“Value-Based Integration of Systems and Software Engineering”
Barry Boehm, University of Southern California
Friday, Sept. 25, 2009, 10:30 a.m.
The Forum in SMU’s Hughes-Trigg Student Center
Sponsored by Raytheon Network Centric Systems
and hosted by SMU’s CSE Department.
Abstract
Several trends caused systems engineering and software engineering to initially evolve as largely sequential and independent processes. As a result, a generation of software engineering education and process improvement goals were focused on reductionist software development practices that assumed that other (mostly non-software people) would furnish appropriate predetermined requirements for the software. However, as systems have become more human-intensive, net-centric, software-intensive and rapidly changing, there has been an increasing need to evolve systems engineering into a more concurrent integration of hardware, software and human factors engineering. This talk will summarize the challenges of doing this, present a value-based integration approach, and illustrate it with examples. It will also provide a short summary of the status and plans of the new DoD Systems Engineering Research Center, in which 17 universities are participating.
Bio
Barry Boehm is the TRW Professor of Software Engineering, director emeritus of the USC Center for Systems and Software Engineering and director of research for the DoD-Stevens-USC Systems Engineering Research Center. From 1989 to 1992 he was director of the DARPA Information Science and Technology Office and director of the DDR&E Software and Computer Technology Office. He worked at TRW from 1973 to 1989, culminating as chief scientist of the Defense Systems Group, and at the Rand Corporation from 1959 to 1973, culminating as head of the Information Sciences Department.
His current research interests involve recasting systems and software engineering into a value-based framework, including processes, methods, tools, and an underlying theory and process for value-based systems and software definition, architecting, development, validation and evolution. His contributions to the field include the Constructive Cost Model (COCOMO) family of systems and software engineering estimation models, the Spiral Model and Incremental Commitment Model of the systems and software engineering process, and the Theory W (win-win) approach to systems and software management and requirements determination. His master’s-level software engineering course involves 20 teams per year in service learning by negotiating and developing useful software applications for USC and for nearby community-service and small-business clients.
He has received the ACM Distinguished Research Award in Software Engineering and the IEEE Harlan Mills Award as well as lifetime achievement awards from the American Society for Quality Control and the International Society of Parametric Analysts. He is a fellow of the primary professional societies in computing (ACM), aerospace (AIAA), electronics (IEEE) and systems engineering (INCOSE), and he is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering.
