17-910 / 90-7xx - Business models for software development methods
Instructor: Mary Shaw
Day/Time: Tuesdays 1:30 to 4:30, room TBD

Software development methods prescribe human activities, tools, and intermediate products for developing software systems. They claim to improve characteristics of the software (e.g., reliability) or its production (e.g., total cost or schedule predictability). These claims have not, for the most part, been rigorously demonstrated. Further, the match between specific methods and types of software development organizations is poorly understood.

This course will examine the processes and claims of several software development methods. We will characterize the methods and their claims and identify the requirements and expectations that the methods place on organizations. We will determine what validating the claims would entail, including techniques suitable for validating the claims and the ways demonstrable claims could be incorporated in business models for software development.

Interdisciplinary groups of students will each develop expertise in one of the software development methods of current industry interest. Each group will report its findings in class presentations and a final report. We hope that the results will be suitable as the basis of a joint comparative study.