Problem statement
The research considers three problems that are relevant to management information systems. It does so by giving a response to three questions. The research questions explored are:
Providing three examples of software projects that could be amenable to the waterfall method
Providing a number of examples (both negative and positive) that indicate the impact of software on our society , and
Describing agility in software development
Use your promo and get a custom paper on
"Software Projects Research Problem".
Literature Review
Software projects amenable to the waterfall model
The waterfall model also known as the classical life cycle advocates for a consecutive approach to development of software that starts from the specifications of the customer needs and goes on through designing, simulating, construction, and readying, culminating in continuing support of the finishing software (Baskerville 8).
Many projects are conformable to the waterfall model. The model is good for projects that have standardized requirements. Some good examples of these projects include:
Coding a scheme interpreter that conforms to the R6RS criterion is one example of software that is amenable to waterfall model. The definition of the problem is already drafted by the written criterion, and the only end is to write an interpreter that conforms to the standard. This would augur well with the waterfall pattern because looping would be called for to make the complier free from bugs and more efficient. The problem stipulation from R6RS should remain intact for many years (Morley 5).
Developing mission vita software, such as the control system of a nuclear power institute, is another project that conforms to the waterfall model. The nature of this problem implies that small room for modifying the requirements. Nuclear engineers must carefully specify the software. The software needs a careful design and analysis that meet the requirements of checking a physical scheme that is required to perform consistently on a daily basis. The only looping that might be called for is when a nuclear state, which was not catered for in the software, is met, or when there is a bug that does not abide by design specifications (Vogel 4).
Another example is that of a straightforward execution of a business rule or a numerical calculation, even if it is composite.
We can see that software good for waterfall model have particular needs that need to be specified in the beginning of the project. The specifications and requirements are not anticipated to transform during the lifetime of the project. Writing software for a fixed plan specification, or in tandem with a standard, is good with the waterfall model. Other good examples of software for the waterfall method include tax preparation software, reporting spec changes, control system software, and ISO or ANSI specified software.
The impact of software on our society
Software has many impacts on our society. The impacts are both negative and positive. Some of the positive impacts of software on our society include reduction of production cost in various companies. This is possible as software does multiple jobs that could be done by many staff. Therefore, software reduces the number of staff. Software also aids in reducing the amount of hardware printers in an organization by making use of LAN networking. Another positive contribution of software is that it brings fun. People are able to play online games, access the internet, listen to music, and many other advantages. Software such as internet browsers helps people access information for research. It also allows people to interact globally through social media communication (Straubhaar, LaRose, and Davenport 7).
The negative impacts associated with software are that it exposes many people to hardcore pornography. Adults as well as children view bad pictures in the internet corrupting their morals. Hackers also make use of software to spoof websites and fraud people, viruses, Trojans, and spams are propagated by software. All these constitute cybercrime. There is online gambling. People nowadays do not get to interact in person due to software availability. Society depends too much on computers sometimes, therefore when a computer shuts, people can do anything. Recent software is confusing for people in the old generation and harder to get things done or them as some things can only be done on a computer now. Some people never learn computers.
Agility
Software agility can be taken as the ability of a computer processes to conform to changes in the structure of its environment. It can also be termed as the ease with which developers of software can change a computer program to deal with transforming requirements. The above definitions indicate that agility is about software developers coming close to its customers to understand the needs of businesses so that the final product is in tandem with the business needs and can be presented in a faster pace (Wang, Dietmar and David 17). Agility is not on blocking change early in the project but on handling inevitable exchanges throughout the lifecycle of the project.
Agile software development focuses on quality in method and the requirement to test invariably for earlier, cheap, flaw detection. Its practitioners promote change rather than deter it and by adopting this partnership form require close customer links (Baskerville 9).
Practical Statement
The paper has touched on three areas of management information systems. These areas are very essential in reality as organizations strive to embrace the use of software. The literature review has explored the three topics in a practical sense. Therefore, the paper has shown that the above questions draw from a practical sense of management information systems.
- Baskerville, Richard. Business Agility and Information Technology Diffusion: Ifip Tc8 Wg 8.6
International Working Conference, May 8-11, 2005, Atlanta, Georgia, U.s.a. New York: Springer, 2005. Internet resource. - Kuehr, Ruediger, and Eric Williams. Computers and the Environment: Understanding and
Managing Their Impacts. Dordrecht [u.a.: Kluwer Acad. Publ, 2003. Print. - Mall, Rajib. Fundamentals of Software Engineering. New Delhi: PHI Learning, 2009. Print.
- Morley, Deborah. Understanding Computers in a Changing Society. Australia: Course
Technology, Cengage Learning, 2009. Print. - Straubhaar, Joseph D, Robert LaRose, and Lucinda Davenport. Media Now: Understanding
Media, Culture, and Technology. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2010. Print.
