Software Development Management Research Articles

Software metrics: using measurement theory to describe the properties and scales of static software complexity metrics

Over the last decade many software metrics have been introduced by researchers and many software tools have been developed using software metrics to measure the "quality" of programs. These metrics for measuring productivity, reliability, maintainability, and complexity, for example, are vital to software development planning and management. In this paper a new approach is presented to describe the properties of the software metrics and their scales using measurement theory. Methods are shown to describe a software complexity metric as an ordinal, an interval or a ratio scale. The use of this concept is shown by application to the Metric of McCabe. These results are very important for selecting appropriate software metrics for software measurement and for developing tools which use software metrics to evaluate the "quality" of software.

A strategy for integrating artificial intelligence technology into a graduate business curriculum

There is much evidence that artificial intelligence technology is beginning to emerge from the research lab and move into business computer-based systems. Applications of artificial intelligence in business in the areas of finance, manufacturing, and software development and data management, are increasing. Since graduate programs in business attempt to provide students with background in, and experience with computer-based modeling, it is important that universities anticipate and plan for the integration of artificial intelligence technology into the Master's degree in Business Administration (MBA) program. The purpose of this paper is two-fold. First, a framework for integrating artificial intelligence applications and methodology into the curriculum of a graduate business program is presented. Second, an implementation strategy is discussed and detailed examples are given.

When Should One Stop Testing Software?

Abstract We derive an optimal rule for stopping the testing of a module of software prior to release, based on the trade-off between the cost of continued testing and the expected losses due to any bugs that remain in the released code. Our economic assumptions are that testing costs are perfectly predictable, but of arbitrary form f(t), and that the costs of fixing a bug, both during testing and subsequent to release, are known constants. Our stochastic assumptions are as follows: (a) The total number of bugs in the module (N) is unknown; (b) N has a Poisson distribution with a mean λ that is distributed randomly (across modules) according to a known gamma distribution; (c) given a particular bug, the time it takes to find it during testing is random, with a known distribution G of arbitrary form; and (d) the lifetimes of different bugs are independent. With these assumptions, we find conditions on f and G that ensure that the optimal stopping rule has a simple form, which can be found by a dynamic programming argument. The central condition is that f(G -1(1 - e-y )) is convex while finite. When N is Poisson with λ fixed, the optimal strategy is a fixed time stopping rule. When λ is variable and large with high probability, the optimum rule approaches a simple asymptotic form, namely, stop as soon as k, the observed number of bugs, satisfies k ≤ f′(t)G(t)/cG′(t), where c is the difference between the cost of fixing a bug during testing and the cost incurred by finding it after release. Further, the number of bugs remaining has a Poisson limiting distribution with mean f′(t)(1 - G(t))/cG′(t). We extend the theory to allow for several classes of bugs with different characteristics. We suggest that graphical display of the asymptotic stopping rule, for a selection of values of the cost parameters involved, may prove helpful to persons faced with the problem of managing software development. An example of such a display is given.

Evolution Towards Strategic Applications of Databases through Composite Information Systems

ment, MIT, and affiliate member of the MIT Laboratory for Computer Science, is in charge of the Sloan School's management information technology courses. He is the principal investigator of both the infoplex database computer project and a study of software development management. Prof. Madnick is an associate editor of ACM Transactions on Database Systems and is serving as the conference co-chairman of the Thirteenth International Conference on Very Large Data Bases. He is the author of several books and articles in the fields of computer science, management information systems, and data security.

COBOL/2: The next generation in applications programming

IBM COBOL/2 is a new compiler and debugger system for the Personal System/2® product range developed by Micro Focus Group PLC of the United Kingdom. In this paper, Robert Sales, a software development manager for Micro Focus who was instrumental in creating the COBOL/2 system, describes how COBOL/2 breaks new ground in providing support for many disparate COBOL language dialects and standards, as well as in providing support for OS/2™ on the Personal Computer architecture.

A Method for Obtaining Software Reliability Measures During Development

Reliability is a major concern for developers of large software. A number of models have been formulated to describe the failure process of software. However, because of data collection requirements these models are often not usable by the software developer until a considerable amount of integration testing has been conducted. Ideally we would like to use a reliability model early in the development process to aid the software manager. An approach is described here which allows the use of software reliability models throughout the development process. The approach employs an information theoretic measure to combine the initial assessments of the software development manager with past development data. The use of this approach with exemplary models is described.

