Systems management for information technology and software engineering

About this book

Traditional software engineering approaches to managing innovation, productivity, and quality assurance focus almost entirely on the performance of individual programmers. But, just as those working in the environmental sphere have come to realize the dangers of focusing too narrowly on individual species while ignoring the needs of overall ecosystems, thinkers in the field of information systems engineering have begun to recognize the need for a systems management approach that encompasses all facets of the software development organization. Now, this groundbreaking text offers such an approach. In it, Professor Andrew Sage provides readers with a rational framework for the production of trustworthy, high-quality software and information technology systems. These combine cutting-edge systems engineering methodologies developed at top software development firms with innovative process management approaches that have been introduced successfully by many of the leading information technology and other business organizations around the world over the past decade. The bottom line of the systems management approach outlined is total quality assurance through process-related improvements throughout the entire organization. The book, therefore, addresses, in depth, a wide array of interrelated issues, many of which are not generally covered in systems engineering texts, including: process development life cycle; process configuration management; systems architectures and integration; product development standards; metrics for cost and operational effectiveness evaluation; evaluation and reengineering of organizational cultures; strategic quality assurance and management, or TQM; and process reengineering and maturity.