From the Archives | Cutter Consortium

Bridge the Gap Between Business and IT

Mike Rosen

Microsoft Business Solutions

Paul Harmon

Software Development and the Issue of Quality

Michael Guttman, Thomas Marzolf

For corporate IT departments, pressure to cut costs and improve performance has never been greater. In most IT shops, development and support of internally developed systems account for at least half of all costs, while new projects have long wait and delivery times. The most immediate pressure is to reduce these delivery times and, if possible, the associated costs.

A Fresh Look at Software Quality: Part I -- What Does "Quality" Really Mean?

E.M. Bennatan

At a European software engineering conference several years ago, I marked a curious presentation in my brochure so that I wouldn't miss it. It was called "Sex and Software Quality." The two-hour talk was given in a side room that was packed to capacity. About an hour into a superb talk on quality, the speaker was asked how the presentation linked with the advertised topic. "Oh, the topic was just to get you all to come here," the speaker responded.

A Fresh Look at Software Quality: Part II -- Quality Is Improving ... Or Is It?

E.M. Bennatan

Is software quality getting better or worse? That's actually a trick question, because it really depends on who you are and how you define quality. In the previous article, we settled on Tom Peters' definition of quality as being a measure of customer satisfaction [6]. However, this was probably not the only definition in mind when, in a recent Cutter Consortium survey on software quality, more than half of the respondents stated that their companies' software quality has improved. Unfortunately, many customers would probably not agree at all (see [1], [2]).

Software Quality Certification

Khaled Emam

When you hear the phrase "software certification," you probably think of ISO 9001 or the Capability Maturity Model. I am not going to discuss these or any other approach for evaluating software processes. Software quality certification focuses on the software product itself -- the software that is shipped to the customer. It can be a full system or a component that is integrated into a larger system. A certificate is an attestation by an independent entity that the software meets some quality criteria when used in a certain way.

The Serious But Unfinished Business of Software Quality

Robert Austin

People like to complain about software quality, and with good reason. Who has not experienced the stages of grief (concern, fear, horror, anger, resignation) that follow a "fatal exception" notification indicating that you've lost work? Yes, software quality should be better. But software users' self-righteous complaining doesn't help the situation. In the article "Why Software Is So Bad" published in the July/August 2002 issue of Technology Review, Charles C.

Splitting Planning and Delivery Can Be Hazardous!

Pamela Hollington

Time to Get Real: Moving Toward the Real-Time Enterprise

Stowe Boyd

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Observe due measure, for right timing is in all things the most important factor.

Time to Get Real: Moving Toward the Real-Time Enterprise

Stowe Boyd

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Managing Innovation: What We Think in 2003

Steve Andriole

Despite the bursting of the technology bubble in 2000, the pace of technological innovation remains fast. However, many companies today are tempering their interest in new computing and communications technologies because of fear instilled by that implosion. Technology spending has been nothing short of anemic since 2000.

Quality: The Key to Software Profitablity

Kent Beck

THE NEW QUALITY

The issue of software quality is a bit like the weather -- everyone complains, but no one has been able to do anything about it. With that in mind, consider the following four scenarios.

All From One . . . or One For All

Bradley Fordham

Volume 2, No. 4; April 2003Printer Friendly PDF version

Information Integration in the Real World

Ken Orr

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Information Integration in the Real World

Ken Orr

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Adoption of Web Services Standards

Tom Welsh

Web Services series: Adoption of Web Services Rolling Along

Open Source: Weaving a Corporate Tapestry

Jason Matthews

Would you believe me if I told you it's possible to obtain software, costing a fraction of what you currently pay, that's fully capable of running your enterprise?