Each organization, even ones occupying the same sectors may function differently. No single software solution can cater to different needs out-of-the-box. In aerospace, due to the rigid mission-critical requirements unique to each organization, the demand for customization is usually higher and more widespread. Most software solutions, especially the viewer endpoint, will almost always need to undertake some form of customization to fill the requirement gaps. This means the developers need to thoroughly assess their clients’ needs in order to build a fully tailored product. However, before this can be accomplished, it is crucial that the software itself is pre-engineered with some degree of technological extensibility.
So, what does it mean to be extensible?
Simply put, extensibility means the capability for alteration. When applied to enterprise software, extensibility is an evaluation of the ease to extend an architecture as well as the labor entailed to implement the extensions or modifications. This is key for system integration and scaling purposes for staying ahead of the aviation digital transformation, as well as remaining compliant with various global policies and regulations.
As the primary end-point facing the users when assisting their daily tasks, the viewer is the most extensively utilized component of any IETM/IETP solution. Two of the ideal characteristics for viewer extensibility can be characterized as configuration on the surface level (non-code or minimal code) and customizable on the functional level (code).
For on the surface, non-code configuration, the requirement for extensibility is moderate to high. For example, a customer organization may have its own preferred graphic layout and specifically requires the interface to be configured to suit the way its users perform tasks. During the implementation process, the developer may simply employ in-software and/or minimal coding procedures when configuring the base product (and its specific functionalities) towards the needs of their customers.
However, more often than not in the aerospace and aviation industry, a customer may have more exacting integration requirements that will compel the developers to write new codes or make changes to the existing functionality matrix in order to deliver a highly personalized final product. This means without enterprise-grade extensibility to the base software, it is often more time-consuming, difficult, or even impossible to successfully perform the customization if the request was more demanding, which is again often the case in the aerospace industry.
Furthermore, because one viewer platform is often operated on various electronic display systems and web browsers with different software versions, it must be also easily upgradeable so the developers can quickly tackle the adjustments needed to accommodate the expansion in the hosting environments and ensure continuous product compatibility for the end-users.
It is easy to see, that without a reasonably high degree of extensibility, a viewer is destined to underperform or even fail as it struggles to be effectively configured and customized to provide a highly tailored experience, adaption to changes, and scale with the organization. This is also why it is critical for a buyer to select a platform not just for its out-of-the-box features, but also for the flexible, advanced framework the solution was engineered upon as well as the professional capacity of the development team to extend any of the product’s functionality in any way upon request.
About SYNAXIOM
SYNAXIOM is a leading expert in developing robust, extensible, and cost-effective enterprise solutions including NIVOMAX – the single suite for S1000D/ATA compliant IETM & IETP.