Martin Wieczorek Libros

1. 1 The Pressure on Information Technology (IT) "In today's environment, the ability to react quickly to change by reducing the devel opment life cycle in order to be first to market will give a company an important com petitive edge. " -James Martin The market conditions of the 21 st century put business under continual pressure. The most successful companies are those who are able to reduce their time to market, to launch initiatives before their competitors, to respond very rapidly to opportunities in the marketplace or to change direction in response to a move by the competition or a change in circumstances. All of these business initiatives rely on support from Infor mation Technology (IT). For a business to launch a new product in three months time, the supporting IT processes must be available and working in that three month time frame. In this fast moving environment, late IT delivery is not acceptable and may pose a major risk to the business. The marketplace of 21 st century business measures timescales in months, whereas in the past, timescales of two to three years were more typical. Internet related and e business projects frequently require even tighter timescales, measured in days rather than months. This need for speed puts tremendous pressure on IT departments. Pressure does not just come from the need for speed. There is also an ever-increasing rate of change within business.

Software and systems quality is increasingly crucial for the growth of both profit and non-profit organizations, directly impacting their market success. Small businesses rely on software for administration and marketing, while healthcare providers manage patient information through software. The banking sector is entirely dependent on software, and vehicles are becoming more reliant on it for complex systems management. Organizations face constant innovation, competition, and cost pressures, raising the question of how to achieve optimal quality in their software-based systems and products. This quality must be market-rewarded, risk-mitigating, and financially viable. Although good practices exist, significant improvements are still needed. The exploration of “Embedded systems” and “ICT systems” will reveal valuable insights from both fields. The software industry now requires a new phase of industrialization, focusing on three key pillars: (1) a fundamental understanding of the right software and systems quality (RiSSQ); (2) a holistic approach to portfolio management, quality governance, quality management, and quality engineering across strategic, tactical, and operational layers; and (3) an industrialization framework to implement this approach effectively.

Risk Management and Business Continuity are essential for the competitive capacity of any international corporation. The temporary unavailability of technology and services can endanger the existence of any company. It is cruical to develop an international strategy to deal with these problems. This book provides theoretical analysis and practical solutions on these topics.

La domanda, qual è il contributo che la qualità del software e dei sistemi possono apportare al successo del business di un'azienda e come possiamo garantire la giusta qualità dei sistemi e dei prodotti basati sul software, è una domanda retorica. Come in molti altri settori, anche l'industria del software è in continua trasformazione. Le innovazioni e le nuove soluzioni scaturiscono da nuove esigenze provenienti dai mercati e dalla disponibilità di nuove tecnologie. Già da molti anni l'industria del software è influenzata da un proprio alto tasso di innovazione che ha avuto un impatto su tutte le fasi del ciclo di vita di un software e di un sistema. I cambiamenti che vediamo nel software includono anche la gestione e la garanzia della qualità nel suo insieme. Sebbene alcune best practice siano già ora messe in pratica, c'è molto spazio per migliorare. A nostro avviso, non è ancora presente nel settore IT un approccio olistico alla qualità dei prodotti e dei sistemi software. Deve essere definita in maniera chiara la giusta qualità dei sistemi e dei prodotti basati sul software. Per questo motivo, diamo uno sguardo ai "sistemi integrati" e ai "sistemi IT", impariamo qualcosa da entrambi e discutiamo il nostro approccio per la giusta qualità dei software e dei sistemi (RiSSQ).