Future software development management system concepts

article Future software development management system concepts Share on Author: B. Livson Ultraware Ltd., P.O. Box 367, Kiriyat 0no 55102, Israel Ultraware Ltd., P.O. Box 367, Kiriyat 0no 55102, IsraelView Profile Authors Info & Claims ACM SIGSOFT Software Engineering NotesVolume 12Issue 3July 1987 pp 37–41https://doi.org/10.1145/29934.29939Online:01 July 1987Publication History 2citation149DownloadsMetricsTotal Citations2Total Downloads149Last 12 Months2Last 6 weeks0 Get Citation AlertsNew Citation Alert added!This alert has been successfully added and will be sent to:You will be notified whenever a record that you have chosen has been cited.To manage your alert preferences, click on the button below.Manage my AlertsNew Citation Alert!Please log in to your account Save to BinderSave to BinderCreate a New BinderNameCancelCreateExport CitationPublisher SiteGet Access

Managing Software Development and Maintenance

Managing Software Development and Maintenance

Effective Management of Software Development

The goal of most projects is to produce a product that meets market and customer needs, on a schedule responsive to the market, at an appropriate cost, and with appropriate quality. Attainment of that goal depends on how effectively the project is managed. This article presents an effective management process that is designed for software projects but is applicable to other types of projects as well. The article discusses four principles of effective management: planning — detailing every phase of what is to be done, who will do it, with what resources, in what time period — then organizing, monitoring, and controlling. Above all, effective management considers the people involved in the project.

Quantitative models for managing software development processes

This paper presents a quantitative modelling technique which the authors have developed and are using to manage medium-scale software development projects. Separate models are defined for separate project phases; each model captures the salient features of the process which underlies the corresponding phase. The models support all project management activities: planning, estimating, tracking and decision making. Furthermore, they provide a means of recording project data and experience in order to share that information with other projects.

Project planning and control

An important aspect of life cycle management in software development is project planning and control. There are five elements: project planning, project monitoring, reporting, collection of statistics and replanning. The project should be broken down into packages, each of which is given an estimate of man days to complete, and slotted into a network. Progress should be monitored to compare with the schedule, and revisions made as necessary. Automated systems can be helpful.

Software Development Management Planning

The lack of comprehensive planning prior to the initiation of a software development project is a very pervasive failing. This paper walks through a sample software development plan discussing the various areas that a software development manager should address in preparing his project's plan. Various considerations and suggestions are presented for each of the management subject areas. How the user/customer can use the developer's plan to aid in monitoring of his software's evolution is also presented. Detailed planning of a software development project is necessary to the successful completion of the project.

Making Software Visible, Operational, and Maintainable in a Small Project Environment

Practical suggestions are presented for effectively managing software development in small-project environments (i.e., no more than several million dollars per year). The suggestions are based on an approach to product development using a product assurance group that is independent from the development group. Within this check-and-balance management/development/product assurance structure, a design review process is described that effects an orderly transition from customer needs statement to software code. The testing activity that follows this process is then explained. Finally, the activities of a change control body (called a configuration control board) and supporting functions geared to maintaining delivered software are described. The suggested software management practices result from the experience of a small (approximately 100 employees) software engineering company that develops and maintains computer systems supporting real-time interactive commercial, industrial, and military applications.

Managing Software Development Projects for Maximum Productivity

In the area of software development, data processing management often focuses more on coding techniques and system architecture than on how to manage the development. In recent years, ``structured programming'' and ``structured analysis'' have received more attention than the techniques software managers employ to manage. Moreover, these coding and architectural considerations are often advanced as the key to a smooth running, well managed project. This paper documents a philosophy for software development and the tools used to support it. Those management techniques deal with quantifying such abstract terms as ``productivity,'' ``performance,'' and ``progress,'' and with measuring these quantities and applying management controls to maximize them. The paper also documents the application of these techniques on a major software development effort.

