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- Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
- Path: sparky!uunet!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!darwin.sura.net!spool.mu.edu!umn.edu!The-Star.honeywell.com!saifr00.cfsat.honeywell.com!shanks
- From: shanks@saifr00.cfsat.honeywell.com (Mark Shanks)
- Subject: Re: When do we inspect [getting LONG]
- Message-ID: <1992Dec23.162649.16555@saifr00.cfsat.honeywell.com>
- Keywords: Inspections
- Organization: Honeywell Air Transport Systems Division
- References: <1992Dec21.184224.21056@den.mmc.com> <1992Dec21.215642.5706@saifr00.cfsat.honeywell.com> <Bzo1ML.GK6@NeoSoft.com>
- Date: Wed, 23 Dec 92 16:26:49 GMT
- Lines: 49
-
- In article <Bzo1ML.GK6@NeoSoft.com> claird@NeoSoft.com (Cameron Laird) writes:
- > Mr. Shanks, are you saying
- > that you approve of the way it is, or that you're
- > stuck with something you see as suboptimal, and
- > therefore you don't wish to "start that process
- > any sooner than necessary"? If the former,
- > please fill in a few more of the details on how
- > such a system is a benefit. It would make me
- > feel as though I'm in a trailer factory, say,
- > welding away on my assigned joints, and I notice
- > that I need more light on my worktable to jig up
- > the pieces carefully. I get the feeling that,
- > in the factory where you work, I'd have to call
- > a meeting of the union first. Is there no
- > cheaper way for me to improve my process?
-
- My goodness, such formality on the net. I haven't been called
- "Mr. Shanks" since I was a cadet :> (and back then, we were issued
- things called "slide rules" :> :>)
-
- The fact that you ask whether I favor the type of CM system I
- have described indicates that (so far) I have been able to
- present the facade of objectivity about it. In truth, my efforts
- to change this system (all in the spirit of "continuous process
- improvement" and "empowerment") have to date been met with
- curious resistance. "Curious" because the people I have tried
- to convince don't see anything wrong with the present process/
- system in spite of the metrics indicating the very large number
- of engineer-hours spent on it with no discernable benefit, or
- rather, benefits such as the code-checking you referred to in an
- earlier posting. The crux of the question (to me, anyway) is,
- "What is a configuration management system for?" If the CM
- is designed solely for the purpose of having an auditable trail
- of document/code history, the benefit of checking material into
- the system comes by doing that just before the first official
- release of the material. To do so before that, IMHO, is creating
- an unnecessary amount of "trail" of design/requirements changes
- with the cost of literally thousands of engineering hours and
- resultant impact on design/coding/integration - in another word:
- schedule. (Not to get too far off the point, but I've seen too
- many people for whom this process is in itself some kind of job
- satisfaction; they LIKE to sit around in inspections, fill out
- inspection logs, check things in and out, and all those other
- "cook-book" kind of non-creative/is-this-really-engineering
- activities.)
-
- Mark Shanks
- shanks@saifr00.cfsat.honeywell.com
- All opinions here are mine, not my employers
-