Software Engineering Tools

Abstract

The goal of this chapter is to give a flavour of a selection of tools that can support the various software engineering activities in the organization. Tools for project management, requirements management, configuration management, design and development, testing, and so on are considered. The organization will generally choose tools to support the process rather than choosing a process to support the tool.

Mature organizations will employ a structured approach to the introduction of new tools. First, the requirements for a new tool are specified and the options to satisfy the requirements are considered. These may include developing a tool internally; outsourcing the development of a tool to a third party supplier; or purchasing a tool off the shelf from a vendor.

Several candidate tools will be identified and considered prior to selection, and each candidate tool is evaluated to determine the extent to which it satisfies the specified requirements. An informed decision is then made and the proposed tool will be piloted prior to its deployment. Finally, the users are trained on the tool, and the tool is rolled out throughout the organization. Support is provided for a period post deployment.