Future of Software Development

The Future of Software Development

SPECIFY4IT™ replaces the existing software development cycle. In developing the SPECIFY4IT™ toolkit, Precision Design Technology (PDT) has dismantled the existing software development cycle and recreated it in a different form. PDT believes that if a language compiler could check source code for syntactic errors and then generate object code using a code generator, then that thinking should apply to the specification itself.

An Overview:

PDT develops a system specification with the SPECIFY4IT™ toolkit using a simple textual format and a single overview diagram. Both are easily understood by the developer and the business user. As needed, the specification may be compiled in the same way as a source language, and syntactic errors in the specification identified. Once any errors are corrected, the internally consistent specification may support:

• Preparation of test data used to perform a User Acceptance Test on the specification and (later) the finished system
• Animation of the specification to demonstrate the system behaviour that has been captured in the specification
• Proof obligations on the required system may be expressed by the business user and the specification proved to satisfy those properties
• Translation of the accepted specification using a formally proven code generator to generate source code in a selected language that exactly implements the specification.

Using SPECIFY4IT™, PDT enables users to go directly from specification to source code without human implementation, using rule-based code generation, which is quick, efficient, and error-free.

PDT has re-engineered the software development cycle by:

• Cutting out the implementation stage
• Dramatically reduced testing
• Improved maintenance - there are no bugs to fix, just changes to the specification to comply with changes in the business requirement
• Reducing costs
• Collapsing time scales.

How long does it take to deliver the system from specification sign-off?

Using the traditional process it can take months or even years. Using SPECIFY4IT™ – code is ready in hours or even minutes.

Using SPECIFY4IT™ the specification stage takes longer to complete but SPECIFY4IT™ provides significant time and cost savings throughout. This is because avoided, ‘fudged' or unnoticed decisions are resolved before the specification will compile and meet the business user's expectations. Additionally, the specification can be rigorously tested to show that it exactly satisfies the business requirement.

That's process re-engineering taken to a new level. SPECIFY4IT™ delivers this.

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