MIS41020 - Managing Development of Large Scale Software Systems

Module - Design, Development and Creativity
Class or Article - Article
Lesson or Name - Royce, W.W. Managing Development of Large Scale Software Systems
Additional Info - N/AImage result for software team

Precis/ My Notes

Dr. Winston.W. Royce describes his personal views in 'Managing The Development of Large Scale Systems' arguing that large scale software systems required strong and rigorous project management. Appropriate planning at the beginning of a project will help define the process for delivery and the timelines associated with that. Royce argues that basic software development is risky and invites failures, testing at the end leaves the project open to large failures and gaps. He does however suggest that design iterations can happen at any stage and the process and program management need to accommodate this change. Royce advocated the utilisation of documentation and strong documentation at all phases is the key to a successful project delivery. These document s will serve as a vision  for development and a guideline for build and review. Brining in an element of external manual analysis  to check homework and involve the customer to create a more rounded view of delivery outputs. Implementing an agile approach in the development process will allow early simulation of the finished product.


Reflection

Holistic design, combined and supported by strong process and documentation, aided by agile test and simulation will deliver a better all round product while providing better oversight of the project. Documentation is key to understand the journey and the vision but also to understand the foundation on which you are building, however Royces strict focus on documentation could be to the detriment of creativity and development within his project. There is an element where you need to let developers and designers skirt outside of the lines of governance. However there should be retrospective documentation once a a design or development that works has been created.

My simple analysis of this is documentation is a cornerstone of each project however it should not be to the detriment of design and development, it could also be said that this approach is not a once size fits all and therefore it needs to be applied in specific circumstances with certain criteria.


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