaS.o Understand how SaaS impacts cross-functional teams and multiple business units.o Correlate total cost of ownership of SaaS compared to conventional software licensing models.o Get the entire service agreement in writing from the SaaS vendor prior to purchasing the service.o Should a pilot program be implemented, set up an online forum using widely available, free software to allow end users a means to provide feedback on the application's performance.Finally, SaaS is a relatively new phenomenon that is rapidly becoming a foreseeable choice for certain large and small businesses. Companies ideally structured to take advantage of SaaS are rapidly signing up and in many instances, reducing their overall operating costs.Of course, considerations must be made when making a change from traditionally licensed software. The fact is, not all businesses are ideally suited for SaaS.However, it is certain SaaS is here to stay and will continue to grow in popularity as a preferred delivery method of software applications.Michael G. Perry has more than 20 years' professional experience in management, IT consulting and writing technical documentation related to business process, policies and procedures.To learn more visit <a href="http://sisnv.net/" rel="nofollow" target="_new">http://sisnv.net/</a> to email Michael directly. Disclaimer/Release of Liability Statement:Regarding knowledge shared in this article, Michael G. Perry will not be held responsible for any consequential damages resulting from the application of content or recommendations.Copyright © 2008 Coprofit, All rights reserved.Reproduction prohibited without prior written consent. <a href="http://www.copyscape.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_new">http://www.copyscape.com</a> enforced.			 			 				Michael Perry Author - Lecturer <a href="mailto:mikeperry@sisnv.net">mikeperry@sisnv.net</a>

Software As a Service (SaaS) Software on Demand - Using SaaS the Smart Way

Software as a Service (SaaS) Today's business world demands that business owners quickly adapt to a changing environment. Businesse...