Sorry for linking to a post in which the author links to someone else, but this one is definitely worth it. It left me smiling, and I just couldn’t let it go unnoticed.

iDisposable blog post titled ALM Summarized links to Septermber SD Times article on Application Lifecycle Management suites, which, true, has a good thorough discussion of the essence of ALM.

One thing before I go further though is that ALM in my understanding is not exactly “any set of software packages that purports to encompass the entire Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC),” rather a concept much bigger than that. I mentioned this in one of my earlier posts, “The difference between SDLC and ALM?”

With the difference between the two being so significant, there’s no wonder SD Times found that “Not one of the software companies we’ve talked to claims to offer a totally complete ALM solution and they say that no one currently does.” The concept of ALM is too broad to be embraced by just one solution.

But there’s a catch, here’s a list of what ALM includes, according to the print version of the SDTimes article (that is missing in the electronic version):

* Requirements planning
* Visualization management
* Modeling
* Design
* Feature management
* Build management
* Configuration management
* Change management
* Project management
* Release management
* Testing/QA
* Deployment
* Monitoring and reporting
* Workflow
* Collaboration
* Team communication

Well, that’s quite extensive as it is. And I couldn’t keep from smiling at this: “Now that helps right? A little dose of clarity. Clarity: maybe one day we can get it in a pill and the world will be a better place.” Absolutely, clarity helps! =)