Chapter 1: The Tar Pit Yong Choi BPACSUB

Fredrick P. Brooks, Jr One of the biggest GURU in IS Still CS professor at UNC-chapel Hill –Ph.D. from Harvard (applied Math = CS) –Dissertation: The Analytic Design of Automatic Data Processing Systems Manager for Development of System/360 Computer Systems (OS 360) –Introduced April 7, 1964 –Starting point of information age Start to transform businesses using CBIS NASA, insurance, airline, government…

Comments Paraphrase – use your own words… –Do not copy –Try to analyze…meaning try to borrow ideas from other fields (e.g., operations management, human resource management, marketing, finance, accounting, strategy…) Find focus pages.. –Pages 5 and 6

The Tar pit 1 Large programming is like tar pit: –The more your struggle, the more you sink in it… None of thing seems to be difficult, but as whole, the developers (programmers) get trapped in it and the project dies –You may be able to take one hand out of the tart pit, but not your whole body.

The Tar pit 2 A programming systems product must be: –Thoroughly tested (so dependable) Not 100%...errors still be found… Increase cost as much as 3 times over untested products –Officially documented A system can be fixed and extended (blue print)

The Tar pit 3 –Must work reasonably well with other programs So, must be tested in all possible combinations… –I/O interfaces become very important –Cannot be tested with future system components A programming system product as a system component costs at least 3 times higher than a stand-alone program (no interaction with other programs)… –Must be within allotted budget Still almost impossible…almost never been possible……

The Tar pit 4 The joy of the craft –Why is programming fun?....what fun? –Only few people can enjoy…not me..not you.. The woes of the craft –Mission impossible No program can be 100% perfect….forever?? –Ultimate responsibility in business perspective top management – CIO, IS director –Systems become obsolete