Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!hacgate!ashtate!atsun!dwiggins From: dwiggins@atsun.a-t.com (Don Dwiggins) Newsgroups: comp.software-eng Subject: Re: Bootstrapping a group of programmer into engineers Message-ID: Date: 11 Jan 90 02:54:58 GMT References: <15413@well.UUCP> Sender: news@ashtate.UUCP Distribution: comp Organization: Ashton-Tate, Inc. Lines: 28 In-reply-to: berger@well.UUCP's message of 8 Jan 90 05:52:02 GMT In article <15413@well.UUCP> berger@well.UUCP (Robert J. Berger) writes: My question is, Does anyone know of a videotape or small easy to digest book or article that communicates the down side of bottom up random hacking and the up side of engineering? Something that would clearly demonstrate the win of planning, testing, software Quality orientations. I am particularly interested in examples in the embedded systems realm as opposed to the Data Processing MIS realm. How have other people dealt with transforming a team of narrow minded prima donna programmers into engineers? Is it doable? Not without pain. They've got to learn to understand, in their guts, the consequences of the way they do things. No "easy-to-digest" book or article will give them this. Some of the other responses have good suggestions for "giving them religion". For your own use, I recommend the book "Managing the Software Process" by Watts Humphrey (Addison-Wesley, 1989). A good overview of it is in his article in the March 1988 issue of IEEE Software. The book relates some horror stories that might be of some use to you, as well as laying out a step by step plan to improve the process. Good Luck. -- Don Dwiggins "Solvitur Ambulando" Ashton-Tate, Inc. dwiggins@ashtate.a-t.com