IT Dictionary: sorting through the labyrinth of computer technology terms.

• Author: Meyring, Justin
• Position: TECHNOLOGY

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While the computer age is decades old, some people, like the fictional Homer Simpson, still have a difficult time finding their way around a computer. Technology seems to advance at an exponential rate, and in some ways people can feel left behind and so overwhelmed. The following "IT Dictionary" is for business owners in Alaska who find themselves baffled by any kind of IT (Information Technology) talk and terminology. While this is certainly not an attempt to dumb things down, please recognize that books can and have been written on these terms. This article is simply a summation of a few, but not all, items that business people should know about.

* AGILE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

Agile Software Development is intended to be just that--agile. The goal is to develop software in incremental stages, called "spirals" or "sprints." Sprints can be up to 30 days. Josh Felix, project manager for Chenega Federal Systems LLC, says, "Each sprint contains a final delivery of a product, fully tested. In order to do that, the features are broken down into smaller increments because the delivery dates are so short." By breaking down the development of a software product with this technique, the features of system development life cycle (SDLC)--planning, designing, developing, implementing and testing--can be performed on smaller pieces of the software package instead of the entire product as a whole. When upgrades to the software are needed, the developer wouldn't be required to go through the SDLC process with the entire product, just on the portion that is being upgraded.

Agile development allows for the client to be a part of the development by incorporating "scrums." Scrums are daily meetings between the development team, the product owner and the project manager. Scrumming allows for the discussion of daily activities and any hurdles to progress, which adds accountability to the process.

Custom software would be suitable for a business whose needs aren't met by a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) software package. Felix continues, "When you're narrowing down your firms that develop software, and wanted a team that would keep them engaged in the process, they would want to go with one that uses Rapid Application Development, preferably using Agile Software Development techniques." The cost of having a COTS software developer add a new feature to that program just for a specific business could be high. The time and frustration it...