1. Software: Process and Product
M. M. Pickard
Department of Computer Science
Stephen F. Austin State University

2. Overview Product Process A historical perspective
What is different about software?
Evolution in software architecture
Variety of applications
Process

3. Software: The Product A Historical Perspective The Software Crisis
Aging Software Plant?
Competition
Y2K

4. Software: The Product
What’s different about software?

5. Software: The Product What’s different about software?
Built, not manufactured?
Hardware failure vs. software failure
Bridge Analogy

6. Software: The Product Evolution in software architecture
Monolithic main-frame product
Modules
Components
Object-Orientation
Client-server

7. Software: The Product
Variety of Applications

8. Overview Product Process What is it?
How does it differ from “life cycle?”
Software Process Improvement
Models

9. Software: The Process Definitions:
“The set of tools, methods, and practices we use to produce a software product.” - Watts Humphrey, 1989.
“A process consists of activities, a network of activities, that are accomplished in the development of a software entity. . .” - Dave Card.

10. Software: The Process . . .but what’s a “life cycle?”
System Life Cycle: The phases of existence of a system from “birth” to “death.”
“A process consists of activities, a network of activities, that are accomplished in the development of a software entity, while the life cycle shows the evolution of a software product.” - Dave Card.

11. Software: The Process Software Process Improvement
Capability Maturity Model
Software Engineering Institute
Carnegie-Mellon University
Sponsored by DOD
Origins
Others (see and

12. Software: The Process Models Build-and-fix Waterfall (Royce, 1970)
Rapid Prototyping
Incremental
Spiral (Boehm, 1988)
Fountain (OO)
Component Assembly
Synchronize and Stabilize (Microsoft)
Concurrent Development (Davis & Sitaram, 1994)

13. Conclusion Product Process History Unique characteristics
vs. Life Cycle
Improvement
Models