Report: ARAD Gets Results

Architected Rapid Application Development (ARAD) tools have a dramatic impact on productivity and ROI, according to a new study by Gartner Group .

In comparison to traditional application development tools, Gartner's survey found ROI improvements ranging from 2 to 1 to greater than 15 to 1. Furthermore Gartner also calculated that only with the ARAD approach to rapid application development (in comparison to other RAD approaches) was there a first-year net break-even on ROI.

ARAD, also known by others like vendor Compuware as Model-Driven Pattern Based (MDPB), differs from traditional development in that it is a service-oriented approach. Gartner actually refers to the approach as SODA (service-oriented development of applications), and its purpose is to allow for the reuse of services and components.

Development artifacts, which include items likes design patterns, frameworks and programs, in the SODA approach can be re-used in subsequent projects which should improve efficiencies and productivity. Gartner reports that, "ARAD methods and tools are just beginning to achieve recognition by mainstream Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE) and .NET developers."

When it comes to the actual ARAD tools, however, Gartner noted a consistency of positive results across the various tools regardless of vendor. ARAD tools include Computer Associates' Advantage Plex, Compuware's OptimalJ and IBM's Rational Rapid Developer offerings.

"Compuware has done the best job of defining the evolving ARAD tool market and gaining market presence," Michael Blechar, vice president of Internet & e-Business Technologies at Gartner, told internetnews.com.

Compuware believes that OptimalJ, the latest version of which was released in June, is the leader because it has been out in the marketplace for 24 months and already has a number of large customers adopting the technology.

"We already have customers using the technology and that gives us a leg up," Mike Burba, OptimalJ Launch Program Manager at Compuware, told internetnews.com.

At the end of its research note, Gartner makes a strong statement about ARAD and whether or not organizations should consider using it.

"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," the report stated.

Despite the note of support for ARAD, Gartner's Blechar does caution that there is a potential downside to implementing SODA.

"There are substantial software and retraining costs associated with moving to SODA. And, should an organization attempt to build SODA applications in a reusable manner without achieving adequate levels of reuse, the result can be negative productivity," Blechar explained. "However, because ARAD tools at a minimum enforce reuse of the technical architecture even with slight levels of business component reuse, the vast majority of organizations should see substantial productivity gains using tools like OptimalJ."

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