Research

The move to mashups: How the millennials are redefining software development

The Millennial generation — usually defined as people currently under age 30 — is demanding major changes throughout the wired workplace. In fact, the high-tech expectations of the Millennials are changing the way software applications are built, according to Michael Goul, a professor of information technology at the W. P. Carey School of Business. Goul moderated a panel discussion of the Millennial workforce as part of the "Achieving Innovation through Collaboration" symposium hosted by the Center for Advancing Business through Information Technology at the W. P. Carey School of Business.

2008-05-07

The high-tech expectations of the Millennial generation are changing the way software applications are built, according to Michael Goul, a professor of information technology at the W. P. Carey School of Business. In fact, this demographic group — usually defined as people currently under age 30 — already is demanding major changes throughout the wired workplace. But first, let's look at how Millennials are redefining software application development.

The traditional road to a new application began with a team of users huddling with IT professionals to define requirements of the envisioned software. As Goul said, they would "analyze the business problem, determine what is cost effective and usually spend much longer than anticipated in an effort to build the new system."

Throughout the long, drawn-out development process, there was a tacit understanding that bigger is better, and that building in lots of bells and whistles increases the software's value to users. So until recently, the goal has been to create enormous systems that automate myriad functions. An example is Oracle's Financial Management Solutions.

The software enables users to meet fiduciary and statutory requirements, manage risk companywide, track business performance and even "manage social responsibilities in a sustainable manner." "What never gets built are the simpler applications that don't have importance of a general ledger or missile-guiding system, but are important business processes in organizations," explained Steven Mitzenmacher, vice president of corporate development at Serena Software.

Based in Redwood City, Calif., the privately owned company employs more than 900 people. "As a result, IT shops have backlogged these simple applications for the last 30 years. If it wasn't mission critical, it didn't get built," Mitzenmacher continued. Industry insiders call this "the long tail" of IT applications, he added.

So there are a dizzying number of much smaller, more specialized applications that could be built — second tier, if you will — using already existing apps, content and processes, with an eye to increasing productivity, boosting innovation, driving down cost factors, etc. This is the situation that prompts the typical Millennial to ask, "Wouldn't it be great if we could?"

"This turns into 'I WANT MORE.' Millennials want the next layer of software tools that weren't developed earlier to be available now," Goul explained. "Their attitude is, 'How can you make me more proficient at my job? Why are we not writing better tools, why don't we have the best-of-breed software in my environment when I need it?'"

Mashups

Mitzenmacher knows exactly what Goul is talking about. The company offers a variety of software products and services, but he's most excited about business "mashups." "Mashups fix problems. We provide a simple framework for mashups — it's a cutting edge market for us," he said.

A mashup is an application developed by regular people — computer users — rather than IT experts. They're simple and specific, built from components rather than scratch, a combination of already-existing content, applications and processes. An example is Google maps, made from combining satellite images with address databases.

Rather than being mired down in the IT shop, a mashup can be ready to use in a day. Sound impossible? It's not, Mitzenmacher told a group of business managers attending a panel discussion on mashups. Moderated by Goul, the discussion was part of the "Achieving Innovation through Collaboration" symposium hosted by the Center for Advancing Business through Information Technology at the W. P. Carey School of Business. There's a fascinating demo on the Serena homepage that shows just how easy it is to build a mashup.

Well, easy for some. Millennials are likely to be the fastest adopters of mashups, for these reasons, Mitzenmacher said: 1) they are focused on experiential learning; 2) computers are mandatory in their world; 3) connectivity is seen as a "must" and 4) demand-oriented delays are unacceptable. He said early versions of business mashups are already commonplace at work — we just don't recognize them.

For instance, spreadsheets, RSS feeds, data mining and management dashboards all combine multiple data sources and must be created to bring about a difference for the business. But Millennials may be more ready than Baby Boomers or GenX workers to envision and create mashups as part of their everyday job duties. They thrive on technological challenges, especially if they're given a tough assignment and then left largely unsupervised to get it done. As Mitzenmacher said, "Give them freedom and goals, rather than tasks, and let them go after it."

Meanwhile, back in IT

While non-IT employees are designing and using their own mashups, a company's IT staff is free to focus on other functions, Mitzenmacher pointed out. "This can make your developers 10 times more effective, give them more resources to work with," he added. That would be a good thing, as Mitzenmacher points to a recent survey of Fortune 500 companies.

Seventy-five percent of survey respondents said their organization's IT department does not meet their expectations. Eleven percent of respondents said their IT department actually stymies their own job performance. Business mashups are "a natural evolution of what is happening in the world," said Stefan Andreasen, another panel participant at the CABIT conference. Andreasen is founder and chief executive officer of Kapow Technologies, based in Palo Alto, California.

He said that nowadays, 20 percent of workers actually produce goods, while 40 percent are "transporters" who actually run the machinery that keeps the economy thriving, and the other 40 percent are knowledge workers "discussing, collaborating, creating value." Business mashups allow companies to use the freshest data available, and to combine that data in proprietary ways.

Mashups also bring about an essential element of connectivity — the application program interface (API). An API is a set of routines, protocols and tools for building software. "It's amazing, but most business organizations have big Web sites but no API. They're not tapping the business potential of the Web," Andreasen said.

Millennial change

Millennials will change the workplace in other ways, too. As Mitzenmacher pointed out, this generation grew up hearing about ethical lapses that led to the collapse of corporate giants such as Enron, WorldComm, Tyco and Global Crossings. They saw commercial airliners piloted by terrorists crashing into the World Trade Center towers.

"They understand the fragility of some of our institutions, and in the same way that post-world war GIs came home focused on building a better foundation for the country, Millennials are motivated to create community and a sense of belonging. You can even see this clearly in the social networks online, like Facebook," he noted.

"They will restore order and purpose and rebuilt our institutions." Many 20-something workers expect to be allowed to make personal calls while on the clock, but they re also willing to get up at midnight to participate in a conference call with a customer in India. This flexibility is valuable to some employers, so they re willing to make such trade-offs, according to Don Mock, Jr., the third panelist at the CABIT meeting.

Mock is community relations manager for Jobing.com, a job search and career enhancement Website. Mock jokingly referred to the younger workers as going "from Pampers to pampered." Everyone says that Millennials "are special," he said. "Yes, they re special. They are different. But there is no real consistency in labeling exactly who the Millennials are. Some say those who are ages 18 to 25 currently; others say 18 to 31."

From a human relations perspective, though, it is a mistake to treat Millennials, or any other employee population, differently, Mock said. Employers shouldn t babysit them. And beyond the obvious discrimination issues that could surface if Millennials are treated tenderly, playing favorites won t sit well with their older co-workers.

Bottom Line:

• In a recent book, "Managing the Generation Mix" by Bruce Tulgan, Millennials are described as demanding "the immediate gratification of making an immediate impact by doing meaningful work immediately." This is why creating mashups appeals to them.
• Mitzenmacher defines Millennials as people born between 1982 and 2004 (age limits vary depending on which expert you consult). Based on his company's research and a well-received Harvard study, he describes this age group as more numerous than the Boomers, with a lower level of violent crime, teen pregnancy, smoking and alcohol abuse. They type, but avoid writing, and "video games are more than games."
• Serena Software's mashup Web page features a carefully chosen model — a 20-something male adjusting his neck tie of his business suit; he's even wearing cuff links. But he's got a gauge in his ear lobe, just above a thick silver hoop earring, and more tattoos than you can count.

Managing IT Faculty