Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!ut-emx!dell!Kepler!mjhammel
From: mjhammel@Kepler.dell.com (Michael J. Hammel)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Re: Bootstrapping a group of programmer into engineers
Message-ID: <5076@dell.dell.com>
Date: 9 Jan 90 23:54:54 GMT
References: <514.25a87b3d@devsim.mdcbbs.com> <15413@well.UUCP>
Sender: news@dell.dell.com
Reply-To: mjhammel@Kepler.dell.com (Michael J. Hammel)
Distribution: comp
Organization: Dell Computer Corp.
Lines: 27

In article <514.25a87b3d@devsim.mdcbbs.com>, jmi@devsim.mdcbbs.com (JM
Ivler - MDC - Douglas Aircraft - Long Beach, CA) writes:
> In article <15413@well.UUCP>, berger@well.UUCP (Robert J. Berger) writes:
> > How have other people dealt with transforming a team of narrow minded 
> > prima donna programmers into engineers? Is it doable?
> > 
> Bob,
> ...
> 5) write a plan to test the input and outputs (as expected)
> ...
> 7) perform the tests
> 
I might also suggest you make use of any decent software test engineers
you have handy.  I, as a test engineer, try to follow some formal methods
in developing and executing software tests.  Recently I had to test 
some software that had little documentation and poor design specs.  I 
was able to show numerous flaws because I forced specifications out of 
the design group *after* the product had been delivered to me.  It showed
that they didn't know exactly what it was they were after to begin with.
It also helped to show the importance of the steps that have been listed
in previous posts on this subject.  A good (thorough, well planned) test
plan will definitely show the importance of well planned design 
specifications.

Michael J. Hammel   | internet: mjhammel@Kepler.dell.com
Dell Computer Corp. | Also: ...!dell!mikeh  or 73377.3467@compuserve.com
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