Much is written about software development and the quality of the resulting products. Unfortunately, most of it is unfavorable.
Examples of unimaginable schedule slips, cost overruns and defective products abound. Billions of dollars are wasted each year as the result of rework, project cancellations and lost productivity due to excessive "firefighting."
What can individuals do to spark improvements? What practices have been abandoned as the technology advances and the development culture evolves?
Can "Getting Back to Basics" be a key to improvement?
Trudy Howles is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the Rochester Institute of Technology. She served as a long time software consultant and software development engineer prior to joining the faculty at RIT. She is a member of the American Society for Quality and is a Certified Software Quality Engineer.
Colloquia Series page.