Managing and Predicting the Costs of Real-Time Software

The Putnam model can be used to predict and manage software development projects. It is a management tool that takes, as input, easily obtained manpower data and produces cost and schedule estimates. This paper examines data from two real-time software projects and analyzes the applicability of the Putnam model. We propose a variation ation of the model which more reliably follows the staffing curve of real-time software applications. A critical analysis of the assumptions is presented and the parameters are reinterpreted so that they reflect the environment of embedded applications. Two projects are analyzed from actual data. It is shown how management decisions are reflected in the model. Even erratic and incomplete data can yield valuable conclusions. It is also shown that the model is appropriate to software developed with modern practices. We show how valuable management information can be obtained by laying out the data in a systematic manner.

Experience with a High Order Programming Language on the Development of the Nova Distributed Control System

Interest in the impact of high order languages (HOL) on real time and process control applications development has intensified recently, due in part to the Ada language development effort sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense. High order languages, such as Ada, incorporate state-of-the-art features in the areas of modularity, data abstraction, separate module compilation, strong type checking of data, multi-tasking, distributed processing and exception handling. The intent of such languages is to improve programmer productivity, software maintainability, and the effective management of software development in large real time systems.This paper explores the impact of an HOL on the development of the distributed computer control system for a large laser fusion facility called Nova. Nova utilizes fifty microcomputers and four VAX-11/780’s in its distributed process control computer system.Praxis, a high level real time computer language, was designed and implemented for Nova to support the control system development activity. Praxis is similar to Ada in its design goals, has many features comparable to those found in Ada, and has had operational compilers for over two years.The purpose of this paper is to assist readers who are beginning to evaluate the importance of HOL’s in small to medium scale process control applications. It includes a summary of the major design objectives and features of these HOL’s which is followed by a description of our experiences with Praxis. The article concludes with our preliminary expectations and concerns for the use of Ada within process control applications, based upon Praxis experience.

Bibliographic and commercial databases—contrasting approaches to data management with special reference to DBMS

The different approaches to the term ‘database’ are distinguished by the differences between bibliographic and commercial databases. The two have resulted in different software development, namely IR and Database Management Systems (DBMS). The author explains the characteristics of DBMS, illustrated with 2 diagrams, for use with commercial systems. Factors in the design of commercial databases are discussed. Examples of software packages described are — ADABAS, BASIS, INQUIRE, LEXIBOSS. The author concludes that the division between IR and DBMS should narrow but that the microcomputer is not likely to provide the basis for such systems yet. 1 reference.

Project Management Systems

Whenever new products are developed, management must deal with how the development will be managed. Several industries have standardized management practices for development projects. Although all industries experience cost and schedule overruns, those industries with standard management techniques seem to do a better job controlling these overruns than those without. In the dataprocessing industry, software development has caused dataprocessing management to focus more on coding techniques and system architecture than on how to manage the development. In recent years, “structured programming” and “structured analysis” have received more attention than what techniques software development managers should use to manage. Moreover, these coding techniques and architectural considerations are often advanced as the key to a smooth running, well managed project. The purpose of this paper is not to minimize the importance of “software engineering” but to contribute to the creation of standard management practices for software development through the documentation of a technique that has been used to manage the development of several large scale management information systems. Furthermore, this technique has been “automated” and the principles contained herein are the basis of that automation.

Managing Software Development

This paper presents a personal view of techniques that have been useful in managing software development projects. There are two distinct phases of the management effort. The first of these is in the planning phase, where management has the primary role. Principal activities here include establishment of budgets, staff, and detailed plans to achieve the software goals. To a great extent, this all depends on human beings making accurate estimates. Some aids in this task are considered. The second phase is the work phase. Here, management is more involved on an exception basis; the primary role is now given to those carrying out the development. Even here, however, management inputs, such as insisting on good practices, can assist in keeping the project on track. Some of the good practices that have often been forgotten are reviewed.

A Framework for MIS Software Development Projects

This article questions the tacit assumption that computer software development is a homogenous activity across differing tasks. The author proposes that conventional statistics on the performance of MIS software development groups are too often based upon norms and procedures relevant to groups developing systems-oriented software. To evaluate the statement a simple descriptive framework is presented which distinguishes software developmental attributes for MIS from those of other computer software systems. The framework is validated by data from twenty-four organizations and the implications for management of MIS software development are discussed.