P E O P L E A N D T H E WAY T H E Y B U I L D S Y S T E M S The software required for high-technology systems becomes more and more com-
32.3 P E O P L E A N D T H E WAY T H E Y B U I L D S Y S T E M S The software required for high-technology systems becomes more and more com-
plex with each passing year, and the size of resultant programs increases propor- tionally. The rapid growth in the size of the "average" program would present us with few problems if it wasn't for one simple fact: As program size increases, the number of people who must work on the program must also increase.
Experience indicates that, as the number of people on a software project team increases, the overall productivity of the group may suffer. One way around this problem is to cre- ate a number of software engineering teams, thereby compartmentalizing people into individual working groups. However, as the number of software engineering teams grows, communication between them becomes as difficult and time consuming as communi- cation between individuals. Worse, communication (between individuals or teams) tends to be inefficient—that is, too much time is spent transferring too little information con- tent, and all too often, important information "falls into the cracks."
If the software engineering community is to deal effectively with the communica- tion dilemma, the road ahead for software engineers must include radical changes in the way individuals and teams communicate with one another. E-mail, bulletin boards, and centralized video conferencing are now commonplace as mechanisms for connecting a large number of people to an information network. The importance If the software engineering community is to deal effectively with the communica- tion dilemma, the road ahead for software engineers must include radical changes in the way individuals and teams communicate with one another. E-mail, bulletin boards, and centralized video conferencing are now commonplace as mechanisms for connecting a large number of people to an information network. The importance
Video personalizes the communication. At its best, it enables colleagues at dif- ferent locations (or on different continents) to “meet” on a regular basis. But video also provides another benefit. It can be used as a repository for knowledge about the
“Future shock [is] software and to train newcomers on a project. the shattering stress
and disorientation The evolution of intelligent agents will also change the work patterns of a soft- that we induce in
ware engineer by dramatically extending the capabilities of software tools. Intelli- individuals by
gent agents will enhance the engineer's ability by cross-checking engineering work subjecting them to
products using domain-specific knowledge, performing clerical tasks, doing directed too much change in
too short a time.” research, and coordinating human-to-human communication. Finally, the acquisition of knowledge is changing in profound ways. On the Inter-
Alvin Toffler
net, a software engineer can subscribe to newsgroups that focus on technology areas of immediate concern. A question posted within a newsgroup precipitates answers from other interested parties around the globe. The World Wide Web provides a soft- ware engineer with the world’s largest library of research papers and reports, tutori- als, commentary, and references in software engineering. 1
If past history is any indication, it is fair to say that people themselves will not change. However, the ways in which they communicate, the environment in which they work, the way in which they acquire knowledge, the methods and tools that they use, the discipline that they apply, and therefore, the overall culture for software devel- opment will change in significant and even profound ways.
Parts
» The Concurrent Development Model
» SUMMARY Software engineering is a discipline that integrates process, methods, and tools for
» PEOPLE In a study published by the IEEE [CUR88], the engineering vice presidents of three
» THE PROCESS The generic phases that characterize the software process—definition, development,
» THE PROJECT In order to manage a successful software project, we must understand what can go
» METRICS IN THE PROCESS AND PROJECT DOMAINS
» Extended Function Point Metrics
» METRICS FOR SOFTWARE QUALITY
» INTEGRATING METRICS WITHIN THE SOFTWARE PROCESS
» METRICS FOR SMALL ORGANIZATIONS
» ESTABLISHING A SOFTWARE METRICS PROGRAM
» Obtaining Information Necessary for Scope
» An Example of LOC-Based Estimation
» QUALITY CONCEPTS 1 It has been said that no two snowflakes are alike. Certainly when we watch snow
» SUMMARY Software quality assurance is an umbrella activity that is applied at each step in the
» R diagram 1.4 <part-of> data model; data model <part-of> design specification;
» SYSTEM MODELING Every computer-based system can be modeled as an information transform using an
» Facilitated Application Specification Techniques
» Data Objects, Attributes, and Relationships
» Entity/Relationship Diagrams
» Hatley and Pirbhai Extensions
» Creating an Entity/Relationship Diagram
» SUMMARY Design is the technical kernel of software engineering. During design, progressive
» Data Modeling, Data Structures, Databases, and the Data Warehouse
» Data Design at the Component Level
» A Brief Taxonomy of Styles and Patterns
» Quantitative Guidance for Architectural Design
» Isolate the transform center by specifying incoming and outgoing
» SUMMARY Software architecture provides a holistic view of the system to be built. It depicts the
» The User Interface Design Process
» Defining Interface Objects and Actions
» D E S I G N E VA L U AT I O N
» Testing for Real-Time Systems
» Organizing for Software Testing
» Criteria for Completion of Testing
» The Transition to a Quantitative View
» The Attributes of Effective Software Metrics
» Architectural Design Metrics
» Component-Level Design Metrics
» SUMMARY Software metrics provide a quantitative way to assess the quality of internal product
» Encapsulation, Inheritance, and Polymorphism
» Identifying Classes and Objects
» The Common Process Framework for OO
» OO Project Metrics and Estimation
» Event Identification with Use-Cases
» SUMMARY Object-oriented analysis methods enable a software engineer to model a problem by
» Partitioning the Analysis Model
» Designing Algorithms and Data Structures
» Program Components and Interfaces
» SUMMARY Object-oriented design translates the OOA model of the real world into an
» Testing Surface Structure and Deep Structure
» Deficiencies of Less Formal Approaches 1
» What Makes Cleanroom Different?
» Design Refinement and Verification
» SUMMARY Cleanroom software engineering is a formal approach to software development that
» Structural Modeling and Structure Points
» Describing Reusable Components
» SUMMARY Component-based software engineering offers inherent benefits in software quality,
» Guidelines for Distributing Application Subsystems
» Middleware and Object Request Broker Architectures
» An Overview of a Design Approach
» Consider expert Web developer will create a complete design, but time and cost can be appropriate
» A Software Reengineering Process Model
» Reverse Engineering to Understand Data
» Forward Engineering for Client/Server Architectures
» SUMMARY Reengineering occurs at two different levels of abstraction. At the business level,
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