Software Industrialization in Systems Integration

Today’s economy is in a permanent change, causing merger and acquisitions and co operations between enterprises. As a consequence, process adaptations and realignments result in systems integration and software development projects. Processes and procedures to execute such projects are still reliant on craftsman-ship of highly skilled workers. A generally accepted, industrialized production, characterized by high efficiency and quality, seems inevitable. In spite of this, current concepts of software industrialization are aimed at traditional software engineering and do not consider the characteristics of systems integration. The present work points out these particularities and discusses the applicability of existing industrial concepts in the systems integration domain. Consequently it defines further areas of research necessary to bring the field of systems integration closer to an industrialized production, allowing a higher efficiency, quality and return on investment. Keywords—Software Industrialization, Systems Integration, Software Product Lines, Component Based Development, Model Driven Development. I. INDUSTRIALIZATION ROM a generic point of view, the term industrialization is defined as the dissemination of industries within an economy, in proportion to agriculture, handicraft and small trade. Relating to the production of goods and services, it is defined as the implementation of standardized and highly productive methods in order to increase efficiency and reduce cost [1, 2]. The process of industrialization began at the end of the 18th century in Great Britain and was characterized by an increasing division and specialization of labor, capital intensive technologies, mass production, rationalization and the application of new energy sources [2]. Industrialization is seen as a necessary step for economic growth, technological advances and increasing wealth. Only industrial production methods allow to produce a multiplicity of goods in a sufficient amount and quality [2]. The present paper will focus on the application of M. Minich is with the University of Plymouth, Plymouth, PL4 8AA United Kingdom and the University of Applied Sciences Darmstadt, 64283 Darmstadt, Germany (phone: +49 1713885673; e-mail: [email protected]). B. Harriehausen-Muehlbauer, Prof. Dr., is with the University of Applied Sciences Darmstadt, 64283 Darmstadt, Germany (phone: +49 6151 16-8485; e-mail: [email protected]). C. Wentzel, Prof. Dr., is with the University of Applied Sciences Darmstadt, 64283 Darmstadt, Germany (phone: +49 6151 16-8459; e-mail: [email protected]). standardized and highly productive methods to the field of software development in systems integration. Applied to the process of industrialization as introduced above, the key concepts of such methods can be summarized in specialization, standardization & systematic reuse, and automation. As of today, the above principles can be found in almost all industries at different levels of penetration. Standardization and specialization advance the level of reuse and enable automation of rote and menial tasks, whereas creative tasks (that cannot be standardized), such as product design, are still performed by highly skilled workers. Omitting the availability of the required commodities and energy, the fundamental principles of industrialization can be described as follows.