Reducing Risk with Software Process Improvement


Book Description

Reducing Risk with Software Process Improvement recommends the critical practices that aid in the successful delivery of software products and services. The author describes the observations that he made over a period of ten years in IT projects and organizations. He focuses on the areas of software development and maintenance, highlighting the mos




Continuous Integration


Book Description

For any software developer who has spent days in “integration hell,” cobbling together myriad software components, Continuous Integration: Improving Software Quality and Reducing Risk illustrates how to transform integration from a necessary evil into an everyday part of the development process. The key, as the authors show, is to integrate regularly and often using continuous integration (CI) practices and techniques. The authors first examine the concept of CI and its practices from the ground up and then move on to explore other effective processes performed by CI systems, such as database integration, testing, inspection, deployment, and feedback. Through more than forty CI-related practices using application examples in different languages, readers learn that CI leads to more rapid software development, produces deployable software at every step in the development lifecycle, and reduces the time between defect introduction and detection, saving time and lowering costs. With successful implementation of CI, developers reduce risks and repetitive manual processes, and teams receive better project visibility. The book covers How to make integration a “non-event” on your software development projects How to reduce the amount of repetitive processes you perform when building your software Practices and techniques for using CI effectively with your teams Reducing the risks of late defect discovery, low-quality software, lack of visibility, and lack of deployable software Assessments of different CI servers and related tools on the market The book’s companion Web site, www.integratebutton.com, provides updates and code examples.




Software Process Improvement


Book Description

This textbook is intended for SPI (software process improvement) managers and - searchers, quality managers, and experienced project and research managers. The papers constitute the research proceedings of the 16th EuroSPI (European Software Process Improvement, www.eurospi.net) conference held in Alcala (Madrid region), September 2–4, 2009, Spain. Conferences have been held since 1994 in Dublin, 1995 in Vienna (Austria), 1997 in Budapest (Hungary), 1998 in Gothenburg (Sweden), 1999 in Pori (Finland), 2000 in Copenhagen (Denmark), 2001 in Limerick (Ireland), 2002 in Nuremberg (G- many), 2003 in Graz (Austria), 2004 in Trondheim (Norway), 2005 in Budapest (Hungary), 2006 in Joensuu (Finland), 2007 in Potsdam (Germany), 2008 in Dublin (Ireland), and 2009 in Alcala (Spain). EuroSPI established an experience library (library.eurospi.net) which will be conti- ously extended over the next few years and will be made available to all attendees. EuroSPI also created an umbrella initiative for establishing a European Qualification Network in which different SPINs and national initiatives join mutually beneficial collaborations (ECQA – European Certification and Qualification Association, www.ecqa.org). With a general assembly during October 15–16, 2007 through Euro-SPI partners and networks, in collaboration with the European Union (supported by the EU L- nardo da Vinci Programme) a European certification association has been created (www.eu-certificates.org, www.ecqa.org) for the IT and services sector to offer SPI knowledge and certificates to industry, establishing close knowledge transfer links between research and industry.




Software Development Patterns and Antipatterns


Book Description

Software development has been a troubling since it first started. There are seven chronic problems that have plagued it from the beginning: Incomplete and ambiguous user requirements that grow by >2% per month. Major cost and schedule overruns for large applications > 35% higher than planned. Low defect removal efficiency (DRE) Cancelled projects that are not completed: > 30% above 10,000 function points. Poor quality and low reliability after the software is delivered: > 5 bugs per FP. Breach of contract litigation against software outsource vendors. Expensive maintenance and enhancement costs after delivery. These are endemic problems for software executives, software engineers and software customers but they are not insurmountable. In Software Development Patterns and Antipatterns, software engineering and metrics pioneer Capers Jones presents technical solutions for all seven. The solutions involve moving from harmful patterns of software development to effective patterns of software development. The first section of the book examines common software development problems that have been observed in many companies and government agencies. The data on the problems comes from consulting studies, breach of contract lawsuits, and the literature on major software failures. This section considers the factors involved with cost overruns, schedule delays, canceled projects, poor quality, and expensive maintenance after deployment. The second section shows patterns that lead to software success. The data comes from actual companies. The section’s first chapter on Corporate Software Risk Reduction in a Fortune 500 company was based on a major telecom company whose CEO was troubled by repeated software failures. The other chapters in this section deal with methods of achieving excellence, as well as measures that can prove excellence to C-level executives, and with continuing excellence through the maintenance cycle as well as for software development.




