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Software Development Methodology and Processes

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by jmiller

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I wanted to invite comments on whether your company uses software development methodology and processes.

Specifically, do you use the Rational Unified Process (RUP)? Did you use some form of customized RUP? How much success have you seen using RUP or modified RUP?

I ask this because RUP is of personal interest to me, and I am tinkering with RUP to meet some specific needs. Would like to share experiences....

Thanks!

Jim Miller
http://www.exelsoft.com

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by dc_guy

As a consultant, I have found RUP in use at a total of about three of my clients over the years. Not an impressive market penetration. Moreover, within the client organizations, I found that RUP had not made much of a penetration. In each case, one unit was using it on one system, and nobody else used it. There was no motivation from management to spread RUP out into other areas.

I can't tell you why this was. Precisely because of RUP's tiny impact, I never happened to be assigned to work with any of the systems on which it was used.

But I was disappointed by this. It looks like a great idea. Iterative methodologies clearly need to be more widely adopted in American IT shops because the old waterfall technique simply doesn't deliver.

Perhaps Rational is perceived as costing too much for what it gives you. A good chunk of it is project and library management tools, and there are plenty of those on the market.

But if I had to bet, I would put my money on the likelihood that American IT managers have not yet been able to adapt to an iterative software development cycle. Buying and installing software tools does not solve attitude problems, we all know that by now.

by jamesrl

Canadian Banks seem to use it, but that may because of the synergy between the Rational suite and some of the newer J2EE banking suites(Eontech is one example).

Not everyone feels that waterfall development is the wrong way to go. And as you suggest, its more important to have a good process, and then find a tool to fit, than to try and impose a good process by implementing a good tool.

James

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