Aldon, a leading provider of process-driven application lifecycle management (ALM) solutions, has announced Aldon Lifecycle Manager (System i Edition v7.5). The application is aimed at increasing visibility and driving efficient processes for management and developers across the application development lifecycle for the IBM AS/400, iSeries and System i.

The latest version introduces powerful parallel development functionality through automated conflict resolution, as well as an enhanced graphical compare and merge utility, making program changes more interactive and collaborative, the company says. The latest version also includes a tighter link to Aldon Community Manager, a key component of the Aldon ALM suite. Users are now automatically linked from a green screen view to a web browser where they can view real-time incidents, change requests, and requirements related to specific development projects.

According to a recent Gartner survey of more than 1,400 CIOs, the number one priority for businesses in 2007 is improving processes. With IT running many of the core processes that organizations rely on for daily operations, executives in companies of all sizes are finding that process visibility and a well-managed IT department are key to maintaining a competitive edge. That is what Aldon Lifecycle Manager (System i Edition v7.5) brings to the IT development environment, the company says. It focuses on visibility and process control, which help to increase developer productivity, improve code quality, and meet regulatory and best-practices requirements.

Powerful Conflict Resolution for Parallel Development

The simultaneous development of multiple versions of software applications can be complex and difficult to manage. All too often development teams are faced with conflicts between versions, which can confuse and disrupt even the best-managed project teams. Lifecycle Manager delivers powerful conflict processing capabilities that ensure even the most sophisticated parallel development projects stay on track, the company says.

With the Aldon solution, administrators can quickly sort and identify version conflicts using descriptive and structured status tags (active, pending, cleared, etc.) while developers can see and resolve existing conflicts at the appropriate time. This new functionality allows developers to take advantage of the productivity benefits through concurrent development without worrying about the potential chaos that results from more traditional change management approaches.

Intuitive Changes with Compare and Merge

Lifecycle Manager's enhanced graphical compare and merge functionality simplifies software upgrades and makes application changes more intuitive, according to the company. The solution automatically determines whether an existing file can be changed or whether it must be recreated and then it performs the required actions.

Users will no longer worry about the details of file changes, says the company. This feature enables software changes and updates to be performed faster and more accurately, and ultimately accelerates business application development and increases productivity across the department.

Flexible Link to Aldon Community Manager

The latest version of Lifecycle Manager is now more tightly linked to Aldon Community Manager for the real-time management of incidents, change requests, and requirements. Users are able to point and click on any task from a green screen and will automatically be sent to the Aldon Community Manager Web browser. The tight integration links end users' issues to the developers' work tasks that results in a single point of control and visibility for IT managers.

Automated workflow and process status is accessible throughout the software development lifecycle allowing IT services and development teams to respond to changes quickly and in coordination with the business.

The Aldon Suite

The Aldon ALM solution provides IT business process automation, requirements management, software configuration management, multiple version management, and software deployment to companies worldwide. Built to address complex multi-platform environments as well as the needs of geographically distributed IT organizations, the Aldon Suite gives companies a defined, repeatable, measurable, and traceable process for every stage of their application development. The integrated suite is comprised of Aldon Lifecycle Manager, Aldon Deployment Manager, and Aldon Community Manager. Aldon Lifecycle Manager (System i Edition v7.5) will be available before the end of June.

About Aldon

Aldon is the leading provider of application lifecycle management solutions, bringing the benefits of process-driven application change management to IT, and accelerating the delivery of mission-critical business applications. Aldon ALM solutions support today's agile organizations by enabling IT teams to greatly improve their products' time to market, reduce business disruptions, achieve regulatory compliance, and increase return on investment. More than 1,300 companies, including 70 of the Fortune 100, rely on Aldon ALM solutions for enterprise software configuration and change management for their IT business processes. Established in 1979, Aldon is headquartered in Emeryville, Calif., and maintains 14 offices worldwide serving more than 40 countries.