Get a Process
Project managers must plan the project and use an appropriate process to deliver the application. The approach they adopt should be based on the business and technical architectures and the project risks. The approach can be pure waterfall, spiral, incremental, or evolutionary. The life-cycle model used should not be dictated by a method but should instead be based on the characteristics of the project. Standards are no substitute for a project manager's experience and judgment.
Given the technical complexity of Visual Basic 6 distributed development, any approach must allow sufficient time for architecture and physical design. Doing these tasks up front can provide significant productivity gains by reducing rework and allowing more tasks to be carried out in parallel.
If Visual Basic 6 distributed development is used for high-profile and high-risk projects, a number of issues need to be addressed. A formal approach to the management, specification, design, and development of applications will be needed. A risk-driven design method that focuses on creating an appropriate application architecture will have to be created.
Visual Basic 6 distributed development lends itself to object-oriented analysis and design and to rapid development. Object techniques can be used to enhance communication between users and development professionals. Version 6 has further extended the object-oriented character of Visual Basic. To make best use of Visual Basic, the development process must reflect this character and take advantage of it. This endeavor will bring challenges in developing the skills of staff and managers.
Visual Basic 6 offers a range of productivity features that must be integrated into the development process. The public ActiveX interface of Visual Basic and the extensibility and configurable integrated development environment (IDE) provide the opportunity to integrate Visual Basic and other tools that automate and control the development process. To exploit fully the power of Visual Basic 6, you need to take its features into account in the development process.
Please refer to Appendix C for details of the TMS Developer's Framework, which combines Visual Basic 6 standards and base code to boost quality and productivity.