Software Quality Assurance


Book Description

This book introduces Software Quality Assurance (SQA) and provides an overview of standards used to implement SQA. It defines ways to assess the effectiveness of how one approaches software quality across key industry sectors such as telecommunications, transport, defense, and aerospace. Includes supplementary website with an instructor’s guide and solutions Applies IEEE software standards as well as the Capability Maturity Model Integration for Development (CMMI) Illustrates the application of software quality assurance practices through the use of practical examples, quotes from experts, and tips from the authors




Measuring the Software Process


Book Description

"While it is usually helpful to launch improvement programs, many such programs soon get bogged down in detail. They either address the wrong problems, or they keep beating on the same solutions, wondering why things don't improve. This is when you need an objective way to look at the problems. This is the time to get some data." Watts S. Humphrey, from the Foreword This book, drawing on work done at the Software Engineering Institute and other organizations, shows how to use measurements to manage and improve software processes. The authors explain specifically how quality characteristics of software products and processes can be quantified, plotted, and analyzed so the performance of software development activities can be predicted, controlled, and guided to achieve both business and technical goals. The measurement methods presented, based on the principles of statistical quality control, are illuminated by application examples taken from industry. Although many of the methods discussed are applicable to individual projects, the book's primary focus is on the steps software development organizations can take toward broad-reaching, long-term success. The book particularly addresses the needs of software managers and practitioners who have already set up some kind of basic measurement process and are ready to take the next step by collecting and analyzing software data as a basis for making process decisions and predicting process performance. Highlights of the book include: Insight into developing a clear framework for measuring process behavior Discussions of process performance, stability, compliance, capability, and improvement Explanations of what you want to measure (and why) and instructions on how to collect your data Step-by-step guidance on how to get started using statistical process control If you have responsibilities for product quality or process performance and you are ready to use measurements to manage, control, and predict your software processes, this book will be an invaluable resource.




Agile Estimation Techniques and Innovative Approaches to Software Process Improvement


Book Description

Applying methodologies of Software Process Improvement (SPI) is an effective way for businesses to remain competitive in the software industry. However, many organizations find implementing software process initiatives challenging. Agile Estimation Techniques and Innovative Approaches to Software Process Improvement reviews current SPI techniques and applications through discussions on current and future trends as well as the presentation of case studies on SPI implementation. Ideal for use by academics, students, and policy-makers, as well as industry professionals and managers, this publication provides a complete overview of current tools and methodologies regarding Software Process Improvement.




Programming Language Fundamentals by Example


Book Description

Surveying the major programming languages that have hallmarked the evolution of computing, Programming Language Fundamentals by Example provides an understanding of the many languages and notations used in computer science, the formal models used to design phases, and the foundations of languages including linguistics. This textbook guides students through the process of implementing a simple interpreter with case-based exercises, questions, and a semester-long project that encompasses all of the concepts and theories presented in the book into one concrete example. It covers also such topics as formal grammars, automata, denotational and axiomatic semantics, and rule-based presentation.




Product-Focused Software Process Improvement


Book Description

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Product-Focused Software Process Improvement, PROFES 2006, held in Amsterdam, June 2006. The volume presents 26 revised full papers and 12 revised short papers together with 6 reports on workshops and tutorials. The papers constitute a balanced mix of academic and industrial aspects, organized in topical sections on decision support, embedded software and system development, measurement, process improvement, and more.




Effective Software Maintenance and Evolution


Book Description

With software maintenance costs averaging 50% of total computing costs, it is necessary to have an effective maintenance program in place. Aging legacy systems, for example, pose an especially rough challenge as veteran programmers retire and their successors are left to figure out how the systems operate. This book explores program analyzers, reve