IFSM300 week 6 activities

The Mythical Man Month

This week’s discussion topic is the “Mythical Man Month” by Fredric Brooks. Although original written over 30 years ago the lesson learned on the OS360 project remain true today. Rather than questions to answer, I want you to read the material provided below and form your own thoughts about project management and then share those thoughts with the other class members. You may want to refer to the information found in IT Project Management conference as well as any research you find on the Internet and in Library database.

This week, I am looking for you to discuss your ideas so that everyone will have a better understanding of project management.

Resources on the “Mythical Man Month”

From Wikipedia -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mythical_Man-Month

Chapter 2 of the Mythical Man Month, from UMBC -http://www.csee.umbc.edu/~mgrass2/cmsc345/paper%20-%20MythicalManMonth.pdf

A counter argument -http://blog.assembla.com/assemblablog/tabid/12618/bid/6213/Time-to-Vanquish-the-Mythical-Man-Month.aspx

One man’s thoughts on the topic -http://www.wordyard.com/2006/10/02/mythical-man-month/

WWVB: What Would Vannevar Blog? -http://vannevar.blogspot.com/2010/04/mythical-man-month.html

If you would like to purchase the book, or just look at reviews -http://www.amazon.com/Mythical-Man-Month-Software-Engineering-Anniversary/dp/0201835959

This week we will be examining the development cycle and what is required to create a quality system. This is particularly appropriate for your technology solution; with that in mind the questions relate not to the actual case study but rather the lessons that you can apply to the case study.

You may need to use the information found in chapter 13, section 13.2, to understand some of the terminology as well as researching technology and systems implementation on both the Internet and in Library database.

Disaster at Denver International Airport

One good way to learn how to develop successful systems is to review past failures. One of the most infamous system failures is Denver International Airport's (DIA) baggage system. When the automated baggage system design for DIA was introduced, it was hailed as the savior of modern airport design. The design relied on a network of 300 computers to route bags and 4,000 cars to carry luggage across 21 miles of track. Laser scanners were to read bar- coded luggage tags, while advanced scanners tracked the movement of toboggan- like baggage carts.