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Application Lifecycle Management (ALM)

What is application lifecycle management (ALM)?

Application lifecycle management (ALM) is a system of tools, people, and processes that follow a software application from the initial planning and development, through testing, and into decommissioning.

The tools used in ALM automate software development and help ensure that the software complies with specific regulatory factors.

The stages of an application’s lifecycle, which ALM manages, include:

  • Requirement gathering
  • Development
  • Testing
  • Deployment
  • Maintenance

ALM also makes collaboration amongst development teams more seamless, allowing for easier communication and coordination during the software development life cycle.

Regarding risk management, ALM addresses potential issues early in the process, saving the time and resources needed to remedy the problems later while also creating more reliable software.

How does ALM improve healthcare?

ALM helps organize the elements of an application’s lifecycle, easing the management and maintenance burden, optimizing productivity, and improving product quality. This last benefit, in particular, results in higher-quality products for consumers, leading to better health outcomes.

ALM maintenance addresses issues, implements updates, and updates applications to continually meet evolving requirements. Maintenance may include:

  • Security patches
  • Bug fixes
  • Changing management
  • Software updates
  • Performance monitoring

ALM also facilitates continuous improvement in the development process, which further contributes to higher-quality products.