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Keynote
Sessions & Speakers
| Wednesday, February 13, 8:45 AM |
Why Nobody in Our Business Can Estimate
Tim Lister, Atlantic Systems Guild, Inc.
To put it politely, software estimation has proven to challenging. But to be frank, software estimation has proven to be a nightmare. Most organizations that develop software have lost all credibility with their clients it comes to simple questions like “When will you be done?” and “How much is it going to cost?” In this fast-evolving industry, one thing is clear: Time hasn’t given us a chance to improve our estimating skills. In this presentation, Tim Lister investigates the estimation issue, offers some suggestions, and promises to come up with some surprising answers to the question of whether anyone in our business can estimate.
Tim Lister is a principal of the Atlantic Systems Guild, Inc. He is a member of the Airlie Software Council, a group of industry consultants advising the DoD on best practices for software development and acquisition. He’s also a member of the Cutter IT Trends Council and co-author — with Tom DeMarco — of many popular course sequences, as well as Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams. Their tentatively titled book, Software Risk Management, is scheduled to print in 2002. Tim is a member of the IEEE and the ACM. He also serves as a panelist for the American Arbitration Association, arbitrating disputes involving software and software services.
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| Wednesday, February 13, 3:30 PM |
High Maturity Benefits and Blarney
Bill Curtis, TeraQuest
With more and more organizations claiming to Capability Maturity Model (CMM) Level 4 or 5, is high maturity all it’s cracked up to be? This talk clarifies what attributes should be present in a true high maturity organization, and presents case studies where organizations benefited substantially from achieving these high maturity capabilities. Yet, it also addresses practices that, while they technically qualify as high maturity, add absolutely no business value to development and its customers. Bill Curtis points out three challenges that keep organizations from gaining useful benefits from their efforts to achieve high maturity capability. They include: 1) the blind use of control charts; 2) the difficulty of establishing process capability baselines; and 3) the obsession with process stability instead of predictability of outcomes. Gain a new understanding of how an actual high maturity organization operates, and determine whether its advanced measurement practices might benefit your organization.
Bill Curtis is co-founder and chief scientist of TeraQuest in Austin, where he works with organizations to increase their software development capability. He is a co-author of the Capability Maturity Model for Software, and the architect of the People CMM. Bill also has directed research on advanced user interface technologies and the software design process, developed a global software productivity and quality measurement system at ITT’s Programming Technology Center, evaluated software development methods in GE’s Space Division, and taught statistics at the University of Washington.
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| Thursday, February 14, 8:45 PM |
Measurement: The CEO Viewpoint
Don Winter, TRW Systems
Software managers, process engineers, and measurement specialists often evaluate measurement and metrics based on how they help the software and its customers. Yet it’s just as important to think about and quantify how they help the business. In this presentation, Don Winter shares the perspective of measurement from the top — more specifically, which numbers are most critical to the corporate bottom line. Discover how measurement drives senior-level decision making, and why a measurement system must take this viewpoint into account.
Don Winter is president and CEO of TRW Systems. He oversees operations of the business and its 15,000 employees. TRW Systems offers value-added solutions through information technology systems and services; systems engineering and analysis; systems development and integration; scientific, engineering, and technical services; and enterprise management services.
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| Thursday, February 14, 3:30 PM |
Program Management and IT: Deliver the Goods!
Irene Dec, The Prudential Insurance Company of America
Today, how it’s done is just as important as why it’s done. When it comes to straightening out an IT department’s “madness,” sane organizational structure and processes can be the ultimate cure-all. Irene Dec discusses how IT’s organizational ability to deliver is critical to business success. She focuses on program management, including strategic planning, program office components, and alignment with business objectives. Her presentation focuses on how today, more than ever before, technology is the to successful business implementation.
Irene Dec is a vice president in the International Investments Division of The Prudential Insurance Company of America, focusing on special projects in investments and securities around the globe. She is responsible for directing and building technology architectures to enhance Prudential’s international investments. Irene was awarded the Eric Jenett Excellence Award in 2001 by the Project Management Institute, and in 2000 she was listed among Computerworld’s Premiere 100 IT Leaders.
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