12 - Developing Software

Abstract

This chapter discusses the development of software which is not so much the emergence of a product as it is a process. Good software development comes through individuals working themselves into positions in which they can produce the software. Software reflects the personality and intelligence of the developer. The computer is a medium through which clinicians can practice their profession more efficiently. It is also a means by which clinicians can provide others with a model program that can be replicated in any setting with a computer. Software developers in communication disorders did not evolve according to a master plan conceived in advance. The most important skill in developing clinically useful software is clinical proficiency. Developers must be intimately familiar with the clinical process that they are trying to program, and must be particularly understanding of the population for which they develop software. Clinicians developing software must also have other skills. They must have the ability to stand back from the clinical process, analyse it, and understand how it operates. They must be able to formulate algorithms that solve clinical problems. In this regard, they must be able to translate clinical insight into a definable process which can be broken down into steps. A good software package is not only good for the developer; it is good for the people in the field.