Software Development Life Cycle

The “Alternative” Models

Group: OTUB Duncan Belser Jose Ferreira Sandra Hung Brett Lake

Do Traditional SDLC Models Work Today? Answer: Not all the time

Why? Traditional models are not flexible Systems are too big and complex Many players involved

i.e., 2,000+ people involved w/ MS Windows 2000 Rapidly changing technology Time is critical (develop / implement / market ) Globalization

Alternative SDLC Approaches1. Extreme Programming Method

Kent Beck, 1996

2. Synchronize and Stabilize Method David Yoffie (Harvard) Michael Cusumano (MIT)

1. Extreme Programming (XP)Purpose: Develop faster and under budget

Key Principles: Simplicity, Communication & Feedback

Basic Practices: Short development cycles Small code releases Frequent testing Customer involved in development process Customer stories Simple programming and documentation Pairing programmers – collaboration

1. XP: (Symantec Example) Testing XP vs. Waterfall model

“To improve productivity, performance, quality” Project: Develop Java-based security product

Outcome Increased productivity – software in 2 weeks Radical decrease in bugs – only 5 bugs at beta Team mentality – “not just cogs in a machine”

Problems Pairing programmers causes conflicts Roles and responsibilities are still unclear Culture conflict XP does not address deployment

2. Synchronize & Stabilize MethodBasic Concept

Continually synchronize what people are doing as members of parallel teams

Periodically stabilize the product in increments as a project proceeds

How it Works: Requirements analysis – interview customers

Draw up product specifications

Divide project into 3 to 4 builds

Synchronize (test & bug) – at end of day

Stabilize (fix & freeze build) – at end of build

2. Synchronize and Stabilize MethodMicrosoft Way:

Customer-driven projects i.e., Win95/98

Combination Waterfall & Spiral Model

A phase-based, milestone-driven, and iterative model.

IENV

SO

G

IN

NI

P LA

NI

GN

N

DE

VL

O

PIG

E

N

ST

AB

ILZ

NGI

I

Vision Approved

Vision Approved

Project PlanApproved

Project PlanApproved

Scope Complete

Scope Complete

ReleaseRelease

IENV

SO

G

IN

NI

IENV

SO

G

IN

NI

P LA

NI

GN

N

P LA

NI

GN

N

DE

VL

O

PIG

E

N

DE

VL

O

PIG

E

N

ST

AB

ILZ

NGI

I

ST

AB

ILZ

NGI

I

Vision Approved

Vision Approved

Project PlanApproved

Project PlanApproved

Scope Complete

Scope Complete

ReleaseRelease

MSF Application Development Process Model

2. Synchronize and Stabilize Method The key issues of MS’s success

Determine documentation baseline early, freeze it late

Set Interim milestones early

Segment large work efforts into manageable pieces

Work closely with the early adaptors

Versioned releases principle select critical rather than desirable pieces in a shorter time frame

So What Model Works Best? It Depends!!!

On the project, corporation, time frame, etc…

Take a Tailored Approach Project managers customize models to fit the

projects specific needs

Questions

References Wallace, B. (Jan. 18, 1999). Ford to retool app development. COMPUTERWORLD [Online].

Available: www.computerworld.com/news/1999/story/0,11280,33624,00.html King, J. (June 10, 1996). Vendors feed user frenzy for rapid application development.

COMPUTERWORLD [Online]. Available: www.computerworld.com/news/1996/story/0,11280,5807,00.html

Morales, A. (Jan. 11, 2002) Going to Extremes. INFORMATIONWEEK [Online]. Available: www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20020111S0046

Copeland, L. (Oct. 17, 2001). Extreme programming moves slowly into the enterprise. COMPUTERWORLD [Online]. Available: www.computerworld.com/softwaretopics/software/story/0,10801,64850,00.html

Copeland, L. (Dec. 03, 2001). Extreme programming. COMPUTERWORLD [Online]. Available: www.computerworld.com/softwaretopics/software/appdev/story/0,10801,66192,00.html

Copeland, L. (Oct. 02, 2001). An Extreme Move by Capital One. COMPUTERWORLD [Online]. Available: www.computerworld.com/softwaretopics/software/appdev/story/0,10801,64927,00.html

Kay, R. (May 14, 2002). System Development Life Cycle. COMPUTERWORLD [Online]. Available: www.computerworld.com/developmenttopics/development/story/0,10801,71151,00.html

Shahzad Malik and Jose Ruben Palencia. (December 6,1999) Synchronize and Stabilize VS. Open-Source. Francis Bordeleau, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Microsoft Solutions Framework White Paper (December 10,1999) Microsoft Corporation, pp. 21-31

Landy, James (Jan. 26, 2001) Lecture: Applied Software Management, University of Ca., Berkeley. [Online]. Available: http://bmrc.berkeley.edu/courseware/ba293/spring01/lectures/process/sld013.htm