Traditional techniques of deploying and managing technology do not work for today’s fast-paced business development and delivery tempo.
This may be the enlightened age of real-time automation, but, ironically, one of the most important parts of our technology networks are still pieced together manually. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of embedded code, such as embedded analytics, is manually written using custom solutions, a joint study of 317 executives by Qt Group & Forrester Research finds.
It’s an issue of getting solutions to market quickly, while still maintaining quality. In the survey, half of the embedded software teams struggle to balance their productivity with meeting quality and safety requirements. Embedded software is defined as systems that monitor or control machines, such as consumer appliances, medical devices, industrial machinery, or vehicles.
“Traditional techniques of deploying and managing technology do not work for today’s fast-paced business development and delivery tempo,” the study’s authors point out. “Many organizations struggle to fully realize these benefits due to the complexities of adapting software across diverse devices and operating systems. Embedded development still requires a high degree of custom-made solutions.”
Key challenges include “navigating diverse device environments, facilitating cross-functional collaboration, and managing computing resource constraints,” the report continues. About half of managers, 51%, say it’s hard to work across devices, operating systems, hardware and form factors. “Current platform strategy often fails to meet critical needs, particularly in diverse and highly regulated environments.”
The survey’s authors urge a platform engineering approach built on “cross-functional collaboration, and fostering a thriving ecosystem and talent community.” This is still a challenge for many. At least 41% say cross-functional collaboration is hard across design, development, testing, and deployment of embedded software.
“The specific needs of software and hardware platforms, combined with the need to integrate a variety of non-standardized devices and functionalities, still impose a large amount of custom development on teams,” the survey’s authors stated.
There also needs to be a greater emphasis on user interfaces and user experience, the report urged. Close to half, 44%, say embedded systems lack unified UI/UX design processes for accessibility and inclusivity.
Talent shortages remain a challenge in embedded software development as well, the study noted.
At the same time, 52% saw integration with specialized tools as a necessary capability to more effectively deliver embedded software. “These preferences underscore the need for specialized talent and the importance of dedicated tools in transitioning to, maintaining, and fully realizing benefits of platform engineering strategies.”
See also: Embedded Analytics Delivers Oomph to the Bottom Line
The study’s authors make the following recommendations:
Understand the end-user experience. “Experienced embedded developers are accustomed to designing electronic control units (ECUs), programmable logic controllers (PLCs), or firmware for microcontrollers. Such types of software operate machines, but embedded device manufacturers need their developers to also have a solid understanding of the end-user experience and human-machine interaction. In the embedded world, the end products’ functionality is tightly intertwined with the way users access and interface with the devices. Hard-core embedded developers often lack such understanding.”
Web developers need to move into the embedded world. “Web developers have humans and usability as their first targets. The user interface is the first access point to a service that should be delivered promptly and efficiently. However, web technologies do not necessarily scale for embedded platforms. There is a steep learning curve to understand the intricacies of embedded development, let alone the complexity of C/C++ plug-ins, cross-platform development, etc., and there to understand the intricacies of embedded development, let alone the complexity of C/C++ plug-ins, cross-platform development, etc., and there may not be immediate solutions on the web.”
Push for unifying standards. “While embedded developers need to handle increasingly complex hardware and software systems, the pervasiveness of digital controls in machines and devices calls for a clear strategy regarding the safety, quality, and reliability as part of the user experience. The need for technologies that can handle both the front-end and back-end components under a unique, easy-to-understand framework to enable efficient collaboration and high quality out of the box is stronger than ever.”
