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
Approaches
1. Extreme Programming Method
 Kent Beck, 1996

3. 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 &
Basic Stabilize
Concept Method
 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
Microsoft Way: Method
 Customer-driven projects Release
NG EN
 i.e., Win95/98 LI
ZI VI

SI
BI

O
STA

NI N
G
 Combination Scope
Complete
Vision
Approved
 Waterfall & Spiral Model

DE

NG
VE

NI
L
A phase-based,

N
 PI A

O
N G PL

milestone-driven, and Project Plan

Approved
iterative model. 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