🚀 go-pugleaf

 
                      Boulder Chapter of the ACM
                         April General Meeting
 
                       Wednesday, April 20, 1994
                              7:30 - 9:30
              CU Business Administration School, room 208
 
                              =-=-=
 
                    Kick the Debugging Habit!
       The Cleanroom Approach to Developing Quality Software
 
                              =-=-=
 
   The time is fast approaching when software quality and cost
effectiveness will give some companies a competitive edge.  Formal
methods for developing quality software are well-known in academia but
are little used in practice because of fears that they "cost too much"
or are "too mathematical".  As a result, programmers are often held
hostage by software bugs, when they could be developing new functions
and meeting new user needs.  Cleanroom software engineering embeds
techniques based on formal methods into a software development process
that can be tailored to meet the unique needs of any software project.
Published reports in major journals and conference proceedings show that
the use of Cleanroom can dramatically improve quality and productivity.
 
   The Cleanroom approach to software engineering begins with the idea
that software should be engineered, not lashed together in an ad-hoc
way.  Secondly, Cleanroom sees the purpose of software testing as being
to certify the quality of the code, and not to inject quality into it.
The Cleanroom process incorporates these ideas into several specific
practices.  An incremental process is used to encourage continuous
process improvement and to incorporate changing requirements.  Teams of
programmers use specification, design, and review techniques based on
formal methods to produce code that is near zero defect without
debugging.  Testing applies the statistical quality control approach to
software, providing an estimate of the reliability of the software.  The
Cleanroom practices are easily integrated with object-oriented and other
software engineering techniques.
 
   Cleanroom is both a management and a technical initiative.  Although
its greatest benefits have been shown when it is used consistenly by
programming teams, individuals can also apply many of its principles to
their own work.  This presentation focuses on the practices of
Cleanroom, rather than on the theory behind it.  It will introduce the
overall Cleanroom process, with special attention to the ways that
programmers and programming teams can stop fixing bugs and start
engineering software.
 
                           =-=-=
 
   Patricia Smith is a consultant and instructor formerly with IBM,
where she taught software engineering and computer science courses.  She
has taught at the graduate level at the University of Denver and has
presented to a variety of industry groups.  She has also done extensive
software development.  Her master's is in Systems Information Science
from Syracuse University.  She can be reached at 665-5227 e-mail
smithpat@csn.org.
 
   Michael Deck is a consultant with Cleanroom Software Engineering
Associates, providing assessments, consultation, and training in the use
of advanced software engineering techniques.  Formerly with IBM, he has
worked as a Cleanroom team member, team leader, project manager, and
technology consultant.  He has published several articles on the theory
and practice of Cleanroom software engineering.  He holds an MS in
Computer Science from the University of Maryland.  He can be reached
447-0844 e-mail deckm@csn.org.
 
MEET THE SPEAKERS
 
   You may attend an informal dinner prior to the Boulder ACM meeting at
6:00 PM at the Neighborhood Grill.  You will have a chance to acquaint
yourself with our speakers and the subject of their talks in advance. 
The Neighborhood Grill is located in the Basemar Shopping Center at
Broadway and Baseline Road, in Boulder.  To reserve your place at this
gathering, leave a message, including your name and phone number with an
ACM officer or the answering machine at 938-9400. Please make your
reservation, or cancel if you cannot attend, by April 19.
 
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
 
Ever wanted to be an ACM officer?  The Boulder Chapter is made up of
dedicated individuals like yourself.  Now is your opportunity to get
involved even more--BE AN OFFICER!  Elections for the positions of
Chair, Vice-Chair, and Treasurer will be held in mid-May.  There are
other important volunteer posts that need staffing also.  For more
information call 938-9400.
 
--Bonnell Frost for the Boulder ACM