| The search for a panacea in software engineering has been fruitless. Many methodologies
have been tried, touted, and terrible, each having some degree of success and some degree of failure.
This thesis explores a counterculture approach. Shirking the rigidity and documentation overload
may be a functional alternative to the decision paralysis plaguing software teams in finding the
perfect software methodology. Five important principles are presented. One, do not lose efficiency
trying to adhere to a methodology. Two, people are the most valuable resource. Three, the project
cannot assume that person will stick around for the length of the project. Four, make sure that the
problem is clear and the solution solves it. Five, verify all components of the project and remain
introspective about the project. This thesis effort uses a large project at Idaho National Laboratory
(INL) as an experimental setup to test this combination of principles and evaluate the results. The
large INL project had many difficulties over the course of the project. These issues resulted in a
sub-optimal end result of the methodology but the stages and refinement of the process were a
meaningful experience. Results from these developments showed that people are the driving factor
behind getting work done. Software engineering is more about ensuring that people are productive
and keeping them productive rather than technical design. |