What is “mature” software?

Question

Jeffery Palermo says 'Classic WebForms More Mature Than ASP.NET MVC': "Is Classic WebForms More Mature Than ASP.NET MVC?".

It seems to be subjective, but what I want to know is, what exactly "mature" software is?

Answer 1

Mature is when people have figured out how to deal with it. (And we're talking about development platforms not about end-user apps, aren't we?)

For example, javascript only became mature with the introduction of prototype, jquery and the like.

Before that, people tend to code strange things they they'd regret.

Answer 2

Mature software has to be whatever you mean it to be. I don't think you will find an easy mechanism for measuring maturity, and everyone's definition is going to differ anyway. It's always going to be a subjective view I'm afraid and therefore subject to a lot of argument.

Answer 3

So you're asking for subjective opinions on a subjective topic. :)

I would say, mature would add the following characteristic to a technology:

1. People know how to use it, know its possibilities and limitations

2. People know what the typical usage scenarios are, patterns, what are good usage scenarios for this technology so that it shows its best

3. People have found out how to deal with limitations/bugs, there is a community knowledge and help out there

4. The technology is trusted enough to be used not only by individuals but in productive commercial environment as well

Answer 4

The answer is very subjective. But basically if the software can answer to most of these criteria (in no order of importance):

• secure
• reliable
• actively maintained
• has active community
• field-proven

Then it can be considered "mature".

It is important to note that different clients would expect different levels of "maturity". A large corporation would demand that the software it uses is secure enough to protect its sensitive data, and that the software is supported by a support rep available 24/7. As opposed to a small private project of your own which you might care much less about security, and you do not need (nor can afford) a service package which includes 24/7 customer support.

So ,maturity differentiates according to the client, but the basic criteria remain the same.

Answer 5

I would say that mature software is stable, well documented, widely used and well tested.

Answer 6

Reduce Subjectivity by Developing a Measuring Tool for yourself.

My Criteria are for Business Software:

1. Feature Rich - handle lots of Business Rules
2. Flexible - Selectable Features via Parameters & Configuration
3. Stable - Few, if any bugs causing malfunction such as crashes
4. Well Documented - User and technical Documentation
5. User Friendly - as attested and recommended by users
6. Robust - Not very much fazed by events such as power failures and erroneous user input.
7. Installs & Runs "out of the box".

Take all the Criteria and place it in a spreadsheet with columns rating from 0 - 5 and do a rating by ticking the column corresponding to your rating of each criteria.

• If overall score is 25 or better then the software is mature.
• If the score is 15 to 24 then the software is average.
• If below 15 then the software is immature.