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22 Nov 2005 - 03 Aug 2017

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TIMESTAMPS

ARAD Methods and Tools Improve Productivity and ROI
11 October 2004
Michael J. Blechar   Matthew Hotle   

Source:  Gartner
Note Number:  G00123515

A "mixed" approach to the service-oriented development of applications is ideal, but architected, rapid application development can provide most companies with the highest productivity and return on investment benefits.

What You Need to Know 

Based on the Gartner Return-on-Investment Model and these real-world results, we believe organizations should strongly consider adopting a service-oriented approach to software deployment using architected, rapid application development methods and tools, rather than "traditional," customized development processes and technologies.

Analysis 

In 2003, Gartner analysts created a model that attempted to predict, based on industry averages and drivers (including benchmark numbers from Gartner Measurement), the return on investment (ROI) an organization could expect as it moved from a "traditional" development style to a service-oriented deployment process. Service-oriented development of applications (SODA) differs from traditional application development (AD) primarily because of service and component reuse. The purpose of SODA is to be able to take artifacts (such as programs, frameworks and design patterns) created in one project and reuse them in subsequent projects. Because these artifacts are to be reused, they must be of high quality and developed in a process-capable manner.

In "SODA Return on Investment Model Productivity Factors," we describe how SODA projects can be handled using one of four approaches — rapid application development (RAD); architected, rapid application development (ARAD); architected, model driven (AMD) AD; or a combination of the three. Based on this choice, we can project the "average" productivity and ROI involved with moving from a traditional client/server AD environment to a comparable one using SODA methods and tools. Based on our model, we can predict that an organization that moves to a development approach that includes one or more of our styles of SODA can expect to reduce its overall expenses by between 4 percent and 20 percent during a five-year period.

Recently, Gartner studied seven customers and prospects using a leading ARAD tool. The participants were looking to Gartner to provide productivity and ROI projections for the expanded use of this tool, based on our SODA ROI Model and their uniqueness (that is, the number of developers, their SODA skill levels and so forth) and plans (including, the amount of new development projected during the next five years). We were interested in assessing the degree of variance between ARAD implementations to refine our SODA ROI Model and provide our clients with better estimates of potential savings based on their unique characteristics.

ARAD Technology: ARAD methods and tools are just beginning to achieve recognition by mainstream Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE) and .NET developers. As indicated in Figure 1, these tools come with pre-built J2EE and .NET frameworks, architectural and design patterns, and pre-built technical components that can be customized by technical architects and then used to generate between 60 percent and 85 percent of the code of most applications prior to a professional programmer adding detailed business logic. Most of these tools come with optional bridges to business process modeling (BPM) and object-oriented analysis and design (OOA&D)/Unified Modeling Language (UML) modeling tools and can automate some of the rules about classes and use cases as part of the code generation. Because they can generate most of the code pertaining to the technical architecture and ensure compliancy to the predefined frameworks and patterns, the resultant applications will generally be quicker to deploy, better performing and of higher quality than hand-coded SODA applications. In this emerging market, we see consistently positive results from users of ARAD tools, regardless of vendor. For example, we have gotten consistently positive feedback from users of Computer Associates' Advantage:Plex, Compuware's OptimalJ and IBM's Rational Rapid Developer offerings.

Figure 1.
ARAD Technologies

Source: Gartner Research (October 2004)

ROI Results From the Base Model: For each style, we computed a projected ROI. For example, regardless of the tool selected for RAD applications, we'd expect, on average, an ROI of 1.4 to 1 in SODA vs. traditional client/server AD. In the ARAD style, the ROI would be 4.9 to 1. AMD's ROI is projected at 2.4 to 1. Finally, the mixed style's ROI is projected to be 5.2 to 1.

Only in ARAD style was there a first-year net break-even. This means that SODA development cannot be "justified" on a one-year payback period, but, instead, must be evaluated on a multiyear period. We've chosen five years.

ROI Results From the ARAD ROI Study: This study includes the results of seven surveys with ARAD tool clients or prospects. Six were done with users of a leading ARAD tool. Each of the respondents had experience of slightly less to slightly more than one year with the technology. One client had used the tool only in a pilot mode. For these respondents, the ROIs ranged from around 2 to 1 to more than 15 to 1. The primary differences came from two factors:

• Training/tools acquisition costs — The clients reporting relatively higher ROIs also reported substantially lower-than-expected tool and training costs.
• Productivity drivers — The clients reporting relatively higher ROIs also reported higher-than-expected improvements in productivity (although their reports were anecdotal and not statistical in nature, after conducting the surveys, we believe they are significant).

Based on study feedback and other empirical data, the productivity numbers reported in the study appear to be relatively consistent across ARAD tools. In other words, successful reuse is more important to maximizing ROI than the technology selected.

Tactical Guidelines 

When determining which approach — RAD, ARAD or AMD development — to take to SODA projects, it's important to consider the characteristics of the application to be developed, such as volatility, complexity and "sharability," as well as organizational process capability in terms of enterprise architecture reuse or code re-factoring. A "mixed" approach to SODA is preferable; however, ARAD methods and enabling technologies can provide the greatest benefit to the most organizations in terms of overall AD productivity and ROI.

Key Issues 

What economic factors, such as total cost of ownership, affect the development of applications internally, externally and offshore?

What are the best practices for justifying application development investments?

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© 2004 Gartner, Inc. and/or its Affiliates. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of this publication in any form without prior written permission is forbidden. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. Gartner disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of such information. Gartner shall have no liability for errors, omissions or inadequacies in the information contained herein or for interpretations thereof. The reader assumes sole responsibility for the selection of these materials to achieve its intended results. The opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice.