What is function?

After more than 15 years of writing and discussing the distinction between functional requirements and quality requirements, the definition of functional requirements still eludes me. Quality attribute requirements are well defined – performance has to do with the timing behavior of the system, modifiability has to do with the ability of the system to support changes in its behavior or other qualities after initial deployment, availability has to do with the ability of the system to survive failures, and so forth.

Link Roundup: February 15, 2010

Good morning all,

Welcome to our February 15 Link Roundup. Here are some notable posts from other software engineering blogs that you may have missed this past week:

Toyota Gas Pedals and Radiation Death, by Mike at What Does Mike Think? Mike’s examination of mechanical complexities reveals that, in many cases, software is the most important component of a system.

Are You a Software Architect?, by Simon Brown at InfoQ’s Coding the Architecture. Simon looks at the distinction between software developer and software architect.

Cloud Defined, by J.D. Meier at his own blog. J.D. provides a definition of cloud computing to help delineate and refine further discussion.

Where are the Enterprise Architects?, by Paul T. Preiss at IASA. Paul brings up several points about enterprise architecture that are worth considering further.

Requirements traceability – The Holy Grail, by Michael Stal of Hitchhiker’s Guide to Software Architecture (and Everything Else). Michael talks about architecture documents and his experience with what separates a good architecture document from a bad one.

Software architecture for acquisition people

I recently gave a presentation titled “The Importance of Software Architecture in the Acquisition Process.”

My basic argument was that software is critical in the system development process and software architecture is critical in the software development process.

The most difficult portion of the argument for me was the first premise. Arguing that software is critical for system development is kind of like arguing that 1+1=2. I have been in the software business too long to be able to look at this problem with outsiders’ eyes. I fell back to a cost argument and used cost figures from defense systems. I found this very unsatisfactory but it was the best I could do.

The criticality of software architecture to the software development process is something I have been arguing for years and I found this argument much easier to make.

The extension to acquisition depends on the level of involvement and oversight that acquisition personnel are willing and able to make.

In any case, you can see the presentation here.

Len Bass

Software Architects: Are You Losing Ground if You Are Not Credentialed?

As previously announced here, we at the SEI are planning a track on architecture certification at SATURN 2010, including a panel discussion with representatives from Siemens, the International Association of Software Architects (IASA), the SEI, and other organizations.

An example of the increasing demand for credentialed architecture expertise comes from the U.S. Army. In a memo signed by Lieutenant General N. Ross Thompson, principal military deputy for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army, Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology (Mil Dept of ASA [ALT]), on May 26, 2009, the U.S. Army mandated that all program executive offices (PEOs) appoint a chief software architect (CSWA) to be responsible for oversight and management of software development within each PEO. The memo also specified that the CSWA must earn a Software Architecture Professional Certificate from the SEI (or equivalent).

An article by R. Rivera, “Am I Doing Architecture or Design Work?” (IT Professional, Volume 9,  Issue 6,  Nov.-Dec. 2007 Page(s):46 – 48) discusses architecture certification at Hewlett-Packard Services and speculates that “Certification might become mandatory over time in the same way that Project Management Institute certification is expected for all HP Services program and project managers.”

Link Roundup: February 8, 2010

Good morning all,

Welcome to our February 8 Link Roundup. Here are some notable posts from other software engineering blogs that you may have missed this past week:

NServiceBus 2.0 Release Candidate 2 Available, by Udi Dahan at the Software Simplist. Udi’s post about the new release of NServiceBus details its major features, which include the ability to integrate transactional messaging into applications.

Most inane customer service #fail ever, by Phil Wainewright at Software as Services. Phil’s unfortunate experience with TeleWest provides some great guidance about service providers shouldn’t do.

Conversational Stories, by Martin Fowler at his own blog. Martin takes on some common misconceptions about Agile method.

California Needs the Cloud, by Ryan Nichols at CIO Blog.  Ryan makes a call to action to the state of California to investigate using cloud computing for their check-processing systems, and  provides examples of how other types of public agencies have used cloud computing to achieve great things.

SATURN 2010 Registration Now Open

Registration is now open for the sixth annual SEI Architecture Technology User Network (SATURN) Conference, presented in collaboration with IEEE Software magazine in Minneapolis, Minn., from May 17 to 21.

The SATURN Conference is held every year to bring together experts from around the world to exchange best architecture-centric practices in developing, acquiring, and maintaining software-intensive systems.

Register for the conference and view the preliminary program at the SATURN 2010 website. SEI Members and subscribers of IEEE Software magazine get 15% off conference and tutorial fees.

Link Roundup: February 1, 2010

Good morning all,

Welcome to our February 1 Link Roundup. Here are some notable posts from other software engineering blogs that you may have missed this past week:

Why I Don’t Believe in Software Architects, by Sergey Mikhanov on his own website. Sergey’s post sparked plenty of discussion about the roles and nature of a software architect, and led Simon Brown at Coding the Architecture to write his own response.

SOA and Cloud Computing: Beyond the Myths, by Mike Kavis at Kavis Technology. Mike’s presentation from the 26th Annual Information Technology  Seminar at Utah State focuses on debunking several myths behind the interaction of SOA and cloud computing.

3 Pillars of Architecture, by Kirk Knoernschild at Architect Zone. Kirk begins with the premise that “architects architect architecture” and explains the social, technology, and process pillars that make up his view of software architecture.