<s>
A	O
software	B-Application
factory	I-Application
is	O
a	O
structured	O
collection	O
of	O
related	O
software	O
assets	O
that	O
aids	O
in	O
producing	O
computer	O
software	O
applications	O
or	O
software	O
components	O
according	O
to	O
specific	O
,	O
externally	O
defined	O
end-user	O
requirements	O
through	O
an	O
assembly	O
process	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
software	B-Application
factory	I-Application
applies	O
manufacturing	O
techniques	O
and	O
principles	O
to	O
software	O
development	O
to	O
mimic	O
the	O
benefits	O
of	O
traditional	O
manufacturing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Software	B-Application
factories	I-Application
are	O
generally	O
involved	O
with	O
outsourced	B-Architecture
software	O
creation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
software	B-General_Concept
engineering	I-General_Concept
and	O
enterprise	O
software	B-Architecture
architecture	I-Architecture
,	O
a	O
software	B-Application
factory	I-Application
is	O
a	O
software	B-Application
product	I-Application
line	I-Application
that	O
configures	O
extensive	O
tools	O
,	O
processes	O
,	O
and	O
content	O
using	O
a	O
template	O
based	O
on	O
a	O
schema	O
to	O
automate	O
the	O
development	O
and	O
maintenance	O
of	O
variants	O
of	O
an	O
archetypical	O
product	O
by	O
adapting	O
,	O
assembling	O
,	O
and	O
configuring	O
framework-based	O
components	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
coding	O
requires	O
a	O
software	B-General_Concept
engineer	I-General_Concept
(	O
or	O
the	O
parallel	O
in	O
traditional	O
manufacturing	O
,	O
a	O
skilled	O
craftsman	O
)	O
it	O
is	O
eliminated	O
from	O
the	O
process	O
at	O
the	O
application	O
layer	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
software	O
is	O
created	O
by	O
assembling	O
predefined	O
components	O
instead	O
of	O
using	O
traditional	O
IDEs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
end	O
result	O
of	O
manufacturing	O
in	O
a	O
software	B-Application
factory	I-Application
is	O
a	O
composite	O
application	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Software	B-Application
factory	I-Application
–	O
based	O
application	O
development	O
addresses	O
the	O
problem	O
of	O
traditional	O
application	O
development	O
where	O
applications	O
are	O
developed	O
and	O
delivered	O
without	O
taking	O
advantage	O
of	O
the	O
knowledge	O
gained	O
and	O
the	O
assets	O
produced	O
from	O
developing	O
similar	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Software	B-Application
factories	I-Application
address	O
this	O
problem	O
by	O
encoding	O
proven	O
practices	O
for	O
developing	O
a	O
specific	O
style	O
of	O
application	O
within	O
a	O
package	O
of	O
integrated	O
guidance	O
that	O
is	O
easy	O
for	O
project	O
teams	O
to	O
adopt	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Developing	O
applications	O
using	O
a	O
suitable	O
software	B-Application
factory	I-Application
can	O
provide	O
many	O
benefits	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
improved	O
productivity	O
,	O
quality	O
and	O
evolution	O
capability	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Software	B-Application
factories	I-Application
are	O
unique	O
and	O
therefore	O
contain	O
a	O
unique	O
set	O
of	O
assets	O
designed	O
to	O
help	O
build	O
a	O
specific	O
type	O
of	O
application	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
general	O
,	O
most	O
software	B-Application
factories	I-Application
contain	O
interrelated	O
assets	O
of	O
the	O
following	O
types	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Factory	O
Schema	O
:	O
A	O
document	O
that	O
categorizes	O
and	O
summarizes	O
the	O
assets	O
used	O
to	O
build	O
and	O
maintain	O
a	O
system	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
XML	B-Protocol
documents	I-Protocol
,	O
models	O
,	O
etc	O
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
Reference	O
implementation	O
:	O
Provides	O
an	O
example	O
of	O
a	O
realistic	O
,	O
finished	O
product	O
that	O
the	O
software	B-Application
factory	I-Application
helps	O
developers	O
build	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Reusable	B-Application
code	I-Application
:	O
Components	O
that	O
implement	O
common	O
functionality	O
or	O
mechanisms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Integration	O
of	O
reusable	B-Application
code	I-Application
in	O
a	O
software	B-Application
factory	I-Application
reduces	O
the	O
requirements	O
for	O
manually	O
written	O
code	O
and	O
encourages	O
reuse	O
across	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Building	O
a	O
product	O
using	O
a	O
software	B-Application
factory	I-Application
involves	O
the	O
following	O
activities	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Problem	O
analysis	O
:	O
Determines	O
whether	O
the	O
product	O
is	O
in	O
the	O
scope	O
of	O
a	O
software	B-Application
factory	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
fit	O
determines	O
whether	O
all	O
or	O
some	O
of	O
the	O
product	O
is	O
built	O
with	O
the	O
software	B-Application
factory	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Product	B-Application
specification	I-Application
:	O
Defines	O
the	O
product	O
requirements	O
by	O
outlining	O
the	O
differences	O
from	O
the	O
product	O
line	O
requirements	O
using	O
a	O
range	O
of	O
product	B-Application
specification	I-Application
mechanisms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Product	B-Application
deployment	I-Application
:	O
Involves	O
creating	O
or	O
reusing	O
default	O
deployment	O
constraints	O
and	O
configuring	O
the	O
required	O
resources	O
necessary	O
to	O
install	O
the	O
executables	O
being	O
deployed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Developing	O
applications	O
using	O
a	O
software	B-Application
factory	I-Application
can	O
provide	O
many	O
benefits	O
when	O
compared	O
to	O
conventional	O
software	O
development	O
