Question

Give an example on each of Wasserman’s seven key factors that have changed software development? and how to change to accommodate it?

Answer 1

Software Development: Software development is the process of converting the customer requirements in well-functioning software which can take input or action from the user and perform the appropriate action as per the requirement.

Change in the Software development: With the changes in the software operation, the development of the software also changed. Earlier the development was straight forward going through first phase to next phase. But with the complexity of the computer software requirements, multiple functionalities, multiple platforms etc., the development also has been changed.

Wasserman’s Sever Key Factors: Below are the factors by Wasserman that has changed the software development:

1. Critical time to market the software: The software request by the customer has to be marketed at decided time. The timeline has become critical in the current competitive era.

Example: Earlier the software development companies had less competition, but now making the development competitive, timeline has become critical to get positive reviews from customer thus getting more customers from the industry.

2. Shifts in economy: This is a factor that deals with the change in hardware cost as well as maintenance cost. It is requirement to define hardware cost verses performance ratio as well as development cost as compare to maintenance cost.

Example: The hardware costs millions along with a restricted and predefined performance. Now a software cane be developed using low cost and highly efficient system.

3. Change in computing culture: Computer systems have been changed from big mainframe, super computers to small centralised client-server computing system.

Example: Now the software is installed on a central server e.g. banking server. Different users can send requests from their client machine and access the functions from server.

4. Focus change from local network to wide area network: The focus of using the software and computer has been changed from a small local area network to worldwide network.

Example: Earlier the system to manage employees was used at local area network level. But now, with the globalisation of the companies. Employes are scattered across the world and all are managed using a wide network.

5. Object oriented technologies: Technologies has been changed from a structured software engineering to object oriented software engineering.

Example: Developing a software to manage employees was structured where code was created for each employee, now the general objects are created where each object performs actions for employee.

6. Strong Graphical User Interface: Now days, a software with complex commands is liked by customer. Software should have a good interactive user interface.

Example: Earlier to use the database, lots of queries were used. But now a days, various database interfaces are available which can be used to perform data base actions using buttons and options on the interface.

7. Drawbacks in Waterfall model: This model has very rigid life cycle as the same need to complete first phase to move to next phase. Development is changed to iterative models.

Example: Creating a huge project with 10 requirements needed every phase to be completed for all 10 requirements. If there is any change required in the requirement, it was not allowed to go back and change the same. Also the change was highly costly and include a lot of rework. New developments support communication between customer and developers to make sure every phase is completed accurately as per customer requirement.

How to change to adopt the factors: Below are the principals suggested by Wasserman to adopt the new factors:

1. Abstraction:

Abstraction means to focus on the main problems to be implemented in the software without considering about how these will be developed. It requirements are divided at high level, and then the sub-requirements are found and implemented to completely develop the software.

2. Analysis and Design method:

All the requirements in the software need to be analysed and design for the same needs to be well documented. There should be a string communication between the developers, users and customer.

3. Prototyping with user interface:

The whole system needs to be developed in small prototypes, where a prototype is small unit of the software. A prototype needs to be developed based on a particular requirement having interactive user interface. Once the current prototype is approved after testing by tester and customer, then next phase of the prototyping will start. The next prototype will have more features and requirement implementations in it.

4. Architectural development:

All the software needs to be based on an architecture which contains multiple modules and relationship between the modules. The architecture can be decomposed by any of the below technique:

· Module driven architecture

· Object- oriented architecture

· Data-Driven architecture

· User interface based architecture

· Event-based architecture

5. System Development Process:

Software process has many variations and processes are used as per the organisation’s culture and software development. The type of software defines which process can be followed. The process of the software development should include the developers as well as customers in it so that there is a feedback from both parties to develop high quality software.

6. Reusability of software:

Reusability of the code is being adopted practically by almost all the development approaches. It is the process of developing the code in such a way that it can be used again and again to fulfil different functions in the system. Reusability has below benefits:

· Reduced Cost

· Reduced Effort

· Reduced Code length

7. Measuring the software units:

The software measuring can be performed to make sure the quality of the software. It is the measurement to make sure everything is developed as per the requirement and none of the requirement has been missed in implementation. Other than the requirements, measuring can be performed to ensure the below parameters:

· Time schedule

· Project Budget

· Quality goals from customer

8. Tools and their integration:

Selecting different tools available in the market for development and integration purpose:

· Data storage

· Software development

· Development Control

· Process integration