Commercial vs. aerospace worlds: comparing software engineering cultures
Merlin Dorfman · IEEE Software · 1999
Two and a half years ago, I retired from the aerospace and defense industry after 35 years. Of those 35 years, I spent the last 20 in software and system engineering, including the last 10 in software process improvement, quality, and related disciplines. I now work in commercial industry, in software quality for a company where that means process development, documentation, and improvement, rather than testing (as it means at many other companies). From this new perspective, I want to compare the software engineering cultures in these two different environments, examine specifics, and see if any general conclusions can be drawn.