Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
resolves serious deficiencies, but minor changes may have relatively
little benefit from the users' perspective. For the user, there may be
a considerable advantage if technology does not change for a period
of several years.
In short, change occurring “so often” may have a different
meaning for developers and users.
Just as with the discussion of automatic correction within word
processing software, why software changes involves both ideal cir
cumstances and practical realities. For example, a software developer
may be following the model of extreme programming—making
small, incremental planned releases of software, whereby each ver
sion responds to customer feedback obtained from the previous ver
sion. In this model, clients form a vital part of the development team,
and software adapts quickly in accordance to client needs and reac
tions. Particularly when developers are working for an individual
client (who pays the bills), frequent system changes and package up
dates may be an expected part of the development process. Neither
developers nor clients expect the current version of software to be fi
nal; rather, software is viewed as an emerging and steadily improv
ing entity.
Software is also understood to be in a continuously fluid state in
the more traditional development process for large projects that in
volve multiple teams, each of which focuses on one component or
piece of the overall software package. In this context, each team
may spend considerable time developing or revising specifications,
refining algorithms, coding changes, and testing; the time frame for
each part of the software may be several months or even a few
years, as teams conduct market surveys, develop prototypes, and the
like. However, when several teams work independently, new ver
sions from various teams may become available at different times.
To an end user, the application may seem to change every few
months, but in reality each part may change only once a year or so.
On the practical side, software may change rapidly to react to
market forces or to correct errors. As already noted, developers gen
erally gain a competitive advantage by having cuttingedge software
