Peopleware Papers: Notes on the Human Side of Software, The

Part V. Process Improvements

Introduction

Producing software is a process. Applications do not just happen, programs do not simply spring full-blown from the brains of programmers. This is a good thing, since one of the basic principles of the modern “quality” movement is that processes can be improved. Indeed, the goal in the so-called “total quality” movement and its various incarnations in the software world is not just improvements in steps or fits or bursts, but continuous process improvement. The most advanced organizations not only study the processes by which software and applications are produced, but have instituted programs for feeding their findings back into the process in a closed loop that refines their systems and procedures continuously. ...