Humanization of the software factory

Abstract The paper focuses on the human issues associated with the introduction of computer-aided software engineering (CASE) technology. It will be argued that to facilitate the management of change, staff must be informed about the objectives and goals of the introduction of CASE, and that the technology must be seen as an aid to staff, rather than an imposed monster from management. A method is presented for exploring with both staff and clients the aims of software development. The subjects work towards a model of software quality based on the user's own experience. The model reflects both the criteria of quality important to the user and the conflicts and constraints that may prevent the ideal solution being delivered. The method for establishing this model is based on knowledge elicitation techniques from expert systems development. The educational process arises from both the process of establishing the model and the end-result itself. This technique has been used with a number of commercial organizations to elicit the quality aims of workers in the field. Some results are presented, including some where an information engineering methodology had been implemented without success.