[9] in I/T Delivery
Minutes from Delivery Meeting 11/7/96
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Robert V. Ferrara)
Mon Dec 30 08:48:35 1996
Date: Mon, 30 Dec 1996 08:51:37 -0500
To: delivery-mtg@menelaus.mit.edu
From: rferrara@MIT.EDU (Robert V. Ferrara)
>Date: Fri, 08 Nov 96 11:59:58 EST
>From: wdc@MIT.EDU (Bill Cattey On the Road)
>To: saurons@MIT.EDU, delivery@MIT.EDU
>Subject: Notes from Delivery Meeting 11/7/96
>
>N42 report from Mike:
>Everybody got copies of Mike's notes now, RIGHT?
>Mike drew on the board here the list of groups from E40 and 11 that he
>already drew on the whiteboard in E40.
>
>----
>5 Year Plan Discussion:
>Bob handed out a draft of what he has put together for the 5 year plan.
>
>We discussed issues around setting a strategic goal for more repeatable
>development efforts. Although the Software Engineering Institute's
>Capability Maturity Model provides an interesting source of ideas, it
>has profound limitations. For example it seems to sterilize out the
>artistry that software developers seem to really love in their work.
>
>But there are some interesting benefits to pursue:
>
>Being able to take vacations on more regular basis.
>More realistic projects that require intervention of fewer heroes.
>Customers who have their expectations set and met more realistically and
>on a more consistent basis.
>etc.
>
>So there was discussion of this area, and we've decided to continue to
>think about and talk about this stuff some more as time goes on.
>
>In a related area, we've talked about the process of doing more projects
>"The Right Way" -- i.e. adequately resourced, up-front requirements
>analysis, smooth handoffs etc. There are a couple projects that are
>being used as focused efforts on making this happen, and finding out
>what the problems have been with succeeding in doing projects "Right",
>and fixing those problems.
>
>----
>Delivery Web Pages:
>Janet Litel has come on board to do the same good work for Delivery
>pages that has been done in other areas.
>
>We around the table are on the hook for telling Janet what to link to.
>
>----
>Integration Process Review:
>Susan Minai-Azary handed out the latest rev of the Trans-It page
>describing Integration and a printout of the Integration Web pages
>describing MIT Infrastructure Requirements.
>
>Summary: Integration focuses on nudging things into more efficient
>technologies and methodologies over time.
>
>Integration has both project teams and standing teams. It focuses on
>building infrastructure, and migrating over time to progressively better
>infrastructure.
>
>Impact on Delivery: Integration works on selecting tools. Trying to
>help achieve some focus on a few good and widely usable tools and
>methodologies rather than letting thousands of tools and methodologies
>bust out all over.
>
>Where is Integration in the Software Life Cycle? It's been going on
>BEFORE DISCOVERY BEGINS to make an infrastructure, the best substrate,
>on which to do this stuff.
>
>Up to now Bill and Mike (and perhaps others around the table) have not
>taken careful review of the Infrastructure requirements. They plan to
>go look at it and see what the alignmnet is between the group and the
>requirements is. (Maybe we'll save some work by moving into greater
>compliance. Maybe we're already in compliance. We just haven't worked
>through it yet.)
>
>Bob and Susan are working on a checklist of thingies to think about in
>projects.
>
>Information about what Integration should be looking at comes from
>Developers. Integration needs for us to recommend stuff for them to
>look at, or needed infrastructure projects.
>
>It was suggested that in the readable-by-MIT-only section, a table of
>products that have been examined that didn't measure up: the product,
>the date of review, and the reason why it didn't measure up.
>
>Rocklyn suggested ways for inculcating to employees, particularly new
>hires, the ways of properly working with the Integration team, and
>integraton issues.
>
>----
>Roundtable:
>
>Jana:
>Questions on the TQF project: Started porting to Mac Power Builder v5.
>SQL Net from v4 is not compatible with v5. The new version of SQL net
>2.1 is now in house. The information about this new version wasn't as
>widely disseminated as people would have ideally liked.
>
>Wade:
>Has been writing a business plan about Scopus 2.0 release with the
>various go/no go and value/cost issues.
>
>TJM:
>Writing requirements project is about ready to had off a technical
>component architecture. They've got a prototype ready for demo.
>
>Paul Hill via Bob:
>Paulis meeting today with Microsoft.
>Mailconvert is in early test.
>wshelp32 and wshelper DLL's will go to audit late friday or early next
>week.
>
>Bob:
>Keep that feedback coming on our tracking spreadsheet.
>
>Larry Dean:
>Working on Disaster Recovery.
>Interfaces to the new Alumni Advance system.
>
>Rocklyn:
>Pursuing SAP issues: Authoriation and Security. New SAP version.
>
