Models and Tools for Managing Development Processes (1999)

The development of products in disciplines such as mechanical, electrical, or software engineering is a challenging task. Costs have to be reduced, the ti- to-market has to be shortened, and quality has to be improved. Skilled engineers andsophisticatedtoolsforsupportingtechnicalworkarenecessaryprerequisites, yettheyarenotsu?cientformeetingtheseambitiousgoals.Inaddition, thework of developers must be coordinated so that they cooperate smoothly. To this end, the steps of the development process have to be planned, an engineer executing a task must be provided with documents and tools, the results of development activities have to be fed back to management which in turn has to adjust the plan accordingly, the documents produced in di?erent working areas have to kept consistent with each other, etc. This book reports on models and tools for managing development processes. It provides both a survey of the current state of the art and presents our own contributions. The material covered in this book is based on research in di?- ent engineering disciplines (mechanical, software, and chemical engineering). It presents a uni?ed view on the management of development processes in these disciplines.