Making the software business case : improvement by the numbers
Donald J. Reifer · International Linear Collider · 2002
Foreword. Preface. Acknowledgments. I: FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS. 1. Improvement Is Everybody's Business. Viewing Software as a Business. Change Is the Nature of Software. Making the Giant Leap Forward. Success Is a Numbers Game. Improvement Cycles and Tricycles. Improvement by the Numbers. Business Versus Technical Cases. Why Change? Are You Ready to Change?. Getting Your Boss to Commit. How This Book Can Help You. Summary. 2. Making a Business Case. The Whats, Whys, and Whens of Business Cases. Relating Improvement Goals to Metrics Via Questions. Developing Business Cases: The Front-End Process. Tying the Business Process to the Software Development Life Cycle. Business Cases: Stepping Through the Life Cycle. Summary. 3. Making the Business Case: Principles, Rules, and Analysis Tools. Tooling the Process. Business Case Principles. Present and Future Worth. A Smorgasbord of Analysis Techniques. Tools of the Trade. Packaging the Business Case for Management Consumption. Avoiding Taxes and Tax Revolts. Summary. 4. Business Cases That Make Sense. The Parable of the Chinese Emperor. Improving the Process. Cost Avoidance. Capitalizing Software. Quick-to-Market Strategies. Architecting Products. Make Versus Buy Analysis. Moving to a Web-Based Economy. Summary. II: THE CASE STUDIES. 5. Playing the Game of Dungeons and Dragons: Process Improvement Case Study. Setting the Stage. Current Business Climate. Developing a Game Plan. Process Maturity: Are the Investments Justified?. Quantifying the Return-on-Investment. Getting Everyone Involved in Playing the Game. Reinventing and Refreshing the Organization. Summary. 6. Quantifying the Cost/Benefits: Capitalizing Software Case Study. You've Got a Problem. Organization Profile. Initial Operational Concept. Capital Decision-Making Process. Make-Versus-Buy Analysis. Putting Software Cost Models to Work. Performing Risk Analyses. Addressing What If Questions. Making Your Numbers Believable. Summary. 7. Making Your Numbers Sing: Architecting Case Study. The Grand Proposal. Developing a Strategy. Readying the Financials. Determining the Numbers. Trimming the Fat. Justifying Your Recommendations. Why Pursue Architecture in the First Place?. Summary. 8. Maneuvering the Maze: Web-Based Economy Case Study. For Openers. Finding a Likely Candidate. Determining the Value of a Firm. Computing How Much to Pay. To Buy or Not to Buy. Avoiding the Traps. Going Global. Timing Is Strategy. Summary. III: FINALE. 9. Overcoming Adversity: More Than a Pep Talk. The Wary Traveler. You Can Be Successful. Change Tactics Abound. Avoid the Many Bear Traps. Focus on the Things That Count. Other Interesting Uses of Numbers. Where's the Technology Heading?. Summary. Appendix A: Recommended Reading List. Appendix B: Compound Interest Tables. Acronyms. Glossary. Index. 0201728877T05222001.