Maximizing ROI on Software Development

Maximizing ROI on Software Development explains how to execute best quality software development and testing while maximizing business value. It discusses Applied ROI in the context of methodologies such as Agile and Extreme Programming, and traditional methodologies including Six Sigma, the Capability Maturity Model® (CMM®), Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), and Product Line Models (PLM). The text discusses what is important in global terms and details how best to choose teams and partners, including outsourcers, and how to employ the latest tools and technologies. It provides models, metrics, and detailed case studies to improve current and future development projects, whether in house or outsourced, near shore or off-shore. The book offers perspectives on how quality improvement through software quality assurance (SQA) testing, planning, and execution is a powerful and effective route toward maximizing return on investment. Divided into seven chapters, this friendly and informative guide can be read quickly, then used as a reliable reference by team leaders and members. It begins by reviewing software development, tools, and methodologies, followed by an examination of how development, maintenance, and integration have become more complex and will continue to do so. The book discusses best practices for managing this complexity and explores the business case for maximizing ROI. The text then provides a comprehensive analysis of ROI from several perspectives, covering nomenclature, project success and failure, mathematics, processes, work products, and techniques. It details how to make global teams successful and how to evaluate Applied ROI implementation, and it includes case studies for wireless, enterprise, and CRM systems. Front cover......Page 1 DEDICATION......Page 6 CONTENTS......Page 8 PREFACE......Page 20 ABOUT THE AUTHOR......Page 24 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS......Page 26 CHAPTER 1. A BRIEF REVIEW OF SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT HISTORY......Page 28 CHAPTER 2. SOFTWARE COMPLEXITY CRISIS......Page 66 CHAPTER 3. SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT ROI......Page 106 CHAPTER 4. THE CASE FOR GLOBAL SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING......Page 134 CHAPTER 5. SOFTWARE QUALITY AND TEST ROI......Page 160 CHAPTER 6. HOW DO YOU IMPLEMENT GLOBAL SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING......Page 208 CHAPTER 7. CASE STUDIES......Page 240 Appendix A: THE QUALITY ASSURANCE AND TESTING PROCESS......Page 266 INDEX......Page 270 Back cover......Page 282 Software is defined by Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary as `the instructions which control what a computer does; computer programs."