Comp 523, Software Engineering:  Essay 1
Assigned: 5 February 2008
Due: 12 February 2008

Humpty Dumpty Inc is building a new chemical plant designed to flexibly produce special purpose substances for customers.  The machinery is controlled by a new software system that manages all aspects of the products being produced: deciding nd adjusting quantities, temperatures, and process times; testing the purity of the result; as well as directing cleaning and reconfiguration between batches.  The plant has been in development for 2 years and is targeted to be in full production one year from now. In order to meet that deadline, the complete plant must be fully functional in 8 months in order to be fully certified and tested.

Last week was a critical milestone for the software and Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.  The software, which is being developed by a team of 10 people who have been on the project from the start, is way off schedule.  Of the three major functions listed above, only the first is working. 

You have been brought in to take over management of the project and your boss has offered you whatever resources you need.   You are to write a two-page memo explaining your recovery plan and your rationale for the plan.  Your boss is a reasonable person who is persuaded by reasoned arguments but expects you to substantiate your claims with explanations of best practice or research (and references where appropriate).  He understands that there are limits to what can be accomplished but if the plant is not operational on schedule, it will be a financial disaster for a lot of people and the  plant will never open.  As you are new to the project, his expectation is that you will want to do reviews before making final decisions, but he needs to know specifically what you will be reviewing, how quickly you can do it, and the general outline of your plan immediately.

As a starting point, I recommend that you read Chapter 2 of Brooks's The Mythical Man-Month (which is titled "The Mythical Man-Month").  This is an assignment and not a test.  It is open book, notes and discussion;  the final document itself, however, must be doen individually.

Please turn in the essay both electronically (email) and in paper by the beginning of class.