Software development has changed over the course of the last 10 years, becoming more and more reliant on external suppliers and open source providers. Modern software development is more akin to urban planning rather than building an individual building, where multiple teams collaborate to create a fully functioning software system.

This forms a supply chain that helps innovation happen faster. However, As innovation is accelerated, so too is application complexity. Complexity is the enemy of quality and productivity.

As recent highly published cases in the automotive industry have proven, not managing this chain of software can have disastrous outcomes. With more diverse teams specialising in certain fields, communication with tools and methods that disseminate relevant information to the right people at the right time becomes an absolute necessity.

Poor communication and understanding between developers and teams creates poor quality. Poor quality creates unplanned break-fixes. Break-fixes create a drag on development speed. It’s a non-virtuous cycle.

What if we could deliver applications on-time (even faster), on-budget (even more efficiently) and with a natural byproduct of increased transparency and less risk? The good news: other industries have done so with supply chain management.

Applying supply chain approaches to software delivery raises the bar on delivering quality software faster and with managed risk.

Get practical tips from the software supply chain playbook to:

-Automate and quantify processes along the supply chain

-Scrutinize the number and quality of your “suppliers”

-Improve traceability and visibility of deployed software

-Manage out avoidable risk and bloat

-Ensure prompt agile responses when things go wrong