Managing Changes to Application Frameworks

As we've said before, the only constant in software development is that things will change. And while the most common changes that come to mind are from IOS and Android devices, what is not often considered are changes to your web applications, especially their framework. Without proper planning, you can run into scaling concerns, performance issues, or worse, a completely ruined design because your application won't compile.

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Frameworks are the backbone of your application. Consider a simple web application written using a popular back-end framework that delivers server-side rendered pages. When users click on your app to act, the server handles the request and connects to a database to make the changes. The user sees a new page with the result of their action. However, as a few years go by, and you now have user dependency on your app, suddenly, the app starts to run into scaling concerns or performance issues. Or worse, your open-source web application framework has, for some reason, changed the engine underlying your app, and the visual design is completely ruined.

No one wants this “one step forward, two steps back” problem when using development frameworks. And suppose the unfortunate decision was made to write a considerable portion of the app in a framework that is changing away from the design. In that case, you could be looking at a significantly longer effort to refactor the app in CSS. Or worse, you must develop something entirely new to achieve the same goal.

Requirements will always keep changing, so it’s crucial to nail down upcoming changes as quickly as possible to keep your apps on track. Having an expert to help you see that far into the future is imperative. It’s critical to be on top of what needs to be updated and have processes in place to adapt to future changes. By managing in this manner, changes will minimize disruptions and reduce incidents, so your apps always perform as needed.

Since there will always be an end-of-life that needs updating, it’s not enough to have invested in just an application for your business. Business owners need to keep in mind the app will need to be refurbished as these common changes occur for not only frameworks but include features such as plug-ins, libraries, and the like. Without updating, expired software can invite disaster from bugs and security issues. Plus, your application will be rendered unusable with no new browser features as the web browsers move forward.

Continued technology investment needs to be part of your yearly budget planning. Not many software systems are entirely new, so it makes sense to view development and maintenance as a continuum with no distinction between the two. A more realistic approach is to think of software engineering as an evolutionary process that will continually require change over its lifetime. 

Because changes in software development will always continue to occur, we work ahead of the curve to keep our clients secure, free from scaling concerns or performance issues, and with a design that keeps them at the forefront of their industries. We can help you plan for your business and prepare for 2023. Contact Becky Faith today at 502.465.5104 to learn more about how we can help.

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