Software development has become dramatically more complex in the last few years.

Self-fulfilling prophecies happen all too frequently in IT projects. The process goes like this: Someone involved with the project doesn't agree that one of the steps being asked for is necessary, the project manager coerces them into agreement, the step never happens, and the project fails.

Self-fulfilling prophecies happen all too frequently in IT projects.

Self-fulfilling prophecies happen all too frequently in IT projects.

Selecting the right team size -- small -- is the key to a successful project. By successful, I mean one that comes in on time, on budget, with good quality. Further, one that actually completes faster with less effort than the same project attacked with a large team.

This month's issue of the Communications of the ACM (Vol. 41, No.

This month's issue of the Communications of the ACM (Vol. 41, No. 12, December 1998) focuses on the topic of requirements traceability, which is defined as "the ability to describe and follow the life of a requirement, in both a forward and backward direction, ideally through the whole system's life cycle." The potential benefits of requirements traceability have created a new market of tools and spurred new thinking about software development processes.

This month's issue of the Communications of the ACM (Vol. 41, No.

This month's issue of the Communications of the ACM (Vol. 41, No.

This month's issue of the Communications of the ACM (Vol. 41, No.

Software is becoming such an essential part of modern life that a radical improvement in quality is needed. For example, the doomsayers tell us that we'll wake up the morning after our Y2000 celebrations with overflowing coffee makers, phone bills for century-long calls, unable to get money from ATMs, no TV or radio service, financial market meltdowns, grounded planes and stalled trains, and dozens of other problems. It's enough to make you want to stay in bed.

Though I'm still suffering from the long-term Y2000 blues, two news items on my computer screen brought a smile to my face this morning. The first article indicated that Microsoft has released an upgrade of its version of Java to comply with a federal court's ruling against the company last month. And the second article reported that Sun is about to unveil the details of the next-generation version of the language, known as Java 2.

Though I'm still suffering from the long-term Y2000 blues, two news items on my computer screen brought a smile to my face this morning.

Though I'm still suffering from the long-term Y2000 blues, two news items on my computer screen brought a smile to my face this morning.

By now, everyone in the computer field (if not the entire human race) has heard about the acquisition of Netscape by America On Line (AOL), together with the licensing arrangement with Sun Microsystems. We've seen "vision statements" from AOL describing its view of the future, and we've seen dozens of commentaries about the effect that the merger will have on Microsoft, on e-commerce, and on the future of the Internet.

By now, everyone in the computer field (if not the entire human race) has heard about the acquisition of Netscape by America On Line (AOL), together with the licensing arrangement with Sun Microsystems.