approaches	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Consistency	O
:	O
Software	B-Application
factories	I-Application
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
build	O
multiple	O
instances	O
of	O
a	O
software	B-Application
product	I-Application
line	I-Application
(	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
applications	O
sharing	O
similar	O
features	O
and	O
architecture	O
)	O
,	O
making	O
it	O
easier	O
to	O
achieve	O
consistency	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Quality	O
:	O
Using	O
a	O
software	B-Application
factory	I-Application
makes	O
it	O
easier	O
for	O
developers	O
to	O
learn	O
and	O
implement	O
proven	O
practices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
of	O
the	O
integration	O
of	O
reusable	B-Application
code	I-Application
,	O
developers	O
are	O
able	O
to	O
spend	O
more	O
time	O
working	O
on	O
features	O
that	O
are	O
unique	O
to	O
each	O
application	O
,	O
reducing	O
the	O
likelihood	O
of	O
design	O
flaws	O
and	O
code	O
defects	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Applications	O
developed	O
using	O
a	O
software	B-Application
factory	I-Application
can	O
also	O
be	O
verified	O
before	O
deployment	O
,	O
ensuring	O
that	O
factory-specific	O
best	O
practices	O
were	O
followed	O
during	O
development	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Easy	O
deployment	O
of	O
new	O
and	O
updated	O
functionality	O
and	O
flexible	O
user	O
interfaces	O
also	O
allows	O
end	O
users	O
to	O
perform	O
tasks	O
in	O
a	O
way	O
that	O
follows	O
the	O
business	O
workflow	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Software	B-Application
factories	I-Application
can	O
be	O
used	O
by	O
architects	O
to	O
design	O
applications	O
and	O
systems	O
with	O
improved	O
quality	O
and	O
consistency	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Software	B-Application
factories	I-Application
also	O
enable	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
consistent	O
and	O
predictable	O
way	O
of	O
developing	O
,	O
packaging	O
,	O
deploying	O
and	O
updating	O
business	O
components	O
to	O
enforce	O
architectural	O
standards	O
independent	O
of	O
business	O
logic	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Developers	O
can	O
use	O
software	B-Application
factories	I-Application
to	O
increase	O
productivity	O
and	O
incur	O
less	O
ramp-up	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Software	B-Application
factories	I-Application
provide	O
a	O
layer	O
of	O
abstraction	O
that	O
hides	O
application	O
complexity	O
and	O
separates	O
concerns	O
,	O
allowing	O
developers	O
to	O
focus	O
on	O
different	O
areas	O
such	O
as	O
business	O
logic	O
,	O
the	O
user	O
interface	O
(	O
UI	O
)	O
or	O
application	O
services	O
without	O
in-depth	O
knowledge	O
of	O
the	O
infrastructure	O
or	O
baseline	O
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Abstraction	O
of	O
common	O
developer	O
tasks	O
and	O
increased	O
reusability	B-Application
of	O
infrastructure	O
code	O
can	O
help	O
boost	O
productivity	O
and	O
maintainability	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Applications	O
built	O
with	O
software	B-Application
factories	I-Application
result	O
in	O
a	O
consolidation	O
of	O
operational	O
efforts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
several	O
approaches	O
that	O
represent	O
contrasting	O
views	O
on	O
software	B-Application
factory	I-Application
concepts	O
,	O
ranging	O
from	O
tool	O
oriented	O
to	O
process	O
oriented	O
initiatives	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Under	O
this	O
approach	O
,	O
software	O
produced	O
in	O
the	O
software	B-Application
factory	I-Application
is	O
primarily	O
used	O
for	O
control	O
systems	O
,	O
nuclear	O
reactors	O
,	O
turbines	O
,	O
etc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
representative	O
of	O
this	O
approach	O
would	O
be	O
Toshiba	O
's	O
software	B-Application
factory	I-Application
concept	O
,	O
denoting	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
software	O
division	O
and	O
procedures	O
as	O
they	O
were	O
in	O
1981	O
and	O
1987	O
respectively	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
approach	O
was	O
funded	O
under	O
the	O
Eureka	O
program	O
and	O
called	O
the	O
Eureka	O
Software	B-Application
Factory	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
aim	O
of	O
this	O
approach	O
is	O
to	O
provide	O
the	O
technology	O
,	O
standards	O
,	O
organizational	O
support	O
and	O
other	O
necessary	O
infrastructures	O
in	O
order	O
for	O
software	B-Application
factories	I-Application
to	O
be	O
constructed	O
and	O
tailored	O
from	O
components	O
marketed	O
by	O
independent	O
suppliers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
objective	O
of	O
this	O
approach	O
is	O
to	O
produce	O
an	O
architecture	O
and	O
framework	O
for	O
integrated	B-Application
development	I-Application
environments	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
generic	O
software	B-Application
factory	I-Application
develops	O
components	O
and	O
production	O
environments	O
that	O
are	O
part	O
of	O
software	B-Application
factories	I-Application
together	O
with	O
standards	O
and	O
guidance	O
for	O
software	O
components	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
experienced-based	O
component	O
factory	O
is	O
developed	O
at	O
the	O
Software	B-General_Concept
Engineering	I-General_Concept
Laboratory	O
at	O
the	O
NASA	O
Goddard	O
Space	O
Flight	O
Center	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
software	B-Application
factory	I-Application
is	O
used	O
to	O
collect	O
data	O
about	O
strengths	O
and	O
weaknesses	O
to	O
set	O
baselines	O
for	O
improvements	O
and	O
to	O
collect	O
experiences	O
to	O
be	O
reused	O
in	O
new	O
projects	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cusumano	O
suggests	O
that	O
there	O
are	O
six	O
phases	O
for	O
software	B-Application
factories	I-Application
:	O
</s>
