Sustainable Software

Requirements engineering

Requirements engineering plays a vital role in the development of sustainable software. This involves meticulously identifying and documenting each of the requirements for the software, a step that serves as the key pillar of the development work. By incorporating sustainability aspects into the requirements analysis from the very beginning, we are able to ensure that our software is not only functional but also resource-efficient. To give an example, carrying out a detailed requirements analysis makes it possible to manage service level agreements, response times, accuracy or compatibility requirements in an environmentally friendly way.

Concept and design

Concept developers and designers play an important role in the sustainability of digital systems. They are the ones who are responsible for the aesthetic and functional design of the user interface. This is not only critical for user satisfaction, but it can also help to promote sustainable practices. Responsible use of media, fonts and colours can reduce the amount of resources used by applications at runtime. An intuitive design can also encourage users to make energy-efficient settings or make it easier for them to use the sustainable functions offered by the software.

Architecture and choice of technology

The software architecture defines the basic structure of and the interaction between the software components, which has a direct impact on the performance and scalability of the software. A well-designed architecture can optimise energy efficiency and resource use. For example, choosing a scalable cloud infrastructure can help minimise energy consumption by delivering resources on demand.

Development

Software engineers play a central role during the software implementation phase. The software code and how it is implemented have a direct impact on the sustainability of the product. This is less about decisions at a source code level and more about design patterns and procedures according to which the code is structured. This also includes caching and data compression.

Quality assurance

The software sustainability assessment includes monitoring, static analysis, source-code-based testing and benchmarking. This is all required because we can only improve what we measure and understand. These approaches help detect errors early on, improve the quality of code and optimise software performance, which minimises the waste of resources and ensures the sustainability of the software. In addition, it helps us understand the most effective way to increase sustainability.

Operation and maintenance

DevOps teams are responsible for the deployment, maintenance and smooth operation of the software in the production environment. Efficient business processes, such as deployment automation and the continuous monitoring of software performance, help minimise downtime and the waste of resources, which is crucial to ensuring the sustainability of our software throughout its life cycle. Sustainable update and orchestration strategies make it possible manage the environmental impact even after the software has been developed.