Editor's corner: How about next year? A look at a study of technology maturation

Abstract

Although tens of thousands of computer-aided software engineering (CASE) licenses have been sold, penetration of CASE into operational projects has been modest. Three of the most important reasons are: (1) the relative immaturity of CASE technology, (2) a failure to treat CASE adoption as a design process, and (3) unrealistic expectations. The chapter defines a CASE adoption process, with four overlapping phases (i.e., awareness, evaluation, first victim, and second victim and beyond). At an abstract level, the process has much in common with the introduction of any new technology and we will refer to the work in the discipline of managing organizational change. At the detailed level, however, specificity to CASE is more pronounced.The chapter also explores some of the difficulties in adopting CASE tools and, indeed, any new technology. A primary factor for success is the quality of the CASE team, a major element of the CASE infrastructure. We identify and discuss the significance of the roles played by CASE team members, including champions and change agents. All the elements of the infrastructure are very important and their respective contributions are examined. In order to illustrate the adoption process, we consider in some detail a case study of successful CASE adoption.