Abstract
This report consists of three parts: (a) a summary of an empirical investigation on current software development practice, (b) the presentation of a new software process model based on its results, (c) a discussion of the consequences for managing projects which follow an evolutionary, object oriented approach.
In an interdisciplinary field investigation, software developers, managers and users were asked about their work procedures and conditions. This research aimed at obtaining a status of current software engineering practice and getting insights for future work design and organisation. Among other results, a significant discrepancy was found between the officially prescribed phase-oriented software life cycles and the work processes actually practiced. Formal project planning turned out to be less important for project success than a flexible and anticipating task management.
In order to re-harmonize theory and practice and also to cover new requirements resulting from a paradigm change towards object-oriented techniques, we propose a model for evolutionary, object oriented software development (EOS). This model is based on a framework of cycles and activities bound to the “objects” of development as, for example, classes and system components. It is shown that management procedures built on this framework allow a multi-level, differentiated planning and control. This implies new challenges on project managers but it enables them to plan and to act in a flexible, dynamic and more adapted way.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
U. Bittner, W. Hesse, J. Schnath.: Praxis der Software-Entwicklung, Methoden, Werkzeuge, Projektmanagement — eine Bestandsaufnahme, Oldenbourg 1995
B.W. Boehm: A spiral model of software development and enhancement, Computer, May 1988, pp. 61–72
G. Booch: Object-Oriented Analysis and Design with Applications; Second Edition, Benjamin/Cummings Publ. Comp. 1994
Felix C. Brodbeck, M. Frese (Hrsg.): Produktivität und Qualität in Software-Projekten — Psychologische Analyse und Optimierung von Arbeitsprozessen in der Software-Entwicklung, Oldenbourg 1994
R. Budde, K. Kuhlenkamp, L. Mathiassen, H. Züllighoven (eds.): Approaches to prototyping, Springer 1984
Ch. Floyd, F.-M. Reisin, G. Schmidt: STEPS to software development with users; in: C. Ghezzi, J. McDermid (eds.): ESEC '89, Second European Software Engineering Conference, LNCS 387, pp. 48–64; Springer 1989
M. Frese, W. Hesse: The work situation in software development — Results of an empirical study, ACM SIGSOFT Software Engineering Notes, Vol. 18, No. 3, pp.A–65–A–72 (1993)
W. Hesse, U. Bittner, J. Schnath: Results from the IPAS Project: Influences of methods and tools, quality requirements and project management on the work situation of software developers; in: P. Elzer, V. Haase (Eds.): Proc. Fourth IFAC/IFIP Workshop on Experience with the Management of Software Projects, Annual Review in Automatic Programming, Vol. 16, Part H, Pergamon Press 1992
W. Hesse: A systematics of software engineering: Structure, terminology and classification of techniques in: P. Pepper (Ed.): Program Transformations and Programming Environments, pp. 97–125, Springer 1984.
W. Hesse: Life cycle models of object-oriented software development methodologies (forthcoming, 1996)
W. Hesse, G. Merbeth, R. Frölich: Software-Entwicklung — Vorgehensmodelle, Projektführung und Produktverwaltung, Handbuch der Informatik, Band 5.3 Oldenbourg 1992
W. Hesse, F. Weltz: Projektmanagement für evolutionäre Software-Entwicklung; in: Information Management 3/94, pp. 20–33, (1994)
Thema: Projektmanagement für objektorientierte Software-Entwicklung, Themenheft, Informatik-Spektrum, Bd. 15, Heft 5 (1992)
M. M. Lehman: Programs, life cycles, and laws of software evolution, Proceedings of the IEEE, Vol. 68, No. 9, pp. 1060–1076 (1980)
B. Meyer: Object-oriented software construction, Prentice Hall 1988
F. Weltz, R. Ortmann: Das Softwareprojekt — Projektmanagement in der Praxis, Campus-Verlag 1992
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1996 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Hesse, W. (1996). Theory and practice of the software process — A field study and its implications for project management. In: Montangero, C. (eds) Software Process Technology. EWSPT 1996. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 1149. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0017749
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0017749
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-61771-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-70676-2
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive