MSc dissertation: Improving the safety-critical software engineering process through the development of knowledge management capability

This is the extended abstract of my dissertation for module T802, which is the final module of my Open University  Master of Science degree in Technology Management. It was a tough module, spanning just over 12 months (including preliminary research), but at the same time was very rewarding. Background Software is becoming increasingly common in …

How I tackle an Open University Tutor Marked Assignment (TMA)

I’ve been studying with the Open University now for six years; the first three years studying at undergraduate level, and the past three years at postgraduate level. Over this time I have developed what I feel is quite a nice system for tackling the Tutor Marked Assignments (TMAs) that OU students regularly complete, so I thought …

Developer Anarchy

The latest episode of Software Engineering Radio contains an interesting discussion about a project management technique known as Developer Anarchy. Fred George, the interviewee, defines anarchy as a group of people managing themselves, with few or no rules being imposed by higher levels of management. George describes how he first discovered this technique when working …

An introduction to software product line engineering

This article is based on examinable work that I submitted for the postgraduate Open University module M813 – Software Development. Software components With the end of the 19th century came the introduction of the now ubiquitous form of transportation that is the automobile. Early models were mostly hand crafted by skilled operators and priced accordingly, which …