Software Engineering at large

The fourth assignment was a paper about a particular company and their software engineering methodology. I chose to research the DoD.

Department of Defense Software Engineering
Eric Charnesky
BIT 337
Professor Ciaramitaro
March 7, 2007

Department of Defense Software Engineering

The Department of Defense has definitely recognized the need for software engineering methodologies to control the chaos that is software engineering. In 1984 the Department of Defense partnered with Carnegie Mellon University to create the Software Engineering Institute. The Software Engineering Institute went on to create the Capability Maturity Model which measures a companies capability and maturity with respects to software engineering. The Capability Maturity Model slowly evolved into the larger Capability Maturity Model Integration which is now in version 1.2 as of August 2006 (SEI, 2007). The Capability Maturity Model and its successor the Capability Maturity Model Integration have played a huge role in Department of Defense software engineering methods and even the methods of governmental contractors.

User Interface Design

The third assignment was a paper on User Interface Design.

User Interface Design
Eric Charnesky
BIT 337
Professor Ciaramitaro
February 21, 2007

User Interface Design

User interface design is one of the most important, if not the most important aspect of most software. As Usernomics says, “Technology alone may not win user acceptance and subsequent marketability. The User Experience, or how the user experiences the end product, is the key to acceptance.” With all of the advances in technology developers can lose sight of the goal, making software that enables users to do their job.

CMMI

The second assignment was a paper about a specific software engineering methodology.

I chose to research CMMI.

CMMI Strengths and Weaknesses
Eric Charnesky
BIT 337
Professor Ciaramitaro
February 17, 2007

CMMI Strengths and Weaknesses

When I first started researching the Capability Maturity Model Integration by the Software Engineering Institute I was overwhelmed. The PDF documentation for follow the CMMI Version 1.2 process is a short 573 pages long. Compare that with the now slim looking original Capability Maturity Model by the Software Engineering Institute in 1993 which is only 82 pages long. The Software Engineering Institute combined the original Capability Maturity Model with the Systems Engineering Capability Model of 1998, and the Integrated Product Development Capability Maturity Model of 1997 to create a new up to date maturity model for developing software (CMMI 2006). The CMMI, now in Version 1.2, is a widely recognized standard for software engineering.

Agile Development Paper

This is the first assignment for BIT 337 - Software Engineering at Walsh.

Agile Development
Eric Charnesky
BIT 337
Professor Ciaramitaro
January 24, 2007

Agile Development

The Agile methodology for software development is the new “in” thing for software engineering. “There's no question that "agile" is the buzzword of the times for software developers, ISVs, consultants, and businesses, in general. As with most buzzwords, the term is often over-used and mis-used, especially by those trying to portray their products or services in a new light.” (Barnett 2006). Many companies are somewhat hesitant to give agile development a try for a variety of reasons. Whatever the reasons are more and more companies are catching on. Many large corporations such as IBM, Oracle and Microsoft have started implementing at least some agile methodologies.

BIT 337

I start this class tonight with Professor Barbara Ciaramitaro.

Walsh College's Course Descriptions

BIT 337 - Software Engineering I - 3 Credit Hours
Prerequisites: BIT 201, BIT 301, and BIT 331 (may be taken concurrently)

This course covers the basic concepts of software engineering.
This course enables learners to use appropriate technologies
to design, develop, and maintain software. Software project
management throughout the systems lifecycle is discussed,
along with popular software development methodologies.