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AN OPEN LETTER TO THE TOOL COMPANIES
Author(s) -
Grady Jeffrey O.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
incose international symposium
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2334-5837
DOI - 10.1002/j.2334-5837.1996.tb02021.x
Subject(s) - process (computing) , traceability , aerospace , set (abstract data type) , computer science , simple (philosophy) , business , marketing , process management , engineering , software engineering , philosophy , epistemology , programming language , aerospace engineering , operating system
All of the requirements tools developed to date for commercial sale attempt to satisfy the largest possible set of functionalities that the developing company is capable of mastering. As a result, these tools tend to be fairly difficult to master by users and for the users to maintain skills. The tool companies tend to focus inwardly on their own tool without sufficient interest in the common environment within which these tools are used. The tool companies apparently feel they have to protect their market share to the extreme of failing to contribute to raising the floor for all. Engineers in many aerospace companies feel a need for a requirements system that is very simple to use by a wide range of people without intensive initial and recurrent training. But, there are no suppliers of this kind of system. This “open letter” encourages the development of a tool that is focused on the simplest needs that can be supplemented with additional modules to satisfy more advanced needs when the user has matured their process and personnel skills to support those capabilities. Also, the tool companies tend to ignore the industry interest in universal hooks that would permit two or more tools to be applied on one program without sacrificing some of the fundamental tool features like traceability across the gaps. Many years ago gasoline station operators found that locating stations on all four corners led to more business for all rather than hurting each. A degree of cooperation among the tool makers would have this same effect by expanding the market size.